PDLP Chapter 399 The Rage of the Common People
Chapter 399 The Rage of the Common People
On the Shangsi Festival in the third year of the Yonghui era, the "Baiweilou" restaurant, the most bustling place in the East Market of Chang'an, was filled with noise and chatter.
In a private room on the second floor, Princess Jinyang, Li Mingda, who had left the palace to establish her own residence, was now serving as the Imperial Astronomical Bureau official—the former Little Sizi—sitting and sipping tea with a disciple of Di Renjie. Suddenly, a commotion arose downstairs, mixed with the shrill laughter of children and the shouts of women.
"It's so noisy!" A young man who looked like a scholar at the next table slammed his hand on the table. "Boss! Aren't you going to do anything about it?"
Mingda frowned and looked over, only to see two girls, about five or six years old, chasing and playing in the hall, making the bowls and chopsticks clatter. Their mother and a few relatives and friends were drinking and laughing, completely oblivious to them.
The scholar, who had clearly been holding back for a long time, suddenly stood up and kicked the stool next to the girl! The stool fell over in fright, and the child burst into tears.
"You damned scoundrel!" The child's mother immediately erupted, grabbing a wine jug and smashing it over her shoulder. Three or four men who were with her rushed forward, throwing punches and kicks, and the scene descended into chaos.
Mingda suddenly stood up. As Di Renjie's disciple, he addressed her as Princess, just as his master had done, and gently pressed her wrist: "Princess, please reconsider."
“How can we not think about it?” Mingda’s eyes flashed with fire. “But look—the shopkeeper only knows how to bow and smile obsequiously, and the customers all avoid him. This problem of ‘children crowding the market’ is not something that has arisen overnight.”
Before she could finish speaking, the scholar had already been knocked to the ground, and his mother was still grabbing his hair, yelling, "How dare you scare my son! Report it to the authorities! You must report it to the authorities!"
Mingda suddenly clapped his hands three times and shouted through the hall, "Where are the Imperial Guards?!"
In an instant, four plainclothes guards appeared and shouted, "Princess Jinyang is here! How dare you be so insolent!"
The room fell silent. Those who had been fighting, those who had been watching the commotion, and those who had wanted to avoid trouble all knelt down in unison.
---
The next day at the Jingzhao Prefecture, Mingda did not use his status as a member of the imperial palace to exert pressure. Instead, he invited Di Renjie's disciple to mediate the dispute.
The scholar, with a wound on his forehead, said angrily, "I'm preparing for the exam, and the noise is giving me headaches every day. Yesterday was the third time I've asked them to be quiet!"
The child's mother felt even more aggrieved: "Taverns are noisy places by nature. If you find it too noisy, why don't you go to a Taoist temple to study?"
The manager of Baiweilou kowtowed repeatedly: "I am in a real dilemma... If I advise them, I will offend the customers; if I don't advise them, I will also offend the customers."
After listening quietly, Mingda suddenly asked Di Renjie's disciple, "Minister Di, according to the Yonghui Code, what should be the verdict?"
Di Renjie's disciple understood immediately: "A scholar who damages property should pay for it; a parent who assaults someone and causes injury should be detained. However..." He changed the subject, "The law can determine right and wrong, but it cannot solve these everyday problems."
Mingda nodded and immediately gave the order:
"First, starting today, Baiweilou will set up three 'Quiet Halls' specifically for guests who require a quiet environment."
Second, the innkeeper will waive the cost of the wine for both parties and also provide the scholar with medical expenses.
Third, the parents must apologize, but considering their deep love for their child, a fine of one hundred coins will be waived.
Everyone was stunned—this solution was both legal and reasonable, and also humane.
……
Three days later, even greater changes truly began to emerge.
The Dongshi City Government suddenly posted a notice: "From today onwards, all taverns must prepare a number of children's toys and set up one or two quiet rooms. Waiters must learn the etiquette of 'persuading for quiet' and must not tolerate noise that disturbs customers."
What's even more interesting is that some teahouses in the West Market have put up signs for "quiet and elegant hours"—they don't accept young children during the Chen and Si hours, which has attracted many literati and scholars to go there.
Di Renjie's disciple asked Mingda with a smile, "How did the princess come up with this idea?"
“That day’s anger was like a catalyst.” Mingda leaned on the railing and gazed into the distance. “The scholar’s anger, the parent’s anger, and the shopkeeper’s fear all stemmed from long-standing problems. If it weren’t for that kick and that shock, how could there have been an opportunity for change?”
She then chuckled lightly: "I remember when I was little, there was a herb called 'rhubarb' in the imperial medicine prescriptions—it was a potent medicine that could expel stagnation and promote digestion, but when used properly, it could become a good medicine. Anger is the same."
……
After more than a month, a new trend gradually emerged in Chang'an's taverns:
Children can eat quietly with toys, and scholars can find a peaceful place to go. Some people even take young children to learn "dining etiquette".
One day, Mingda made a private visit to Baiweilou Restaurant and happened to run into the two sides who had fought earlier—
The scholar was teaching the little girl to read, while her mother smiled and said, "If you have time, would you like to come and teach these two little rascals sometime?"
Mingda and Di Renjie's disciple exchanged a smile.
As I was leaving the shop, I noticed a newly hung wooden plaque on a pillar in the lobby, which read:
"The myriad flavors of life should be savored with generosity; the myriad sounds of the world should be listened to in harmony."
The inscription at the end reads in small characters: "In the spring of the third year of Yonghui, Princess Jinyang persuaded for peace here."
At that moment, Di Renjie's disciple realized that Mingda was no longer the hot-tempered little rascal who only knew how to smash medicine bowls.
Her anger has transformed into an invisible string in Chang'an City—silent most of the time, but resonating when necessary, cultivating the serene melody of this prosperous era.
Ten days later, deeper within the East Market, the sequel to "Anger" wrote a healthy form of anger as a key ingredient in the remedy of Chang'an City.
Ten days have passed since the "stool-kicking incident" on the Shangsi Festival, but Chang'an City has transformed that angry shout into a profound and silent transformation.
Outside Baiweilou Restaurant, a small wooden shed has been added, with a newly painted plaque hanging at the entrance:
"Nu'anfang - Lend you a little anger, and return a lifetime of peace to you."
Inside the shed, there was only a table, a pot of tea, and a burner of medicinal incense.
The person sitting behind the table was not a doctor, but the scholar with the injury on his forehead from that day—Liu Chuiwen.
A thin booklet lay open in front of him, its cover bearing the title "Records of Rage and Reason in the City".
"If you are angry, calming down will bring you a hundredfold benefit; if you are angry and violent, the harm will come immediately."
Liu Chuiwen recited to the onlookers in a clear voice; his voice was not loud, but every word resonated in their hearts.
A wooden sign stands outside the shed, which reads:
"Anyone with a burning anger in their heart may come and write down their story; anyone who speaks ill of others may come and record their transgressions; anyone who intends to harm others may come and bind their fists."
The last line of small print:
"To be jointly issued by Princess Jinyang and a disciple of Di Renjie, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review."
The first person to step into the wooden shed was the first customer of Nu'anfang, the mother who once grabbed a wine pot and smashed someone—everyone called her "Zou San Niang".
She still had a hint of guilt in her eyes, and was holding the hands of two little girls.
“Sir,” her voice trembled, “that day I was so protective of my child that I almost caused a disaster. Now the child wakes up in fear every night, saying he’s afraid I’ll hit him again. I… I want to learn what ‘healthy anger’ is.”
Liu Chuiwen invited her to sit down and opened the book to the first page:
"Anger arises like a boiling spring. A spring can irrigate fields, but it can also breach dikes. Fields represent the masses, and dikes represent laws. Now, I will establish three rules with my wife—"
First, when angry, ask why: speak out if it is because of injustice, not because of personal gain.
Secondly, anger must be expressed verbally, not with fists;
Thirdly, anger must have a proper outlet: it must be directed by reason, by law, or by the masses.
After listening, Zou Sanniang was stunned for a long time, then suddenly pushed the two girls forward:
"Sir, could you allow them to come to the shed for half an hour each day? I want them to know from a young age that anger can be a shield to protect people, not a knife to hurt them."
Liu Chuiwen looked out of the shed—Di Renjie's disciple had somehow appeared, standing with his hands behind his back, nodding with a smile.
In the second month, small stalls were set up in all the taverns and teahouses in the East Market, West Market, South Market, and North Market, each with the words "Nu'anfang" hanging on it, to provide "Nu'an" services for Chang'an City.
The lessons in the studio are extremely simple:
At Chen Shi (7-9 AM), the "physiology of anger" is discussed—using the three herbs rhubarb, coptis, and bupleurum as metaphors to teach people how to control their anger using the properties of the herbs.
At 9:00 AM, the discussion on "the human nature of anger" takes place—inviting both parties involved in the conflict that day to review the cause and effect in public, each presenting their reasoning, and the audience to judge their actions.
At noon, the "Law of Anger" was explained—an old soldier sent by the Imperial Guard publicly dissected relevant articles of the Yonghui Code, making it clear to everyone:
“The law is not a shackle, but a channel that directs the flow of anger in all directions.”
The most interesting time is the hour of Wei (1-3 PM) – the "play of anger".
The children dressed up as "rogues," "shopkeepers," "scholars," and "mothers," reenacting the scene at Baiweilou that day.
When the scene of the scholar kicking the stool came on, the children in the audience shouted in unison, "Stop! What would happen if we changed the line to 'Please, young lady, don't be alarmed'?"
So the actors on and off stage worked together to revise the play until everyone was happy.
In the third month, Liu Chuiwen revised and expanded "The Record of Angry People in the Marketplace" into three volumes, and entrusted Di Renjie's disciple to deliver the third letter to the Daming Palace.
At the beginning of the volume is a letter addressed to Princess Jinyang:
Your Highness:
In the past, a moment of anger was like rhubarb added to soup, breaking up accumulations and relieving stagnation;
Today's public anger has transformed into a flowing spring that nourishes all the veins.
The students have dared to present the regulations of the "Nu'an Ward," requesting the imperial court to formalize it as the "Ever-Nu Peace Policy" in the form of law.
1. All taverns and teahouses must set up a "quiet room" and a "children's play area," and those who violate this rule will be fined;
2. Anyone involved in a fight that does not result in injury shall first be sent to Nu'anfang for three days of hearings before being dealt with according to the law.
Third, when children enter school, an additional ten days of "anger lessons" will be added to teach them the proper use of anger.
"This humble student wishes to spend his remaining years in this secluded place, cultivating a spirit of gentle courage for the Tang Dynasty."
At the end of the letter, he attached a densely packed list—
Those were the 721 "angry people" who voluntarily entered Nuanfang over the past three months.
Among them were vegetable vendors who drew their knives because their hawking was too loud, wives who smashed bowls because their husbands came home late, and scholars who wept because their exam papers were stained with ink.
Now, they write the same line of small print next to the list:
“I was once so angry that I could not control myself, but now I can return home in peace.”
In the midsummer of the third year of the Yonghui era, Princess Jinyang visited Baiweilou again and drank the bowl of tea that was still warm.
The upstairs private room remains the same, and across from it are still Di Renjie's disciples.
This time, however, there was a pot of "Nu'an Tea" on the table—made with rhubarb as the main ingredient, licorice as the secondary ingredient, and mint as the secondary ingredient; it was slightly bitter at first, but had a long-lasting sweet aftertaste.
Downstairs, children are clapping their hands and singing in the "children's play area":
"Don't get angry, get angry, let it pass through your throat first, then your intestines."
Let it transform into a word of justice, into the clear moonlight over the city.
Mingda leaned against the railing and watched as the two girls who had been frightened to tears were now tiptoeing to serve tea to Liu Chuiwen.
The scholar bowed his head and accepted it; the old scar on his forehead looked like a faint stamp in the setting sun.
Di Renjie's disciple asked softly, "Does the princess ever regret that day when she cried out, 'Where are the Imperial Guards?'"
Mingda Wan'er:
"If it weren't for that shout, how would the people of Chang'an have known—"
It turns out that anger can also have warmth, measure, and an outlet.
"So the people of the Tang Dynasty could even make getting angry look so beautiful."
She raised her glass, facing the 721 faces downstairs that had rediscovered the power of anger.
Looking at the bowl of still-warm rhubarb tea,
Facing this Chang'an city that has finally learned to warm itself with anger—
A gentle toast.