Page:Frank Owen - The Scarlett Hill, 1941.djvu/77

RV 72 (PORTRAIT OF AN EMPEROR) Larger word of Life? I am not sure that I know how to interpret it, but it has undoubtedly a certain beauty, perhaps truth. The greatest civilization, the one that survives the longest, will be the one in which education is as universal as a cooking-pot. All knowledge can find a resting place in China. It can be boiled in the cauldron of reflection and the dross drained off. Men, not walls, make a city. An army of only one traitor is large enough to overthrow the largest kingdom. A country can be conquered on horseback, but it cannot be governed on horseback. An Empire is firm when the conquering Emperor dismounts and walks among his people, when he chooses his generals as much for their steadfastness as for their might."

Chang Shou-kuei remained with bowed head. "I wish all the world, Your Majesty, might hear your gentle words," he murmured. "It is a privilege to sleep under China skies, and to belong to China."

"Today I shall make you Governor of Kua-chou. Before the sun retires, my seal shall be placed on your appointment. Go to Kua-chou. Let the legend grow. I shall not be angered by the splash of power made by your person."

Chang Shou-kuei accepted his assignment and sent story-tellers throughout the length and breadth of the land. They crouched in the sand of the desert, in the marketplaces of busy towns, and along the routes of caravans, and deftly wove their stories into a strange RV 72 (72)