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The Day of the Sea Goddess
- East Asia Program, Cornell University
- Chapter
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189 The Day of the Sea Goddess March 1963. This story contemplates the theme of fate, a philosophical question that occupies a central position in several of Wang’s works. It was written during his second year of military service after he graduated from university. The setting is Nanfang’ao in Hualian, on the east coast of Taiwan. Wang was impressed by the geographic setting because of its similarity to an ancient Greek theatre. Nanfang’ao also would be the setting of Wang’s second novel, Backed Against the Sea. v It’s about twenty days after the vernal equinox and the mountainous harbor by the sea already is as hot as the deserts of Africa. Each morning the sun rises half an hour earlier than during the winter and sets twenty minutes later in the evening. Along the east coast, in deep, deserted mountain ranges filled with sandy brown earth and gigantic rocks, no trace of spring remains. Summer has marked the place. A few black vultures cruise among huge, peony-shaped clouds, circling the mountaintop all day. What can they be doing? Searching for food? Playing? At times, a gust of wind blows in from the Pacific, stirring up sand in the fishing village tucked at the foot of the mountains. Then, like an echo, dust flies on the Suhua Highway halfway up the mountain slope, creating the illusion that a fleet of cars is passing by. But there are no cars—only two buses drive past each day along the highway, one in the morning (about nine o’clock), one in late afternoon (about the time the sun sets), traversing the sky above the fishing harbor. 190 v SHORT FICTION It is a gray fishing harbor, gray as fossil remains, gray as winderoded ruins. Yet it actually has an eventful history, three-hundred years long. According to legend, three hundred years ago, the people who crossed the harbor were not of our Han race. They were naked, well-built, dark-skinned, blue-eyed giants. They came from their mountain dwellings, climbed over narrow passes, and discovered this hidden inlet. Paddling brightly patterned canoes, they were the first to struggle with the waves. It was not until the Japanese occupation of Taiwan11 that plains-dwellers appeared with their rifles and took over the harbor. But Japanese control did not last long. Two bombs from a fleet of Allied bombers ended life in the harbor. After that, it became an abandoned ruin with no inhabitants, no boats, only a couple of huts where a few sweet potato growers lived. Black vultures invaded the harbor. Still, a harbor always is a harbor, its waters eternally deep, eternally blue. After the Restoration, a bit of reconstruction work quickly brought back the fishing boats. Now the vultures have been forced to return to their mountaintop nests, hunting for food amid the clouds, circling in the rainy mist. Early this morning, two of them began their daily flight as usual. Like the rising sun, they start early. At times, they remain perfectly still in the sky, fixed like two black dots. Other times, they swoop down, waltzing like two dipping kites. The waves breaking at the foot of the mountains add a frill of snowy lace to the sandy beaches, while out on the vast sea nearby, resting on the serene blue cradle, float a few autumn leaves—the fishing vessels. The vultures cruise around for a while, remaining close to the high summits, as loyal as the guardian spirits of the mountains, apparently immune to the changes going on beneath them. Every day the waves are the same (the lacy frill), every day the activities on the sea also are the same (the floating autumn leaves). Then, with a graceful turn, the birds return to the dark forests on the mountaintop only to appear again a few minutes later, but no one knows if they are the same ones. 1. In 1895, after Japan won the Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895), China signed a treaty with Japan to cede Taiwan to Japan, which occupied Taiwan for fifty years, from 1895 to 1945. [18.226.222.12] Project MUSE (2024-04-17 20:16 GMT) THE DAY OF THE SEA GODDESS v 191 In the harbor, though, obvious changes are occurring. They began a few days ago. It is the Sea Goddess Mazu’s birthday, and for the past three days the fishermen have been making preparations for the celebration. Even now, smoke...