Starry River of the Sky

These final chapters detail a creative resolution that welds myth with reality as both the mountain and the moon returned to their rightful places, ending the drought and allowing the sun to visit his wife once more. After finding his missing book, Mr. Shan becomes more confident, and this occurrence suggests that the book is both a repository of knowledge and a key part of his own identity. Similarly, Madam Chang’s promise to Peiyi in Chapter 38 is a cryptic way of revealing her true identity, for Madam Chang can simultaneously disappear and still keep her promise, for as the moon, she will always be in the sky, shining her light down for Peiyi and the rest of the world to see. Her words also emphasize the difference between someone being absent and being fully gone. “Gone” implies more than just physical distance. Jiming was gone when he was a toad. In truth, he was not very far away, but his decision to leave in anger, coupled with the uncertainty of whether he would ever return, made him feel completely inaccessible to Peiyi. Similarly, Rendi has been gone from his home for the entire novel because he also left angrily and debates whether or not to return. By contrast, Madam Jang is simply somewhere else because she is still emotionally present for both Peiyi and Rendi. In addition, she is visible to the entire world as the moon, meaning that part of her will be with them no matter what.

Just as the novel as a whole displays many examples of Storytelling as a Self-Portrait, it also implies that different versions of a story can muddle its true meaning. For example, in Peiyi’s proud version of the tale about her ancestor’s feat of moving the mountain, the man does so for the benefit of the town, not for his own selfish desires, for the mountain’s decision to move is attributed to the man’s wisdom and wit in convincing the mountain to leave. In truth, however, the man insulted the mountain because he believed his wants were more important than the mountain’s existence, and the mountain’s disappearance is therefore a punishment for his arrogance, for without the mountain to hold it up, the moon is no longer supported and falls from the sky. These two versions of the same events illustrate the sly ways in which a story’s underlying message can be twisted and transformed. While the first story portrays the events in a positive light, the latter story reveals the darker undertones of the man’s true motivations. Either way, however, the moon’s absence is a detriment to the world, and how it happened or who was to blame matters less than finding a viable solution for the consequences.

Thus, the last few chapters bring a sudden and fierce flurry of action, and the novel’s pace quickens considerably as the various threads of the story are all resolved at once. Returning to the island allows Rendi to realize who Mr. Shan and Madam Chang really are, which in turn makes him realize that the wedding party is in great danger atop the Stone Pancake, for the mountain’s return is imminent. As Rendi uses the many details of Madam Chang’s stories to divine the truth of the situation, the power of storytelling is once again demonstrated, for he acts quickly upon his to keep the villagers safe. Stealing the bride’s bracelet and leading everyone on a chase is the kind of solution that the wise yet whimsical Mr. Shan would have developed, and the scene therefore shows that Rendi has learned much from the people he has met in the village. This growth comes to a head in the final chapter when he decides to return home, thereby finalizing his transformation and character growth.