“You must rely on yourself. No matter what else people may steal from you, they will never be able to take away your knowledge. The world is changing.”
Always good advice, of course, but not necessarily always advice that can be taken literally. The commencement of the 1950’s in Hong Kong was assuredly not a time and place marked by progressive liberal ideas. Political stasis was the name of the game in those years immediately following World War II which, in turn, had as its origination the ending of the Great Depression in America. What the world wanted in 1951 more than anything else was good old fashioned reliable stability to the point of predictability. The advice Ye Ye is offering here flies in the face of that global desire to return to the conventional concepts of normalcy that predated both the war and the economic meltdown preceding it.
“I often think of life as a deposit of time. We are each allocated so many years, just like a fixed sum in a bank. When twenty-four hours have passed I have spent one more day. I read in the People's Daily that the average life expectancy for a Chinese woman is seventy-two. I am already seventy-four years old. I spent all my deposits two years ago and am on bonus time. Every day is already a gift. What is there to complain of?”
The book is dedicated by the author to Aunt Baba in honor of what she describes as an unwavering belief in the inherent worth of her literary-minded niece. The two quotes here indicate that the story is heavy on philosophical reflection, contemplation, and guidance. Leading into this quote, Aunt Baba reflects upon the travails of life in China over the course of her 20th century existence. This is the period which saw British colonial interests jettisoned in favor of Mao’s Cultural Revolution; a time of extreme social upheaval, poverty, violence and suffering. Such living conditions can two distinct consequences: rejection of philosophizing or embracing of it. It is clear enough which mindset was at work in the direction chosen by Aunt Baba and the very existence of the book is evidence enough of what influence this character trait of the aunt wielded upon the niece.
“Don’t trust anyone. Be a cold fish. I hurt no one. And no one can hurt me.”
James is described by the author as the “only stepchild never singled out for punishment. That is not the only distinction that separates James from the other characters. He is also notable for being the dispenser of philosophical instruction to the author which appears to be immediately and summarily dismissed. In a book overflowing with advice that may call into the question the quality of its sageness, but never the sincerity of its well-meaning intent, the defense mechanism against emotional pain offered up by James definitely does qualify as one the narrator is quick to latch onto and hold tight. This is quite obviously a narrative told by a writer who rejects the fundamental basis of the cold fish argument and instead embraces emotions that both hurt others and cause hurt to herself. The author is an artist while James pursues civil engineering.
