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 6 Journey up the Han River MOONLIGHT ON THE HAN RIVER The clouds of sunset Gather in the western sky, And over the silent silvery Han Rises a white jade moon. Not often does life Bring such beauty. Where shall I see the moon Next year? —su tongpo, song dynasty (960–1278) At dawn on May 1, 1894, the Ronnings arrived on the banks of the Han River to board the passenger junk Man-Kan and sail six hundred miles up the Han as it winds in innumerable S-bends to the walled-in twin cities of Hsiangyang and Fancheng, known today as Xiangfan. Halvor was eager to show Hannah the new mission station he had established in the commercial city of Fancheng directly across the Han from the official city of Hsiangyang. Hannah had become accustomed to the chaos of Chinese waterfronts, but when the morning sun rose over the scene she became as excited as a child watching a parade. Before her lay a colorful panorama of swaying masts from a variety of vessels that navigated the rivers, creeks, and canals of China. Fruit and vegetable boats were piled high with yellow melons and green winter cabbages. Close to shore, hawkers on the tea boats with shining stained-glass windows were selling hot brews. Billows of steam and appetizing odors rose from the floating kitchens sculling between the rows of houseboats that never moved from their anchorages. Boat people, considered inferior, were not allowed to live on shore. Faded blue laundry hung from bamboo poles on the decks of their floating homes. Hannah sympathized with these humble folk who were born, married, and died on their boats. Saffronrobed Buddhist monks floating around on canopied chamber-boats (Lou-Shan) 58  arriving in the middle kingdom with shimmering shrines were always ready, for a small donation, to solemnize weddings or say a prayer for the repose of the spirits of those unfortunates who had perished in the river rapids unwept, unsung, and uncounted. Sigvald Netland and his new wife had a boat to themselves while the three Ronnings with baby Nelius; their adopted Chinese son, Wang; and Miss Hoden- field boarded a larger junk, the Good Success. The name was painted in Chinese characters on the high-pooped stern behind the open toilet holes. Fierce bulging eyes to espy the underwater rocks and dragons defended the prow. Hannah carried Nelius piggyback over the rickety gangplank extending from the bank over the water to the deck while Halvor carried Wang, who was terrified of the water. The mainmast, one solid piece of wood rising from midship, was topped with fluttering strips of red paper bearing propitious exhortations such as: May this vessel scorn tempests from whatever quarter of the heavens they may come, and From every side of the compass may fair winds blow. The patched, bamboo-rigged sails were still furled on the boom. Two rough wooden pavilions on the stern, painted black with a green border to indicate that Hankow was home port, were to serve as their living quarters for the next two weeks. The cabin was so low that Halvor could barely stand up. The foredeck was piled with rope, poles, and sculling oars. The hold served as the kitchen and living quarters for the cook and the eightman crew. Trackers could be hired near the rapids to pull the junks upstream. After the mooring taxes were paid, the captain beheaded two chickens as sacrifices to the river deities. As the boats cast off, everyone on shore bashed gongs and beat drums. Firecrackers exploded to propitiate the spirits of the wind and water (fengshui). By the time they unfurled the sails, Nelius, who was just learning to walk, was in such a state of excitement that he skidded across the deck and was caught by his father only seconds before he would have plunged into the water. Hannah harnessed a rope around his waist as she had seen the Chinese mothers do. At last, they were on their way to open the first China Inland Mission in the interior of China. The next day the junks were slowed by the failing wind as they rounded a bend in the river. To prevent the boat from being swept downriver with the current, trackers were hired to pull the boat upriver. Hannah and Thea watched in wonder as a slight barefoot coolie shimmied up the mainmast to attach the bamboo cable running from the trackers’ harnesses...

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