Starry River of the Sky

“Long ago, so long that only the sky, mountains, and water can truly remember, six suns appeared in the sky. These six suns caused great suffering and devastation to the earth. Rain boiled away before ever touching the ground. The trees and plants withered, leaving behind only the scorched earth, burned and brown. All the villagers were forced to live like worms, crowding into an ancient dark hole in one of the hills. As they began to starve, they also began to despair.”

This passage comes from one of the stories that Madam Chang tells. It reveals the actions of the archer who shot down the extra suns in the sky and saved the world from burning, a man who is later revealed to be linked to Madam Chang. Though it is not clear at this point, this story details Madam Chang’s past, but she tells it in a way that hides her true identity, showing how stories offer understanding while also keeping crucial information hidden. These lines also emphasize the tradition of oral storytelling. The opening line equates to the well-known phrase, “once upon a time,” introducing the tale as being one from long ago and offering the idea that its events cannot be truly verified. The rest of the quotation sets the scene of the tale, describing the hardship of the heat and its effect on the people: factors that easily segue into how the conflict is resolved.

“So we crawled in the grass, like two crickets in the night. Neither of us said much, but even as we searched in silence, I was grateful he was there. I had always been told that the Chao boy and his family were awful, but right then, with the round moon glowing above, he didn’t seem so bad.

And when Jiming found the bracelet next to the sleeping rooster, I knew he was not bad at all.”

This quotation is from the story told by the neighbor’s daughter about the night that she and Jiming became friends, and it emphasizes both The Destructive Power of Anger and The Importance of Forgiveness. For years before the opening of the novel, the two families have been at odds after an incident involving snails in their gardens. The girl and Jiming have been raised to believe that each other’s families are bad, and since they never spend time around each other, they assume that this is the truth. However, when they work together to find a lost bracelet, they realize just how wrong their families are. This passage also highlights the importance of putting differences aside in moments of trouble.

“First they brought out the cricket, which had a pleasant chirp. But its sound was faint, and the sun could not hear it through the stone of the mountain.So then they brought out the tiger, whose loud, angry roars echoed across the land. But the sound enraged the sun, and it spit fire in annoyance.

They decided, then, to bring out the cow. Its relaxed lows were sure to be calming to the sun. And they were. The sun, inside the mountain, was lulled by the cow’s sound and almost went to sleep.”

These lines come from the story of the sixth sun. After the archer shoots down the first five suns, the sixth hides, fearful of being shot as well. However, in its absence, the world becomes cold, and taken with the first story about how the world burns beneath six suns, this story exemplifies the importance of finding the right balance in the world. Additionally, the animals mentioned here reflect the reverence for nature that characterizes Chinese mythology and culture. Crickets are considered honorable creatures of music that represent success and courage, and tigers are proud and powerful animals believed to be strong enough to counter disasters such as evil spirits and fires. As strong and dependable creatures, cows command respect and are important both in mythology and agriculture. These characteristics explain why the people in the story believe that these would be the animal calls to bring the sun from its hiding place.

“It was an old, ugly, warty toad, sitting on a rock in a dark puddle of water. The toad moaned again, reminding Rendi of the mournful sounds that kept him up at night. Was it this toad that had been making the wails in the sky? Impossible. Those sounds bellowed in his ears like loud thunder. This toad’s croak was at most a faded echo.”

Here, Rendi is filling the dried-up well behind the inn, and the toad he finds foreshadows several different things. The toad itself foreshadows Rendi’s later journey onto the Stone Pancake and his efforts to help Jiming return to human form. The toad’s distress also mirrors Jiming distress after having drunk the moon and implies that Rendi will play a critical role in setting things right. Rendi also later learns that the cries he thought were made by the sky were actually Jiming in his giant toad form. Here, Rendi wonders if this toad is responsible for the sounds, and his dismissal of the possibility shows that he is not yet ready to accept that there might be more going on than he understands. More broadly, the scene shows the danger of dismissing evidence simply because it doesn’t seem likely.

“At the top, he sat in complete confidence. He was sure he could meet his master’s requirements and return to learn the great secret. The sun rose and dropped, the moon filled and emptied, and Tiwu watched it all from the top of the tree. Nearby villagers, finding it easier to call up questions to someone in a tree than to climb a mountain, sent him baskets of food, which he hauled up using his rope. Soon, he began to bestow answers and advice to a steady stream of followers.”

These lines come from the story of the young apprentice who wishes to learn the sage’s knowledge. Before the sage will share his knowledge, he challenges his apprentice to sit in a tree for 99 nights, and the apprentice’s arrogance eventually causes him to fail when his confidence goes to his head. The apprentice thrives on the attention he receives, not realizing that he only receives it because he is more accessible than the sage atop the mountain. The people rely on him because he is easy to get to, not because he is wise, and this represents how knowledge may be lost when unqualified people obtain power that they may not normally have.

“During dinner, Rendi could sense everyone waiting for him. He had been late, for not only had he had to refill his buckets, they had also sprung leaks from his abuse, and he had to carry them by hand, as he had broken his pole. So when he finally entered the inn, the expectant eyes weighed upon him even more than the thick, sticky summer air.”

Here, Rendi has arrived at the dinner where he is to tell his first story, bedraggled and tired, and his situation exemplifies The Destructive Power of Anger. In the previous chapter, Rendi collected water from the only well that hadn’t dried up: a long and difficult process. In this case, the process is made even more difficult by Rendi’s own actions and his inability to control his anger. Frustrated at his situation and his past, he breaks the pole he uses to carry his buckets, and he also damaged the buckets, creating far more work for himself. In addition, this makes him vulnerable to his emotions and more sensitive to how others view him. He judges himself harshly for his actions, and so he believes that everyone else will do the same.

“‘Music reveals much about a person’s character, does it not? Emotions and thoughts are communicated by it.’

‘Oh, yes,’ Magistrate Tiger said, nodding. ‘I’ve heard you follow the ancient philosophy of music.’

‘I suppose I do.’ Duke Zhe smiled. ‘And not just music but sound itself. If a listener truly understands, he can hear what others cannot. Sentiment and sound cannot be separated.’”

These lines come from the story that Rendi tells about the dancing fish. The Rendi within the tale overhears this conversation between the magistrate and the duke, which reveals truths about all three characters. This story foreshadows the arrival of this duke at the inn, at which point Rendi’s worlds will collide. It also shows that Rendi remembers his father as a man who cares only about elevating his status and saying whatever he must to reach that goal. Rendi’s disappointment is also reflected here because he believed the dancing fish were something special for his family, only to discover that it was simply a means to an end for his father. The duke’s words also highlight Rendi’s character development. Until Rendi is ready to hear the sky’s moans for what they are—a cry for help—he thinks of them only as an inconvenience. Once he overcomes his own hurt and anger, however, he recognizes the fact that the moans express an anger and pain that is similar to his own. This realization allows him to find and rescue Jiming.

“‘He is not angry,’ their mother said unconvincingly. ‘It is just the way he must act to accomplish things.’

‘Why?’ the boy asked, scowling. ‘For what?’

Their mother was quiet for a moment. ‘For you,’ she said finally. ‘He does all this for you.’”

This exchange between Rendi and his mother comes from Rendi’s story of the three riddles. Rendi has just realized that his father only shared the riddles with him to gain the right answers for the king, not because he wanted to share something with his son. Rendi feels angry and betrayed, and he doesn’t understand why his father uses him and then discards him. His mother’s response highlights both the effect of Rendi’s father on his family, as well as the submissive role that women traditionally played in the home. Telling Rendi that his father does everything for his children fails to validate Rendi’s sense of outrage, leading to the boy’s choice to leave home. This moment gives Rendi hope that he is wrong about his father, and it also shows that parents’ attempts to deescalate conflict sometimes make things worse. Whether his mother truly believes what she says doesn’t matter. The words have the same effect on Rendi either way—giving him hope that later turns to disappointment.

“‘It was a plague of snails!’ Widow Yan said. ‘He ruined our garden!’

‘Your snails destroyed our garden,’ Master Chao said bitterly, ‘and they are still there. Those disgusting things! No good for anything!’

‘Other than causing a quarrel that breaks your families apart?’ Madame Chang asked quietly.”

This exchange between Peiyi’s father and the neighbor girl’s mother exemplifies the link between how The Destructive Power of Anger and The Importance of Forgiveness. The fight between the characters is an extension of the original fight that began the feud between their families. Though the incident with the snails happened long ago, both families still cling to the injustice their ancestors felt, even though both their gardens have thrived since then. They are so fixated on their anger that they don’t see that there is no longer a reason to be angry. Madam Chang’s statement shows how a small shift in perception changes the larger views that people hold of the world. The neighbors insist that the snails are good for nothing, but Madam Chang points out that the snails are good for keeping the feud alive and well. This forces both neighbors to acknowledge how much time has passed since the initial confrontation and also how their argument isn’t changing the situation. This realization starts them down the path of forgiveness.

“‘More guests?’ Peiyi said to Rendi. She sighed as the travelers insisted on the first-floor room in the center of the inn. ‘And superstitious ones too.’

‘What do you mean?’ Rendi asked.

‘Ghosts are supposed to gather in the rooms at the ends of the inn.’ Peiyi snorted. ‘Superstitious guests always want rooms in the middle.’”

This exchange between Rendi and Peiyi comes after the traveling traders have checked into the inn. Peiyi’s acknowledgment of the traders’ superstitious nature foreshadows the plan that she and the others use to rescue Rendi after he is captured. The traders’ desire for a room in the middle of the inn highlights the ancient Chinese travel superstition of avoiding rooms at extreme ends of inns or hotels. Rooms at the ends of hallways have fewer people pass by them, resulting in a lack of yang energy, which was believed to increase the probability of ghost’s presence. This seemingly innocuous statement is a testament to Lin’s storytelling. By having Peiyi make this offhanded remark, Lin highlights the traders’ vulnerability, and this allows the sequence in Chapters 24-26 to be believable.

“‘The other villages sound quite desperate,’ Madame Chang said from the next table. Somehow her quiet voice could be heard clearly, even despite the guffaws of the duke’s men. ‘It sounds as if they need help.’

‘Uh…er, yes,’ the duke said uncomfortably. ‘Too bad I am too busy trying to help find missing people instead.’

‘Missing people?’ Master Chao had come over to push Rendi toward the table of the two traders and stopped as he heard the duke’s words. ‘My son is missing.’

‘I’m searching for a magistrate’s son,’ the duke said with a faint tone of admonishment.”

Here, the duke from Rendi’s stories has arrived at the inn, confirming that Rendi’s tales are autobiographical. The exchange between the duke, the innkeeper, and Madam Chang offer additional context to the story world, as well as highlighting the realities of the life that Rendi left behind. The duke has just finished describing the rituals he observed in small towns along his travels, and he laughs at them because they seem “primitive” and pointless. When Madam Chang points out that the people are frightened because of the drought, the duke gets uncomfortable because he has unintentionally indicated how little he actually cares about those who occupy a lower status than his own. This attitude is reinforced when he evinces little concern that the innkeeper’s son is missing. The duke’s response implies that he neither has the time nor the desire to search for the son of a random innkeeper because he is too busy searching for the more important son of a magistrate.

“‘This toad’s noxious vapor is worse too,’ Rendi said, lowering his voice to a hushed whisper. ‘When it opens its mouth, the room fills with a disgusting, foul smell, and it poisons you until you die a horrible death. You choke, and your skin tightens and turns wrinkled and covered with warts, and your eyes bulge until you’re blind, and then you die!’

Suddenly, the flames of the lanterns disappeared, one immediately after the other, leaving the room in blackness. Liu and Fang gasped in horror while Rendi, invisible in the dark, smiled with satisfaction. He had been watching the wavering, dying light and had timed his words just right.”

Here, Rendi has been captured by the traders and just been hidden away when Peiyi comes to the room to initiate the deception regarding the Noxious Toad. Rendi doesn’t know that the toad is a trick to scare off the traders, and this scene shows how intelligent and quick-thinking he is, for he still uses the toad’s story to his advantage. In addition, Rendi uses the skills he has developed through storytelling to make his tale more convincing. Timing his words with the flickering of the lights shows how stories are helped by their audience. The reactions of the traders do just as much to make the story believable as Rendi does with his telling. When the toad does get delivered along with the wine, it looks and smells exactly as Rendi describes, which suggests that the others spied on Rendi’s storytelling to match the details he relates. This also shows that stories are universal because Rendi is able to craft a convincing story based on myth and superstition.

“When WangYi’s wife jumped to the moon and out of reach, WangYi was very angry. In his anger, he destroyed her possessions and married new wives and forbade anyone, even his children, to mention her. But his anger did not lessen, and he could not forget her. So he had pictures painted of her as a toad and told mocking stories of her being a grotesque creature that swallowed the moon. But his laughter held no joy, and every evening he cursed the moon.”

This passage comes from one of Madam Chang’s stories, and it shows The Destructive Power of Anger, for the man in this story is angry at his wife for taking his immortality pill and running away. Rather than acknowledging that her actions were inspired by his dangerously destructive behavior, he chooses to believe that she is the enemy and that she has deliberately ruined him. At first, he tries to forget her actions by eliminating any memory of her presence, and this shows how getting rid of reminders does not erase the memory itself. His second approach fails as well because he is placing blame where it doesn’t belong, and he refuses to acknowledge how angry he is with himself, not his wife. By holding on to his anger, he lets it destroy him and the life he has built.

“When he reached the top, the moon was before him, large and glowing. He saw the figure of his wife. Just as had been rumored, she was no longer a toad but was now the pale, dark-eyed Moon Lady, more beautiful than he even remembered. She stared at him, but before he could say a word, she turned in fear and began to run.

‘Don’t go!’ WangYi cried. ‘I’ve changed! I forgive you! Don’t go!’”

These lines are from the same story as the previous quotation, and they work to show The Importance of Forgiveness. Over the years, the man realizes the mistakes of his youth and recognizes that his wife truly acted in his best interests. With the wisdom of age behind him, he knows that he must seek her out and make amends. The man has forgiven her, but he has also forgiven himself for how he treated her, both before and after she left. His interaction with her shows how difficult it is to accept that people have changed. The man’s wife sees him and runs away because she remembers him as the angry, vengeful man who chased her away. It doesn’t matter that he has changed because she doesn’t wait to learn the truth.

“As Rendi put the blankets on the horses, he looked at his hands. ‘Those aren’t the hands of a rich boy,’ Fang had said. When Rendi first arrived at the inn, they had been as soft and white as freshly steamed rice. Now they were sunburned and scarred.

But they could still feel the richness of cloth. The silk of the horse blankets was cool and smooth against his skin, and the material was so fine that it did not catch even on the roughness of his fingers. For one brief moment, Rendi brushed his face against it, closing his eyes.”

Here, Rendi prepares the duke’s carriage so that the man can continue his journey, and this moment shows how much Rendi has changed, both physically and emotionally. Rendi’s hands symbolize these changes. In earlier chapters, he noted how his hands used to be smooth. Here, he remembers that smoothness even as he acknowledges that his hands have been roughened through work and experience. These marks of hard work symbolize the fact that Rendi’s time at the inn has helped him to grow. His ability to feel the cloth represents his ability to remember his former state even after all the changes he has experienced. Rendi still remembers his rich life and all it offered him, both positive and negative. Holding the fabric close shows that he misses that life and his family. However, he feels sad instead of angry, which foreshadows his ultimate choice to return home.

“‘When I said that to my mother and sister,’ Rendi continued, ‘they told me it didn’t matter. They said because I was born, our father stopped hating my sister for not being a boy and resenting my mother for not having a son. My sister even said that when I was born it made everything right and happy, so I deserved the celebration because everyone loved me so.’”

Here, Rendi tells Jiming (who is still a giant toad) the story of the “son wine”—the wine that Rendi’s father served at the celebration of Rendi’s birth. This moment offers context into Rendi’s past, as well as further insight into how women have traditionally been viewed as lesser within Chinese culture. Up until this point, Rendi always grows angry when he thinks of the harsh truths he learned about his father. Through Rendi’s stories, Lin demonstrates just how angry Rendi’s father is. Here, the story reflects the pressure that has been placed on Rendi even before his birth. As the coveted son of a man who is angry to have a daughter, Rendi holds the burden all of his father’s expectations and desires. As a result, he feels that he isn’t good enough whenever his father reprimands him, and this contributes to Rendi’s discontent at home. The son wine represents the harmful effects that a parent’s anger can have on a child. To Rendi’s father, Rendi is merely the solution to a problem, but when Rendi doesn’t perform as expected, he becomes a problem anew, leading to a rift between father and son.

“I drank and drank, trying to extinguish the fire I felt inside. I watched the reflection of the moon siphon away as I gulped and swallowed. Then, all of a sudden, without any warning, I felt as if I was going to burst.”

This passage comes from Jiming’s tale of how he became a toad and drank the moon. Prior to this scene, Jiming stormed away from home and let his anger get the best of him. When he reaches the river, he is thirsty and thinks nothing of moderation—he simply tries to drink his fill, hoping it will quench the anger burning inside him. Because he is consumed by anger, he doesn’t notice the moon until it is too late. Jiming’s actions reveal that anger can only be overcome through the conscious choice to do so. Nothing will stop people from being angry so long as they wish to hold onto their anger, and for this reason, Jiming cannot feel better no matter how much he drinks.

“‘For the night, there is the day. For the sun, there is the moon. For people to come, people must go,’ she said. ‘It is part of the balance.’

‘Why do we need balance, then?’ Peiyi said, her lower lip jutting out stubbornly.‘Peiyi, it’s like the stories,’ Rendi said, trying to be helpful. ‘When there were too many suns, people burned. When there was no sun, people were cold. It has to be even.’”

This exchange between Peiyi, Rendi, and Madam Chang takes place after Jiming has returned home and brought the problem of the moon to the villagers. The villagers agree that the moon must be taken to the king, and Jiming volunteers to go, leaving Peiyi upset that she is losing her brother all over again. Madam Chang offers these words about balance as a comfort and an explanation for why people sometimes leave, emphasizing the fact that balance does not always equate to positivity or happiness. When Rendi absorbs this knowledge and applies it, his enhanced understanding shows that he now realizes why he had to leave home and why he must return. He needed to leave his home to bring about balance there, and he arrives at the inn to balance Jiming’s absence.

“‘Madame Chang,’ Rendi asked, ‘why did you want me to tell stories?’

‘Because I wanted to know you,’ Madame Chang said, ‘and when people tell stories, they share things about themselves.’”

This conversation between Rendi and Madam Chang reflects the use of Storytelling as a Self-Portrait. Madam Chang and Mr. Shan are about to return to their true forms, and this exchange is a type of goodbye, as well as an explanation for the events that came before the start of the novel. Madam Chang needs someone with the understanding and will to help her, and though she believes that Rendi is this person, she makes him tell stories to be sure of her choice. This is because she understands that stories, even fictionalized ones, show who a person is. From Rendi’s stories, she confirms that he has the right balance of pain and desire to change himself and the world around him, thus letting him rescue Jiming, find the moon, and set the world back on the correct path.

“‘We’re breaking many traditions,’ Widow Yan said, shaking her head as Master Chao, Jiming, and Rendi brought over tea and wine as betrothal gifts. ‘No matchmaker, no bridal cakes! We don’t even know if this is an auspicious day!’

‘It’s auspicious,’ Jiming said. ‘Any day I get married is auspicious!’”

This exchange between Jiming and the neighbor girl’s mother highlights key aspects of Chinese culture, as well as the differences between generations. The neighbor is concerned about the rushed nature of Jiming’s marriage to her daughter because it breaks with many of the traditions that she has upheld throughout her life. Her worry over whether the day is an auspicious one references the importance that traditional Chinese culture places on days associated with fortune. For example, days including the number 4 are avoided for important occasions because the Chinese word for “four” sounds too similar to the word for “death.” In contrast to the neighbor’s traditional sensibilities, Jiming takes a more liberal approach. He is less concerned with traditions and the significance of the day itself, and he instead chooses to believe that the day is made auspicious by the event of his wedding.

“He didn’t believe Madame Chang had lied. She would not lie. She could not. All that he knew of her told him that her words were always pure and true. For her to lie was impossible. As impossible, Rendi thought grimly, as the moon falling from the sky.

He continued walking, and instead of thinking of Madame Chang, he began to think of Mr. Shan. Last night, Mr. Shan had looked at him with clear eyes full of endless wisdom, and Rendi began to feel hopeful confidence bubble inside him, like a flowing spring. Mr. Shan knew how to end the argument of the snails and how to save him from Fang and Liu. He seemed to know the answers to everything. Mr. Shan would know the answers now too.”

Rendi thinks this as he goes to check on the moon and Mr. Shan just before Jiming’s wedding. These thoughts show how much Rendi has changed. Rather than being angry at Madam Chang or Mr. Shan for not fulfilling everything he expected of them, he decides to trust that both have his best interests at heart. Rendi hasn’t yet figured out their true identities, but he is very close to doing so, which shows the care with which Madam Chang and Mr. Shan have woven their truths into their stories and behaviors. As a sage, Mr. Shan is wise and peaceful, and even in his disguised form, he shows these attributes repeatedly as he solves problems and takes joy in the little things. Similarly, from the moment that Madam Chang arrives, she is mysterious and seems to glow with her own internal light, just like the moon, and it is no accident that she has booked a month’s worth of lodging at the inn.

“‘The moon!’ someone whispered. ‘The mountain!’ and the voice broke into a smothered sob of joy. All of them stood breathless, drinking in the sight they hadn’t realized they had been so thirsty for. The pure light of the moon cascaded upon them, reshaping and filling them until Rendi felt transformed and bursting.”

These lines come right after the mountain and moon have been restored. The passage emphasizes the importance of the moon in Chinese mythology and culture, and it also shows Rendi’s ability to appreciate the world and his surroundings in a new way. With his character development now complete, Rendi lets go of his anger to make room for more constructive emotions such as joy and forgiveness. Seeing the restored mountain and moon give him a sense that the world is again in balance, and he also feels accomplished and content because he helped bring about this positive change. This knowledge gives him the courage he needs to return home and set things right with his father because he knows that he has the ability to fix the problems he left behind.

“It was crisp and cool the next evening as Rendi walked down the road. Billowing violet clouds were edged with pink and gold as the sun made its farewell. Small blades of grass, already green, had sprouted through the stones and made a soft carpet for his feet. His bag, slung over his shoulder, was not light but easily carried. He smiled at himself proudly, remembering his weak, feeble arms when he had first arrived at the inn. Now he felt strong and able to carry almost any burden.”

These lines come from the book’s final chapter. Rendi has set out from the inn to return home, and this excerpt of his thoughts shows him acknowledging the changes in himself. When he first arrived at the inn, he was bitter and angry, and this combined with his physical weakness to weigh him down and make the world and its problems feel heavy. Now, after everything he has learned, he no longer feels like the same person, and he finally feels ready to return home. He has learned and grown as a result of getting to know others and himself, and his newfound confidence makes him sure that he can carry the weight of repairing his relationship with his family. He also notices small details, such as the softness of the grass, in a pleasant way, which is a direct contrast to the negativity and discomfort he focused on before.