BRIDGE OF BIRDS
A Novel of an Ancient China That Never Was
by Barry Hughart
For Ann and Pete
prolepsis (prō lep’ sis), n., pl. -ses(-sēz). 1. Rhet. the anticipation of possible objections in order to answer them in advance. 2. the assigning of a person, event, etc., to a period earlier than the actual one.
The Random House Dictionary of the English Language
Caveat OccidensChen. To stand still. To gallop at full speed.
Wan. A small mouth. Some say a large mouth.
Ch'he. Devoid of intelligence, deficiency of wit, silly, idiotic. Also used for borrowing and returning books.
Pee. A dog under the table.
A dog with short legs.
A short-headed dog.
Maou Tsaou. A scholar not succeeding and giving himself over to liquor.
— The Chinese Unicorn, edited, from Chinese-English dictionaries, by Thomas Rowe; printed for Robert Gilkey (private circulation).
Part One—MASTER LI
1. The Village of Ku-fu
I shall clasp my hands together and bow to the corners of the world.
My surname is Lu and my personal name is Yu, but I am not to be confused with the eminent author of The Classic of Tea. My family is quite undistinguished, and since I am the tenth of my father's sons and rather strong I am usually referred to as Number Ten Ox. My father died when I was eight. A year later my mother followed him to the Yellow Springs Beneath the Earth, and since then I have lived with Uncle Nung and Auntie Hua in the village of Ku-fu in the valley of Cho. We take great pride in our landmarks. Until recently we also took great pride in two gentlemen who were such perfect specimens that people used to come from miles around just to stare at them, so perhaps I should begin a description of my village with a couple of classics.