A Question for Wellington

A Question for Wellington

The Original Book Cover for A Question for Wellington
Author	Gao Wenzhong
Original title	維鈞的一个问题 (Huajiangite）
Translator	Liu Bei
Country	Huajiang
Language	Huajiangite
Genre	Moralist Fiction
Publisher	Gao'an Literary Company
Publication date	January 5, 1915
Published in English	August 12, 1928
Media type	Print
Pages	228

A Question for Wellington (Huajiangite: 維鈞的一个问题; Alphabetized Huajiangite: Wéijūn de yīgè wèntí) is a dystopian social-science novel written by Gao Wenzhong and published by Gao'an Literary Company in January 1915. A Question for Wellington is centered on questioning authority, both secular and religious, as well as scientific nature and the idea of the individual within a society. It also touches on the behaviors of those that are within a secular authority and those of a religious authority to exterme degrees and the difference of what exactly the individual has become within this kind of world.

The novel takes place in Huajiang (Renamed the Holy Kingdom in the novel; 圣王国 (Shèng wángguó)) with the lead character being a man Wellington. Wellington is a common civilian who had recently applied as a detective at a local police precinct. Within the book his thought process as a citizen of the Holy Kingdom is taken into consideration, as once he becomes a detective, he is then allowed to see the outside world. Wellington soon is introduced to the Western Republic (西共和国 (Xī gònghéguó)) from modern-day Guakok. From here he discovers the extreme differences between the two countries and becomes disillusioned with the two ideologies, with the Holy Kingdom focused on extreme theocracy and the Western Republic focused on extreme secularism. He quits his job as a detective, which to the Holy Kingdom was seen as treason and Wellington retreated to the border, where he lived in relative seclusion. The remainder of the book talks about his thoughts about both the Holy Government and the Western Republic, before fraternizing with rebels that wished to take down both authorities. The book ends with Wellington meeting his fate in a firefight in Kaiyang, which is a battle between the Holy Kingdom and the Western Republic to destroy the rebels.

Unlike other novels that Gao had published before, he had put his full name in the title as opposed to putting his pen-name, Wellington.

Plot Summary

A Question for Wellington is divided into four sections, which are then subdivided between twelve chapters, three chapters for each section. The sections are named and annotated while the chapters are simply numbered. The sections are named in order: "The Holy Kingdom", "Wellington's Thoughts", "The Foreigner from Cukobai", and "A Time in Kaiyang"

The Holy Kingdom

Wellington is a citizen of the Holy Kingdom who recently graduated from an unnamed police academy in Gao'an. He is soon scouted by the Holy Kingdom's police, as he graduated as summe cum larde from his class. He meets a woman who he dubs, "Mimi", after the Huajiangite profanity Mimi (咪咪 (Mīmī)). He takes Mimi as his lover and as an object of affection, having non-marital relations with her, something that is prohibited in the Holy Kingdom. He applies and is accepted as a detective in the Gao'an Holy Police Force, and continues seeing Mimi. His actions with Mimi are found out by his co-worker, Li Xi (李喜 (Lǐ xǐ)), who then proceeds to arrest Mimi but not Wellington out of pity. It is at this point that Wellington begins questioning his actions and his holiness, as well as his faith and belief in the Holy Kingdom. Wellington then meets his young neighbor in his apartment complex named Yu Yan (语嫣 (Yǔ yān)). Wellington meets Yu Yan's name, who are only referred to as her mother and father. It is clear that what Yu's father discusses with Yu's mother in front of Yu Yan is considered both sedition and apostasy. They begin talking about the secularist government of the Western Republic, and discuss books that are deemed heretical by the Holy Kingdom.

Wellington, instead of reporting them, begins to question his freedom and what there is outside of the Holy Kingdom. It becomes no secret as Wellington takes a book from Yu Yan's household, The Divide between the Western Republic and Holy Kingdom. Wellington begins to question the Holy Kingdom and his thinking, however does not stray from his main train of thought and still holds everything in regard of the law of the Holy Kingdom. Snapping out of it, he considered that Yu Yan's parents allowing him to borrow the book was seditious, near treasonous. He later reports to Li Xi and then his superior, Lou Ma (娄马 (Lóu mǎ)). After he finishes up researching a separate case about a missing female in North Gao'an, he completely forgets of his actions of reporting Yu Yan's parents. Once he returns home, he appears jolly, ready to discuss the book with Yu's parents. However his apartment is barred from him as a double pronged homicide took place. He is able to make it to the floor with his police identification, and sees Yu's parents shot in the apartment, Yu Yan herself missing.

Wellington's entire night is narrated, as he is unable to sleep due to being jarred from the disappearance of Yu Yan and the death of her parents as well as the police continually investigating the homicide. It is at this point he begins having more thoughts about the Holy Kingdom, between Yu Yan's disappearance, the double homicide of her parents and the earlier arrest of Mimi. In the following days, he comes across several different reports handed to him by two different co-workers, An Bei (安北 (Ān běi)) and Kai Nan-ou (開南歐 (Kāi nán'ōu)) that are either disappearances or murders of people within Gao'an, most of which have a similar background. A common denominator that is found with every victim is that they are all considered traitors of the state, having literary work or expressing thought, even in privacy, that was considered seditious and treasonous. A few days later, with questions abound in Wellington's mind, Li Xi confronts him on how close he was to Yu Yan and Mimi. He notices that this is a trick put on by Li Xi, and states that he felt zero connection to them. Li Xi hands him two folders for separate cases. He finds that Yu Yan has been missing for five days and is almost certainly dead; and that Mimi was stabbed in the basement of a brothel. Wellington is devastated from this, as it became apparent that Li Xi was the one that was behind the police handling of these cases, which were sparse and inefficient at best. Before Li Xi leaves, she tells Wellington that if he had ever fraternized with Yu Yan, her parents or Mimi that he would be considered a traitor to the state. Li Xi then reveals in openness that she suspects Wellington of having treasonous thoughts and had most likely fraternized with Yu Yan's parents before their deaths. Lou Ma enters as Li Xi exits, and does not let up on Wellington, interrogating him about what his idea of sedition is and how his view of literature about the Holy Kingdom is. He is then confronted that Lou　Ma had searched his house during his work hours, and found the book he had previously borrowed from Yu Yan's parents, The Divide between the Western Republic and Holy Kingdom. Lou Ma leaves the room, leaving Wellington alone in the room.

The entire encounter leaves Wellington jarred and scared for his safety. It is at this point that he stays late at the building, reviewing the cases that have been handed to him. He comes to the realization that if he does not do anything, he will end up as one of the cases of missing and murdered people in Gao'an, as he fits the modus operandi of the people behind the mass murders and disappearances. He then comes to another realization that his co-workers and superiors are now threats to him. Li Xi and Lou Ma suspect and know about his possibly seditious behavior while An Bei and Kai Nan-ou are considered his peers and are not unwilling to arrest him.

Wellington leaves and goes home, only to find his room broken into and his possessions in ruin. Now subdued into a state of panic, Wellington is now fully aware that Li Xi and Lou Ma may attack again, and he will end up as one of the cases that appear on his desk. He tries undressing and going to bed, but cannot. He leaves the apartment complex and begins wandering in the street, before going into a Gao'an Metro Station. It is at this point that "The Holy Kingdom" ends, with him taking a subway and leaving midway, before jumping on the train tracks and going into a random backroom within the infrastructure of the station, where he sleeps on the floor. It is here the novel is considered to blur the lines between reality and imagination, as the majority of "Wellington's Thoughts" take place within these backrooms, which are considered endless.