"Storm in a Teacup" () is a short story by

Lu Xun Zhou Shuren (25 September 1881 – 19 October 1936), better known by his pen name Lu Xun (or Lu Sun; ; Wade–Giles: Lu Hsün), was a Chinese writer, essayist, poet, and literary critic. He was a leading figure of modern Chinese literature. W ...

, the founder of modern Chinese literature. Originally published in September 1920 in the journal ''

New Youth ''New Youth'' (french: La Jeunesse, lit=The Youth; ) was a Chinese literary magazine founded by Chen Duxiu and published between 1915 and 1926. It strongly influenced both the New Culture Movement and the later May Fourth Movement. Publishin ...

'' (新青年), it was later included in his first collection of short stories, '' A Call to Arms'' (吶喊). A Chinese boatman hears news of the abortive

Manchu Restoration The Manchu Restoration or Dingsi Restoration (), also known as Zhang Xun Restoration (), or Xuantong Restoration (), was an attempt to restore the Chinese monarchy by General Zhang Xun, whose army seized Beijing and briefly reinstalled the las ...

of July 1917 and fears that he will be executed as he had abandoned the

queue __NOTOC__ Queue () may refer to: * Queue area, or queue, a line or area where people wait for goods or services Arts, entertainment, and media *''ACM Queue'', a computer magazine * ''The Queue'' (Sorokin novel), a 1983 novel by Russian author ...

after the fall of the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

. At the same time his neighbour, who has kept his, exults.

Background

In 1644, after the conquest of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

by the Manchurian

Han Chinese The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive va ...

males were forced on pain of execution to adopt the queue, a Manchurian hairstyle consisting of shaving the forehead and wearing the rest of one's hair in a long plait. On the other hand, during the

Taiping Rebellion The Taiping Rebellion, also known as the Taiping Civil War or the Taiping Revolution, was a massive rebellion and civil war that was waged in China between the Manchu-led Qing dynasty and the Han, Hakka-led Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. It lasted fr ...

, the revolutionaries would execute anyone who wore the queue as a presumed Qing loyalist. After the last emperor

Puyi Aisin-Gioro Puyi (; 7 February 1906 – 17 October 1967), courtesy name Yaozhi (曜之), was the last emperor of China as the eleventh and final Qing dynasty monarch. He became emperor at the age of two in 1908, but was forced to abdicate on 1 ...

abdicated in 1912, the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

was established and the queue was widely abandoned. In July 1917 the Qing loyalist

Zhang Xun Zhang Xun (; September 16, 1854 – September 11, 1923), courtesy name Shaoxuan (), art name Songshoulaoren (), nickname Bianshuai (, ), was a Chinese general and Qing loyalist who attempted to restore the abdicated emperor Puyi in the Manchu ...

attempted to restore Puyi to the throne, but the revolt collapsed in a fortnight. Given the primitive communications infrastructure in China, this news took longer to spread to rural and remote areas.

Synopsis

The boatman Sevenpounder (七斤) comes back to his village one night, bringing the news to his family that "the Emperor has returned to the

Dragon Throne The Dragon Throne () was the throne of the Emperor of China. As the dragon was the emblem of divine imperial power, the throne of the Emperor was known as the Dragon Throne. The term can refer to very specific seating, as in the special seating i ...

". He worries, as people in town had shaved off his queue during the revolution. Meanwhile, the innkeeper Zhao arrives. Zhao is renowned as the greatest scholar for ten miles round, as he reads the ''

Romance of the Three Kingdoms ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' () is a 14th-century historical novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong. It is set in the turbulent years towards the end of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history, starting in 184 AD and ...

''. Zhao had only coiled up his queue, and has now let it down. Mrs Sevenpounder notices that he is wearing his special gown which he only does when an enemy has met with misfortune. Zhao bears Sevenpounder a grudge, and taunts him that he will now be executed. Trusting in Zhao's scholarship, Mrs Sevenpounder gives up all hope and curses her husband for having shaven off his queue. Another neighbour remembers that Mrs Sevenpounder did not object when her husband stopped growing his queue, and an argument breaks out. A fortnight later, Mrs Sevenpounder notices that Mr Zhao has coiled up his queue again, and is not wearing his gown. The Sevenpounders relax, as it seems the emperor is not coming back after all. They begin binding their daughter's feet.

Notes

External links

* Full text of 風波 in Chinese at Wikisource {{Lu Xun 1920 short stories Short stories by Lu Xun Short stories set in China