Events Round Walled Ti-Foo explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Survival and Resilience

  Tian adapts to his capture, turns a misunderstanding into a captaincy, and later escapes treachery through quick thinking and resourcefulness.

• Wisdom and Cunning

  Tian uses wild horses to encircle Ti-foo, and later uses a copper hoop as a weapon; the spy uses disguise to deliver a message.

• Fate and Destiny

  Tian's accidental walk into Ah-tang's camp is seen as an omen; Ning's fate is sealed by using the magic sheaths, and Tian's marriage to Mu is seen as destiny.

Characters to notice

• Tian

  Protagonist of the chapter; joins Ah-tang's band, leads the encirclement of Ti-foo, enters the city alone, escapes on a flying horse, steals the magic sheaths, and later marries Mu.

• Ah - tang

  Usurper who neglects the Classics; commands Tian after the head incident and leads the siege of Ti-foo.

• Ko’en Cheng

  Important official of Ti-foo; sends a surrender message but is persuaded by a spy to hold out, then betrays Tian.

• Ning

  Tian's father; receives the magic sheaths but is projected into the Outer Upper Paths after using them.

• Leou

  Placed an incantation on the box of magic sheaths, but it is ineffective against Tian.

• Mu

  Daughter of Ko'en Cheng; sends a message to Tian and later marries him.

Key passages

• “Doubtless he would have reverently submitted his cause to the inspired decision of the Sticks, or some other reliable augur, had he not, while immersed in the consideration, walked into the camp of Ah-tang.”

  He would have consulted fortune-tellers, but he accidentally walked into Ah-tang's camp.

  Shows Tian's reliance on omens and the accidental nature of his decision.

• “Misunderstanding the exact requirement, Tian returned at the appointed time with the heads of the five who had charge of him and the excuse that in those times of scarcity it was easier to keep one head than five.”

  Tian misunderstood the order and killed his guards, returning with their heads instead of his own.

  Highlights Tian's resourcefulness and the dark humor of the situation.

• “For the first time in the history of opposing forces he tamed the strength and swiftness of wild horses to the use of man, and placing copper loops upon their feet and iron bars between their teeth, he and his band encircled Ti-foo with an ever-moving shield through which no outside word could reach the town.”

  Tian was the first to use wild horses in warfare, creating a mobile blockade around Ti-foo.

  Describes Tian's innovative military tactic.

• “Then Tian, recognizing that he was unarmed, and that a decisive moment had arrived, stooped low and tore a copper hoop from off his horse’s foot. High he swung its polished brightness in the engaging sun, resolutely brought it down, so that it pressed over the sword-warrior’s shattered head and hung about his neck.”

  Tian used a copper hoop from his horse's foot as a weapon to kill the swordsman.

  Demonstrates Tian's quick thinking and improvised weaponry.

• “Thus bereft, Tian was on the point of giving way to a seemly despair when a message concerned with Mu, the only daughter of Ko’en Cheng, reached him.”

  Just as Tian was about to despair, he received a message from Mu, Ko'en Cheng's daughter.

  Introduces the romantic subplot and Tian's eventual marriage.