Pages 4-21 Summary

"The Examination" opens with a description of the main characters, the brothers Lao Hong and Lao Chen. Hong is fifteen years old and the younger of the two. He is the third son in the family and so is sometimes called "Three Brother." He is outspoken, hot-tempered, and sometimes disrespectful of authority. Chen is his older brother, the second son of the family who is sometimes called "Two Brother." At a very young age Chen showed a remarkable ability with language. At the age of four he had learned more Chinese characters than most adults ever learned.

The boys live with their father in a Chinese village in the province of Sichuan in the 16th century. Their mother has died and their father has squandered their once comfortable livelihood on drinking and gambling. Chen, who had been tutored by his educated...