Quin?s Shanghai Circus by Edward Whittemore Page B
Authors: Edward Whittemore
Tags: General Fiction
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No?
I have studied it.
You are one of the leading Western experts on No?
I may be.
Then you understand Japanese tradition and you know a Japanese warrior will not allow corruption in his country.
Religious instruction does not corrupt.
And what do you do with one boy while other boys watch?
No drama does not corrupt.
But you corrupt.
If there is anything corrupting Japan today it is the army. It is you and men like you.
Be careful, you know nothing about politics. You are not in this country to advise us on politics. If you were you would be expelled.
I know I love this country, and what youâre doing to it is detestable.
We are on good terms with the West. Of course we wish that to continue.
Yes.
So there is no question of a missionary being expelled.
No.
You may remain here as long as you have the sanction of your church.
Yes.
You are naturally free to carry on your religious work.
Yes.
Including religious instruction to young boys.
Yes.
Naturally in the privacy of your home as well.
Yes.
But I am concerned about the fathers of the boys who attend your Friday night meetings. Their sons may be enjoying themselves but their fathers may not be. Is it possible theyâre in jobs that donât suit them? Perhaps we should release them from their jobs so they can be free to pursue their interests, just as you are free to pursue yours. Of course it is difficult to find work today because of what Western capitalism has done to my country. The fathers might not be able to find other jobs, but then, they could always go into the army.
And be sent to China?
We will not allow the West to do to us what they have done to China. We will achieve the kind of strength the West appreciates, and at the same time we will save China with our strength. We are of the same race as the Chinese. We understand them whereas Westerners donât.
How could they when theyâre foreign devils?
You are knowledgeable in No, that means you know that devils exist. Evil exists. Do you know it?
I do.
I am sure you do. And would you deny that evil exists in the West? In Westerners? In yourself?
I would agree it moves in the wind although its domain is a minor one.
Good, you agree. Now what I would like you to consider is what Western avarice has done to China, which it will not be allowed to do to Japan. Or consider a more immediate problem, consider the difficulty of finding jobs in Japan because of the collapse of Western capitalism. Consider the fathers of the boys who attend your Friday night dances. You must care a great deal for those boys and you love our country, we know that. It would be unfortunate if these men could not find work and their families had to suffer as a result. Reflect upon this situation for a moment.
The General stared at Father Lamereaux and a completely unexpected, interchange began.
The priest was still slumped uncomfortably in the small, low chair. The General was still seated behind his massive desk with his chin resting in his hands. Now the General leaned forward and closed his left eye as if to multiply the acuity of his other eye, to increase his vision by narrowing it. The one open eye, round and unfathomable, stared at Father Lamereaux without blinking.
A minute went by. Father Lamereaux didnât move. He was staring back also without blinking.
Two minutes went by.
A full five minutes according to the ticks of the clock on the wall.
Father Lamereaux kept a large collection of cats in his house. Sometimes to amuse himself he practiced outstaring the cats. Early in life he had discovered he had an unusual talent for concentration, so acute he could perform extraordinary feats of memorization. He could shuffle rapidly through a pack of cards once, and repeat the exact location of every card in the deck. He could memorize a list of random three-digit numbers, up to one hundred of them, in the time it took someone to read them off. He could enter a reading room in a public
I have studied it.
You are one of the leading Western experts on No?
I may be.
Then you understand Japanese tradition and you know a Japanese warrior will not allow corruption in his country.
Religious instruction does not corrupt.
And what do you do with one boy while other boys watch?
No drama does not corrupt.
But you corrupt.
If there is anything corrupting Japan today it is the army. It is you and men like you.
Be careful, you know nothing about politics. You are not in this country to advise us on politics. If you were you would be expelled.
I know I love this country, and what youâre doing to it is detestable.
We are on good terms with the West. Of course we wish that to continue.
Yes.
So there is no question of a missionary being expelled.
No.
You may remain here as long as you have the sanction of your church.
Yes.
You are naturally free to carry on your religious work.
Yes.
Including religious instruction to young boys.
Yes.
Naturally in the privacy of your home as well.
Yes.
But I am concerned about the fathers of the boys who attend your Friday night meetings. Their sons may be enjoying themselves but their fathers may not be. Is it possible theyâre in jobs that donât suit them? Perhaps we should release them from their jobs so they can be free to pursue their interests, just as you are free to pursue yours. Of course it is difficult to find work today because of what Western capitalism has done to my country. The fathers might not be able to find other jobs, but then, they could always go into the army.
And be sent to China?
We will not allow the West to do to us what they have done to China. We will achieve the kind of strength the West appreciates, and at the same time we will save China with our strength. We are of the same race as the Chinese. We understand them whereas Westerners donât.
How could they when theyâre foreign devils?
You are knowledgeable in No, that means you know that devils exist. Evil exists. Do you know it?
I do.
I am sure you do. And would you deny that evil exists in the West? In Westerners? In yourself?
I would agree it moves in the wind although its domain is a minor one.
Good, you agree. Now what I would like you to consider is what Western avarice has done to China, which it will not be allowed to do to Japan. Or consider a more immediate problem, consider the difficulty of finding jobs in Japan because of the collapse of Western capitalism. Consider the fathers of the boys who attend your Friday night dances. You must care a great deal for those boys and you love our country, we know that. It would be unfortunate if these men could not find work and their families had to suffer as a result. Reflect upon this situation for a moment.
The General stared at Father Lamereaux and a completely unexpected, interchange began.
The priest was still slumped uncomfortably in the small, low chair. The General was still seated behind his massive desk with his chin resting in his hands. Now the General leaned forward and closed his left eye as if to multiply the acuity of his other eye, to increase his vision by narrowing it. The one open eye, round and unfathomable, stared at Father Lamereaux without blinking.
A minute went by. Father Lamereaux didnât move. He was staring back also without blinking.
Two minutes went by.
A full five minutes according to the ticks of the clock on the wall.
Father Lamereaux kept a large collection of cats in his house. Sometimes to amuse himself he practiced outstaring the cats. Early in life he had discovered he had an unusual talent for concentration, so acute he could perform extraordinary feats of memorization. He could shuffle rapidly through a pack of cards once, and repeat the exact location of every card in the deck. He could memorize a list of random three-digit numbers, up to one hundred of them, in the time it took someone to read them off. He could enter a reading room in a public
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