Pages 124-143

History 8 China The Examination

Summary

In the beginning of this chapter, Chen and Hong leave Landlord Ma, Hong not accepting the proposal of Chen marrying the landlord's daughter, continuing their journey to Beijing. During the trip, Chen worries about Daiyun starving to death in a famine. The brothers arrived in Chongqing, the city meaning "Repeated Good Luck", but only stayed a little while before buying tickets to go down the Yangtze. Aboard the ship named Floating Lily, Chen and Hong meet an old merchant who tells them of the dangers of the Yangtze. The ship navigated successfully through the Qutang gorge. In the Wu Gorge, Hong is able to see the twelfth fairy, a symbol of good luck. During the trip down the Xiling Gorge, the merchant was impaled with a rock and thrust overboard. The merchant's death opened Hong's eyes to the sadness of death.

• Destiny
  • "If I hadn't seen the diploma with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed such a simpleminded country boy could rank at all in a district, much less rank fifth in the provincial. A miracle not likely to be repeated... You won't make it in the capital, that's certain! Not a backward boy from the Western Mountains!" (128)

• Class Distinction
  • "Rich people like the Kuo family keep huge stores of food fore emergency. Daiyun will always have something to eat." (128)

• Luck
  • "He waved in the direction of Goddess Peak, a stone pillar that stood on the tallest of mountains hereabouts. From a distance it was said to resemble the youngest of twelve fairies who guided ships along the Yangtze. Nearly always she was shrouded in mist, but to anyone who happened to see her, the Wu Fairy brought good luck." (139)

• Filial Piety
  • "Hong also felt a thrill of pleasure and not because of any possible good luck. It was caused by the old man's arm thrown familiarly across his shoulders. And it struck Hong that his own father had never done anything like it." (139)

• Mindfulness
  • "But in his eagerness to tell you things, he didn't stay vigilant. You can't do that on the Yangtze. He forgot where he was for just a moment, and..." (142)

-Emily Pedrick