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= Chapter 17: When Hidden Truths Are Revealed, True Chivalry Shines Forth =
''Modern English translation by Martin Woesler (2025)''

A poem says:

Beauty and ugliness have always been judged by the face;
Who looks beyond the skin to the comeliness of the soul?
The warmth and chill within — the body cannot probe;
The sweet and sour within — the tongue cannot tell.

One fancies it must be a daylong dream;
One guesses it must be a tangled ball of doubt.
Would that you, my lords, examine it with care —
For gallantry within the moral order truly exists.

Now we tell that Academician Guo and Eunuch Qiu, having plotted to lure Tie Zhongyu upstairs by means of the imperial painting commission and there force a marriage with the niece — a scheme they had thought infallible — saw the whole affair shattered when an imperial summons called Tie Zhongyu away to the banquet for Commander Hou. Bitterly frustrated, the two put their heads together again.

The Academician said: "Though he and Miss Shui are reportedly not sharing a bed, everyone knows they are married. Trying to force a different bride or groom upon either of them is clearly too difficult. Better to take the old story of the convalescence, dress it up as an illicit liaison, and bribe some forceful censor to impeach them both. Then we can have Eunuch Qiu arrange things on the inside, so that the memorial is approved and referred to the Ministry of Rites for investigation. Next I shall write to the new magistrate of Licheng County and have him produce a report, and with pressure from both sides, they will be too ashamed to hold on — the match will collapse."

The eunuch said: "And once they are separated, I shall petition the Emperor again to wed my niece to him. He will have no excuse to refuse."

The two finalized their plan and set about their secret work. As the verse has it:

Why, one wonders, does jealousy drive men thus?
It is simply that their hearts are rotten.
They grind away at a good thing openly,
And call their dark designs "remarkable."

Now Tie Zhongyu, saved by the imperial summons to Commander Hou's banquet, returned home and told his father the whole story. Censor Tie said: "Since you and Miss Shui have sealed the bond, the formal tie is established. Even if you never share a room for the rest of your lives, you are man and wife — that cannot be undone. Why did you not bring her home to settle the matter? This unconsummated union only invites speculation. Had it not been for the lucky coincidence of the imperial summons, you would have had a bitter fight with the eunuch on your hands. Go at once and discuss it with your wife — the sooner she comes here, the sooner all prying eyes will be shut."

Tie Zhongyu obeyed, went to the Shui residence, and relayed his father's words to Miss Bingxin. She said: "Do you think I am unaware? Having pledged myself to you, how could I begrudge sharing your pillow? But the convalescence left a shadow of ambiguity that has not yet been cleared. Now, riding the crest of your fame, you attract envy and slander from all sides; and living in the midst of so many covetous men, I face no end of attacks. If I were to give in to passion tonight, leaving no means to prove my innocence tomorrow, then there would never be a moment in our lives when innocence could be proved. Is that what wisdom counsels? The danger lies with no one but the Guo father and son. Now that they see our union accomplished, their jealousy and their urgency to slander will know no rest. If you wish to set your parents' hearts at ease, there is no objection to my coming to your house with the hundred carriages and holding a second ceremony. But as for sharing pillow and quilt — I beg you, sir, to grant me a little more time, so that the moral order may shine."

Tie Zhongyu, delighted that she was willing to come, said: "My lady weighs feeling and reason and finds the perfect balance — how could I not obey?" He informed both fathers, and the Imperial Directorate of Astronomy was consulted for a supremely auspicious day. Once again, the full complement of officials and friends were invited, and a grand celebration was held. To the world it was a wedding; between themselves, the marriage remained unconsummated. As the verse has it:

They say that when spring comes,
No flower can keep from blooming.
Who would have guessed that in the golden chamber,
A peony branch was still kept closely guarded?

When Academician Guo learned of this second ceremony, his anxiety only deepened. He distributed bribes, and from the ranks of his acquaintances bought one Censor Wan E, whom he persuaded to submit an impeachment. The willing censor duly drafted a memorial and presented it to the throne:

"Your servant Wan E, Supervising Censor of the Shaanxi Circuit, memorializes regarding an ambiguous marriage that brings disgrace upon the moral order, humbly requesting an investigation to restore propriety and uphold public morals:

"I observe that among the Five Human Relations, the bond of husband and wife comes first; and among the Three Thousand Rules of Ceremony, marriage is the weightiest. Therefore men and women may not hand objects directly to one another, and within the household the inner and outer quarters are strictly separated — such is the ordinance of the kings, such is the ancient rite. Even commoners and humble folk observe these rules. Never has there been a case in which a family of ministerial rank permitted an unmarried woman and an unmarried man to dwell together without a go-between, thereby corrupting the marriage at its very inception; nor one in which a court official and the son of a censor entered into a deliberate union tainted by a prior scandal, thereby corrupting the marriage at its end — as has occurred with Shui Juyi and his daughter, and Tie Ying and his son. Your servant's office is the avenue of remonstrance; whatever I see or hear, I am bound to report.

"Some days ago, passing through a public thoroughfare, I chanced to see a bridal procession of a hundred carriages. A bridal procession is no unusual sight — but what was unusual was this: as the music played and the carriages passed, crowds of onlookers on every side pointed and laughed; and as the procession moved on, people lining the road sighed and shook their heads. Greatly astonished, I inquired whose wedding it was, and learned that it was Hanlin Tie Zhongyu marrying Miss Shui Bingxin, daughter of Minister Shui Juyi. Upon further inquiry into the cause of the laughter and the sighing, I learned that Tie Zhongyu had previously been nursed back to health at Miss Shui Bingxin's home, where the two had shared a single chamber as unmarried man and unmarried woman, with inevitable suspicion of impropriety. Now, with their parents' private connivance, the wedding was paraded through the streets, giving grave offense to the moral order. When I heard this, my alarm only grew, and I dared not keep silent.

"Marriage is the foundation of all ceremony; when marriage goes wrong, all other rites are undermined. Officials serve as the model for the common people; when officials are disgraced, what standard remains for the populace? I humbly beseech Your Majesty: considering that marriage is the great hinge of public morals and the pillar of the human bonds, may it please Your Majesty to command the Ministry of Rites to send word to the relevant province and conduct an investigation into whether Tie Zhongyu and Shui Bingxin truly were nursed together under one roof, and whether improper conduct occurred. Let the findings be reported to the Ministry for action. If your servant's words prove warranted, I humbly request that the guilty be punished, the union annulled, and proper separation imposed — so that scandalous liaisons may be deterred and the moral order preserved, to the great benefit of the civilization enshrined in the 'Ospreys' ode. I submit this in earnest expectation of the imperial response."

When Censor Wan's memorial reached the Grand Secretariat, the ministers deliberated: "Hearsay about what happens behind closed doors is no evidence; street gossip cannot serve as proof!" They were about to reject it outright, but Eunuch Qiu came repeatedly, insisting: "This is a matter of the greatest importance. How can it not be pursued?" The ministers had no choice but to mark it "Referred to the appropriate ministry." The eunuch, not satisfied, had the memorial sent directly before the Emperor. The Emperor read it and said: "How did Tie Zhongyu, a man, come to convalesce at the home of Shui Bingxin, a woman? There must be a reason." He wrote the imperial rescript: "The Ministry of Rites shall investigate and report."

By the time the decree was issued, Tie Zhongyu and Bingxin's second ceremony had already taken place several days earlier. When the news broke, Censor Tie was alarmed. He hurried to the inner chambers to consult his son and daughter-in-law: "What grudge does this Wan E bear you, to submit such a memorial?"

Tie Zhongyu said: "This is not Wan E's idea — it is the Academician Guo's. My wife and I predicted long ago that such a move was inevitable, and we have guarded ourselves accordingly. Now it has come to pass, exactly as we expected."

"Since you have been impeached, you must submit a rebuttal."

"A rebuttal will be necessary, but not yet. Let us wait for the provincial investigation to come back. If the findings make everything clear, no rebuttal is needed. If they do not, I shall address the specific points that remain unclear. What could I rebut at this point?"

Censor Tie pondered: "That is a fair argument. But Wan E is my subordinate — how dare he impeach me? I cannot let this pass!"

"Your Lordship need not be angry. Those who sow shall reap."

The Censor, seeing his son so composed, let the matter rest for the time being. As the verse has it:

In leisure, anticipate the crisis;
When the crisis comes, meet it with composure.
When slander arrives and the heart is clean,
The face need not blush.

Let us set aside Censor Tie and his family's deliberations, and speak of them no more.

The Ministry of Rites, having received the order to investigate, dared not delay. They sent an official dispatch to the Shandong Provincial Governor, instructing him to conduct the inquiry. The Academician, fearing that the local officials might not cooperate, hastily wrote a letter to the new magistrate of Licheng County, enclosed a substantial bribe, and sent instructions to his son to arrange for the report to fabricate what had not happened and present it as established fact, without delay.

Now who was this new magistrate? None other than Wei Pei — the very man whose wife and daughter Tie Zhongyu had rescued from the Marquis of Daxia's pleasure hall. After years of diligent study, Wei Pei had passed the metropolitan examinations in the same cohort as Tie Zhongyu, placing in the third class. When Magistrate Bao was promoted, Wei Pei was appointed to fill the vacancy in Licheng County.

When he received Young Master Guo's hundred taels of gold and the Academician's personal letter, he opened the letter and read it. Seeing that it asked him to use his influence to ensure Tie Zhongyu's conviction in the convalescence affair, he was quietly stunned: "So this concerns my very benefactor! How shall I handle this?" After reflection he thought: "Here is my chance to repay a debt of gratitude — but I must not let Young Master Guo know, or he will take countermeasures." He kept the gifts and letter, and received Young Master Guo with warm hospitality. The young master, thinking his mission accomplished, departed in high spirits.

Magistrate Wei then summoned his staff and questioned them in detail: "How did Hanlin Tie come to convalesce at Miss Shui's house?" He learned the whole story — how it was Young Master Guo's abduction and poisoning that had caused the crisis, and how Miss Shui, recognizing her debt of gratitude, had taken Tie Zhongyu in to nurse him. He then asked: "Miss Shui and the Hanlin are both young. During the convalescence, was there any hint of impropriety?"

The clerks said: "What happens in a lady's private chambers — how would outsiders know? But the previous magistrate, Magistrate Bao, had precisely the same doubts, and sent his most trusted doorman, a man called Shan You, to spy on them in the dead of night. He discovered that Tie Zhongyu and Miss Shui were pure as ice and clean as jade, utterly blameless. That is why Magistrate Bao subsequently treated Master Tie with the reverence due a living saint."

Magistrate Wei was delighted: "So Brother Tie is not only a man of surpassing chivalry, but one who would not transgress even in the darkest chamber! He is truly worthy of respect. Since the Ministry has ordered an investigation, if I cannot clear his name, I shall have failed a true friend."

He secretly summoned the doorman Shan You and kept him close at hand. He also brought in the abbot of the Changchun Temple, the monk Duxiu, and questioned him about the poison. The monk testified: "It was not actually poison. Young Master Guo feared that real poison would leave evidence. He ordered me to use rhubarb and croton to purge Master Tie until he collapsed — that is the truth."

Armed with these depositions, Magistrate Wei waited four or five days until the Governor's dispatch arrived with the official order to investigate. He then compiled a thorough and detailed report, sending it up through the proper channels. The Governor, seeing that it was an investigation ordered from the capital and not wishing to second-guess the findings, forwarded the report as received.

When the Ministry of Rites reviewed the report, they found that the Licheng County magistrate had praised Tie Zhongyu as a paragon of virtue and Miss Shui as a model of unimpeachable chastity — and had laid all the blame on Young Master Guo. The Ministry, acting under the Academician's influence, had intended to use the report to condemn Tie Zhongyu. Finding instead a glowing vindication, they were at a loss, and secretly showed the report to the Academician.

When the Academician read it, he was consumed with fury: "That wretched upstart Wei Pei! I sent him a personal letter and a handsome bribe, and he not only defends the enemy but pins all the blame on my son! Intolerable! He shall not escape my wrath!" He asked the Ministry to shelve the report temporarily, then went to Censor Wan and had him submit a second memorial, accusing Magistrate Wei of being a newly appointed official ignorant of past events who had accepted bribes and submitted a false report. The memorial requested that Wei Pei be arrested and that the investigation be conducted anew, under stricter supervision.

With Eunuch Qiu pushing from the inside, the approval came within two days. When the order reached Shandong, the Governor summoned Magistrate Wei and scolded him: "You took this too seriously! Since the Academician wrote to you personally, even if you could not bring yourself to frame Hanlin Tie, you might at least have written a neutral report that spared both sides. Why did you have to single out Young Master Guo for blame? Now he has had you impeached, and there is nothing I can do to protect you."

Magistrate Wei said: "I did not take sides, Your Excellency. Having received the Ministry's order to investigate, I questioned all the officials and servants of the county, and their testimony was unanimous and well-documented. I reported the facts as I found them — neither defending Hanlin Tie nor attacking Young Master Guo. The convalescence of Tie Zhongyu at Shui Bingxin's home was caused by Guo Qizu — and the full story, from beginning to end, could not be told without explaining his role. To conceal that would invite impeachment from some other quarter — and then what defense could I offer?"

The Governor smiled: "Concealment might carry a risk, true, but at least one does not know when it might come. Telling the truth has already brought punishment upon your head."

"If one is punished for telling the truth, the punishment is unjust and can be contested. If one conceals the truth and even escapes punishment, the guilt is real and can never be escaped. I would rather face the consequences now than store up disaster for the future."

"You passed the jinshi examination with no small effort. There is no need to be so rigid. Why not draft a new report? I can try to make things right for you."

"To twist the facts would be to deceive the public; to deceive the public is to deceive the sovereign. That I dare not do."

"Since you are so determined, and there is an arrest warrant, I cannot send an escort for you. You must go to the capital at once to answer the charges."

Magistrate Wei bowed: "Yes, sir." He surrendered his seal of office to the Governor. Then, quietly, he took with him the doorman Shan You and the monk Duxiu, together with the Academician's original letter and the gold, packed his things, and set out for the capital. As the verse has it:

Neither adding nor subtracting, no embroidery on the cloth —
From first to last, the facts were told as they were found.
To appearances it was all done for a friend;
In truth, it was simply a refusal to deceive the sovereign.

When Magistrate Wei arrived in the capital, he went directly to the Ministry of Justice to await examination. Since the accused had arrived, the Ministry proceeded at once with the hearing. They asked: "The convalescence of Tie Zhongyu at Shui Bingxin's home occurred before your appointment. What evidence did you have for declaring them both 'pure as ice and clean as jade'? Did you perhaps accept a bribe?"

Wei Pei said: "Although I was appointed after the events in question, a Ministry order to investigate is binding regardless. If the matter had been truly obscure and no one knew anything, I might plead ignorance without fault. But the moment I questioned the clerks, the testimony was unanimous — the affair is the talk of the county, celebrated as a tale of extraordinary virtue. Knowing this and pretending not to — what kind of 'knowing' county magistrate would I be? As for the charge of bribery: Academician Guo sent me one letter and Young Master Guo sent me one hundred taels of gold. I have concealed nothing — I present both before this court and request that they be forwarded to the Emperor."

The Ministry of Justice, acting under the Academician's influence, had intended to punish Magistrate Wei. But his frank disclosure of both the letter and the bribe left them no room to maneuver. They said: "Since there are these complexities, you may withdraw and await the imperial decision."

Wei Pei bowed and withdrew. As the verse has it:

The man who loves to shame others
Never considers his own shame.
When at last the ugliness is brought to light,
The shame belongs to him alone.

Let us set aside Magistrate Wei's withdrawal.

The Ministry of Justice, seeing the evidence plainly displayed, concluded that concealment was impossible. They joined with the Ministry of Rites to submit a combined report to the throne. The Emperor read it and said: "So there were these many complications behind Tie Zhongyu's convalescence at Shui Bingxin's home. Gratitude repaid with gratitude — one can hardly blame them." When he reached the passage about their not transgressing even in the darkest chamber, he said: "If this is true, he is another Gentleman of Lu — truly admirable!"

But the Chief Eunuch, who had been suborned by Eunuch Qiu, interjected: "These are only the local magistrate's embellishments — they may not be entirely true. Moreover, if one looks closely at the memorials submitted by Tie Zhongyu and Shui Bingxin themselves, there are grounds for suspicion."

"What grounds?"

"Tie Zhongyu's memorial says: 'Though the nuptial candles have burned twice, only the name was real; the union of flesh has not yet been consummated.' And Shui Bingxin's says: 'Though we have exchanged the nuptial cup, our two hearts remain uneasy, and we dwell in separate chambers — that we may temper the gold and preserve the jade unblemished.' If their own claims are to be believed, then Shui Bingxin is still a virgin. But this seems unlikely. And if today's self-praise is overstated, then the earlier testimonials may also be unreliable. I humbly suggest Your Majesty investigate further."

The Emperor said: "Very well. Summon Tie Zhongyu, Shui Bingxin, and all the parties concerned to the Audience Hall at tomorrow's noon session. I shall question them personally."

The Chief Eunuch conveyed the order to the Grand Secretariat, who passed it to the outer court. No official dared disobey, and on the following day they all assembled at the Audience Hall. As the verse has it:

The white sun shines its light upon the world;
Floating clouds suddenly obscure it.
Yet know that when the clouds have all dispersed,
The blue sky will be there, as clear as ever.

Now it came to pass that five memorials were simultaneously submitted: one from Censor Tie, one from Minister Shui, one from Tie Zhongyu, one from Shui Bingxin, and one from Academician Guo — each presenting their account of events.

The Emperor read them all and then summoned the Grand Secretaries to his Audience Hall, asking: "All five reports are in. How should this matter be resolved?"

The ministers replied: "From the five memorials, it appears that the forced marriage attempted by Guo Qizu, and the circumstances that led to Tie Zhongyu's convalescence, are substantiated and can no longer be denied. However, the attempted marriage did not succeed, and the attempted murder was not carried through — so some leniency may be appropriate. That Tie Zhongyu rushed to Miss Shui's rescue, braving danger and taking the consequences upon himself — that may be called chivalry. That Shui Bingxin, moved by gratitude, took Tie Zhongyu into her home to nurse him, braving suspicion without hesitation — that may be called righteous. But since one was an unmarried man and the other an unmarried woman, living together under one roof at a time when fidelity and wantonness could not be distinguished — if there was indeed impropriety, then all the earlier chivalry and righteousness would be washed away. Yet if the county magistrate's report is true, and the spy confirmed that they did not transgress even in the darkest chamber, then this is an achievement that shines through the ages — a glory to the moral order. We ministers, from a distance, cannot see clearly. That is why the earlier order sent for an investigation. The investigation returned these results, and we see no grounds for further action. But the present magistrate was appointed after the events; he reported only what he heard, not what he saw, and this may not be sufficient to satisfy the public. We humbly suggest that Your Majesty summon the former magistrate and have him testify under oath."

The Emperor nodded approval and decreed: "The former Licheng County magistrate shall present a full account of Tie Zhongyu's convalescence to the throne. Any concealment or falsehood shall be punished. By Imperial Decree."

The decree went out at once. Now the former magistrate, Bao Zi, had been promoted to Supervising Censor for Northern Zhili and was currently on circuit in Zhending Prefecture. When he received the order and learned that Tie Zhongyu and Shui Bingxin had married, and that Censor Wan's impeachment had prompted the imperial inquiry, he was overjoyed: "I always intended to bring about Hanlin Tie's marriage, but my new duties carried me east and west and I never kept my promise — it has weighed on my conscience. Now the Emperor himself commands me to testify — here is my chance to fulfil that old vow."

He composed a detailed memorial:

"Your servant Bao Zi, Supervising Censor for Zhili, respectfully memorializes in obedience to the imperial command:

"I observe that no righteousness surpasses rescuing a life in peril; no chivalry surpasses fearlessness in the face of danger; no chastity surpasses integrity in the darkest chamber; and no virtue surpasses refusing to accept what is not offered through a proper go-between.

"Your servant was appointed magistrate of Licheng County. Though unworthy, I made it my duty to attend to the moral order and to uphold the civilization of the imperial realm.

"At that time, Academician Guo Longdong, acting through his son Guo Qizu, learned of the beauty of Shui Bingxin, daughter of the then Vice Minister Shui Juyi, and sought to make her his son's wife..."

[He then recounted in vivid detail: how Miss Shui outwitted Young Master Guo three times — first by substituting her cousin's betrothal card, then by appearing at his door only to expose his fraud and depart, then by sending an empty sedan-chair full of stones when he tried to abduct her at the autumn sacrifice; how Guo made a fourth attempt using a forged notice and a mob, and how Tie Zhongyu rescued her at the county court; how Guo then poisoned Tie Zhongyu through the temple monk; how Miss Shui secretly brought Tie Zhongyu home and nursed him; and how Magistrate Bao, uncertain himself, sent his doorman Shan You to spy on them in the dead of night.]

"...It was only then that your servant learned that Tie Zhongyu is a true gentleman and Shui Bingxin a true virtuous lady. Through a curtain they conversed, never in the absence of proper separation. At different tables they ate, yet without the stiffness that would destroy all feeling. Their discourse touched only upon moral principle and statecraft. In their manner they were warm but never crossed the line that friends observe; in their reasoning they were penetrating and illuminating, as befits master and disciple. Not half a word touched on private matters; not a single careless remark was uttered. They expressed gratitude to each other with joyful hearts; they spoke across the threshold of inner and outer quarters without a shade of shame. Truly these are exemplars of the moral order — of propriety first observed in separation, and then brought together in proper union.

"Your servant, upon learning this, was filled with admiration, reflecting that a pair of white jade discs is not easily formed, and that a matched pair of luminous pearls is scarcely to be found. Since heaven had brought forth Tie Zhongyu, that righteous man, and had also brought forth Shui Bingxin, that chivalrous woman, could this have been without purpose? Considering the grand principles of justice, your servant concluded that without Tie Zhongyu, Shui Bingxin would have no husband; and without Shui Bingxin, Tie Zhongyu would have no wife. Your servant therefore took it upon himself to serve as go-between, and visited Tie Zhongyu to urge the match, declaring it would be a glory to the moral order. But Tie Zhongyu, upholding propriety in his own conduct and maintaining purity through his self-discipline, was angered by the suggestion, considering it an affront, and departed at once without waiting for his carriage. So unyielding was he — unblackened by ink, unground by the mill — a true man of heroic principle.

"...I humbly submit this faithful account. In terms of righteousness, no righteousness surpasses this. In terms of chivalry, no chivalry surpasses this. In terms of chastity and virtue, no chastity and virtue surpass this.

"I humbly beseech Your Majesty's discerning judgment: may it please Your Majesty to bestow special commendation, so that this age of sagely rule may be illumined by the glory of moral order and civilization. Your servant awaits the imperial decision with boundless gratitude."

When Bao Zi's memorial reached the throne, the Emperor's face beamed with delight. But of the imperial judgment, we shall speak in the next chapter.

If you wish to know how the Emperor decreed, you must read the following chapter.

[[Category:Hao Qiu Zhuan]]

Hao Qiu Zhuan/en/Chapter 17 - Revision history

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