Buddha's Verdict

To most Chinese, the oral cavity of the late Marshal Wu Pei-fu, poet, puppet-reject, warlord extraordinary, was a wonder. It contained the tongue of a fox, and many teeth of gold. When he died last week, the cause was announced by the Japanese as a bad dental abscess; but two days later Peking heard a story which made it sound more like bad judgment.

Several months ago the Japanese Army gave a general named Kawamoto the sole job of persuading Marshal Wu to play puppet. Learning that the good Marshal was a great student of Buddhist classics, Major General Kawamoto sought to ingratiate himself by studying Buddhism as Wu's disciple. The Marshal gladly expounded the Master's life, the Buddhist Canon, the four Truths. One day last month, thinking he had won the Marshal's heart, General Kawamoto suddenly switched the subject from pulpiteering to puppeteering. Would Wu Pei-fu play? "No!" thundered the Marshal.

General Kawamoto went to Shanghai for consultations, returned, begged the Marshal importunately. Firm as the Great Wall, Wu Pei-fu again refused.

"Then," said the General, "I shall commit hara-kiri in your front court."

Marshal Wu was touched. "Wait," he said. "Let me ask Buddha."

He then ascended a sacred platform, knelt before the benign, adipose image, prayed for divine guidance in drawing an answer from a set of specially prepared lots. As he was praying, the altar attendants, who were obviously in the pay of Japanese, stacked the lots, so that Marshal. Wu drew:

Emerge and save your people; otherwise you might meet unexpected mishaps.

Marshal Wu, striking a table with his fist, cried: "Not only the Japanese compel me, but God also! Well, the answer is still NO."

Two days later the honest Marshal had a "toothache"; 13 days later he died. General Kawamoto also fell mysteriously ill, but he was up & around in plenty of time to be at Marshal Wu's bedside when death came to the only honest warlord in China.

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