Starry River of the Sky (23 page)
Read Starry River of the Sky Online
Authors: Grace Lin
Tags: #Juvenile Fiction / Fairy Tales & Folklore - Adaptations, #Juvenile Fiction / Historical - Asia, #Juvenile Fiction / Action & Adventure - General
He watched her small figure disappear and brought the bag back to his shoulder to continue onward. But before he took another step, he looked at the tall mountain that touched the moon, its peak soaring into the sky as if holding it up. Misty clouds draped softly, but up
where the mountain met the moon, Rendi thought he could still see what he expected to be there.
There was old Mr. Shan, the Spirit of the Mountain, who sat at the mountain’s tip with the book in his lap. The three-legged toad hopped next to him. At least, it was the three-legged toad part of the time, because it kept transforming into a jade-white rabbit. As it jumped up and down, it calmly changed back and forth. Toad. Rabbit. Toad.
Above them, thousands of stars circled the moon, like twinkling fish leaping and dancing to a song of harmony that only they could hear. Madame Chang, the Moon Lady, having finished granting their secret wishes, now waited as the Celestial Rooster streaked across the sky carrying her husband, WangYi, to her. The moonlit clouds floated as if on gentle waves of water.
In the shimmering, silver light, Rendi smiled up at all of them. They were all at home, all at peace, and finally all returned to the Starry River of the Sky.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
As I mentioned in my author’s note in
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
(this book’s companion), I spent most of my childhood resisting my parents’ efforts to teach me about our heritage. It was only when I grew older that I began to value what I had learned and mourned what I had not. So, as an adult, I tried to rediscover my roots by visiting Taiwan, China, and Hong Kong. During those travels, I found myself creating stories inspired by Chinese myths I had read in my childhood.
These new stories permeated my soul and consumed my thoughts. All stories authors write, regardless of the inspirations, characters, or settings, are personal. At least they are for me. And my journey to write this book was much like Rendi’s—starting with confusion and doubt and ending with wonder, strength, and self-discovery.
When I began writing, I worried that, as an Americanized Asian, some might think I had no right to reinterpret these Chinese folktales with my own modern sensibilities (disregarding historical details such as foot-binding, for
example). Many might be offended that the myths were changed or altered at all. My worries made me hesitant to continue.
But then I remembered my travels. During my trips to Asia, I visited many temples, all of them still used for worship. I was struck by the paper offerings being burned there. Instead of just the traditional paper ghost money, paper replicas of computers, cell phones, and even electric toothbrushes were now being set ablaze. I realized that people had allowed their customs to change. The tradition had grown to fit the modern world.
I thought this was fascinating and wonderful—how myths and beliefs are and can be transformed over time. Somehow, to me, it made these beliefs more real, more “living.” And suddenly, I saw that the Asian culture was just like the characteristics that are attributed to bamboo—strong and flexible. My small adaptations would be at worst harmless and at best a new fresh sprout—and neither could injure the original stalk.
So, with those thoughts, I found peace to continue writing my stories and this book. Obviously, my intent has never been to replace the traditional retellings of Chinese folklore—in fact, I hope my book makes those unfamiliar
with the tales curious to read them. For those who already know the mythology, I hope that prior knowledge only makes my version more enjoyable. However, for all readers, my not-so-secret wish is that this book gives you the same wonder, faith, and peace that writing it gave me.
Some of the books that inspiredSTARRY RIVER OF THE SKY
Asiapac Editorial.
Origins of Chinese Music.
Singapore: Asiapac Books, 2007.
Asiapac Editorial.
Origins of Chinese Tea and Wine.
Singapore: Asiapac Books, 2004.
Carpenter, Frances.
Tales of a Chinese Grandmother.
Rutland, VT: Tuttle Publishing, 1973.
Conover, Sarah and Chen Hui.
Harmony: A Treasury of Chinese Wisdom for Children and Parents.
Spokane and Cheney, WA: Eastern Washington University Press, 2008.
Fang, Linda.
The Ch’i-lin Purse: A Collection of Ancient Chinese Stories.
New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1995.
The Frog Rider—Folk Tales from China (First Series).
Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 1980.
Han, Carolyn.
Tales from Within the Clouds: Nakhi Stories of China.
Translated by Jaiho Cheng. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawai‘i Press, 1997.
Hume, Lotta Carswell.
Favorite Children’s Stories from China and Tibet.
Rutland, VT: Tuttle Publishing, 1962.
Kendall, Carol and Yao-wen Li.
Sweet and Sour: Tales from China.
New York: Clarion Books, 1978.
Lin, Adet.
The Milky Way and Other Chinese Folk Tales.
New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1961.
Lobb, Fred H.
The Wonderful Treasure Horse: Mongolian, Manchu and Turkic Folktales from China.
Xlibris Corp., 2000.
Various.
Folk Tales of the West Lake.
N.p.: Olympia Press, 2007.
Werner, E.T.C.
Myths and Legends of China.
Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 1994.
Yip, Mingmei.
Chinese Children’s Favorite Stories.
Rutland, VT: Tuttle Publishing, 2004.
Yuan, Haiwang.
The Magic Lotus Lantern and Other Tales from the Han Chinese.
Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2006.
Some of the books that inspired Starry River of the Sky
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2012 by Grace Lin
Cover art by Grace Lin
Cover design by Alison Impey
Cover © 2012 by Hachette Book Group, Inc.
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher constitute unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
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ISBN 978-0-316-21553-4