Beneath the archway in Qingfeng Village, a group of children surrounded a simple-minded boy, laughing and teasing him. A few mischievous boys clapped their hands and chanted a strange rhyme:
“In Qingfeng Village, the hall stands empty. The fool smiles to greet the White-Fat Guest. White-Fat Guest, eyes narrowed in a grin. Big Brother and Second Brother lie on their boards. The fool welcomes them, then sends Mother away. No life to be born, buried in the hills, buried in the hills…”
…
Many years later, Shi Ning set foot in Qingfeng Village once more. As he gazed in a daze at the stone stump now enshrined there, who could have imagined that the Emperor revered throughout the world, whose fame stirred the heavens and roiled the winds and clouds, had once been a fool for sixteen years…
