![]() ![]() Today, many years later, when her life is coming to an end, she finally remembers what she asked the Moon Lady: she asked to be "found." She also forgets many of the details of the day. Ying-ying rushes backstage and there, she sees the Moon Lady pull off her hair, drop her gown, and she realizes that the Moon Lady is a man.Īlthough Ying-ying is rescued by her family, she never believes that she is the same girl. When the play ends, the Moon Lady announces that she will grant a wish. Instantly, she is enchanted by the pageant and by the beautiful, soft-spoken Moon Lady. She is put on shore, where she watches the Moon Lady performing. By now, there are so many boats on the water that Ying-ying cannot see her family's boat. ![]() ![]() She is caught in a fishing net and dumped on the deck of another boat. She turns to find the Moon Lady and slips into the water. The amah shrieks in terror when she sees Ying-ying covered with blood but gratefully strips off the soiled garments when she realizes that the child is unharmed.Īlone on the back of the boat in her undergarments, Ying-ying waits as the moon rises. Panicking, she rubs more turtle blood over her clothing, thinking that no one will notice her transformation. Later, she watches a servant gut fish, chickens, and a turtle, and, with alarm, she realizes that her new outfit is flecked with blood and fish scales. Ying-ying watches some boys send a shackled bird into the water to catch fish. The excitement wanes, however, and after the meal, everyone settles down for a nap. The children race around the deck of the floating pavilion, delighting in the ornate decorations, the pretty garden area, and the bustling kitchen. She became increasingly restless until, finally, the servants began to load a rickshaw with provisions, and the family climbed aboard and departed for the river.Īrriving at the lake, they discover that the air is no cooler there than it was inland. Ying-ying recalls that the departure was delayed because the adults talked. The Moon Lady is not an ordinary person, the amah explained. Ying-ying remembers that her amah told her that soon they would see Chang-o, the Moon Lady, who becomes visible on this day only, and when people see her, they can ask for one secret wish to be fulfilled. Ying-ying was restless her nurse (her amah) had dressed her in the heavy silk jacket and pants that Ying-ying's mother had made for her daughter to wear to the Moon Festival. ![]() The Moon Festival fell on a very hot autumn day. It was not always so on the night when she was four years old, she shared her thoughts with the Moon Lady. She and her daughter can no longer hear one another because Ying-ying rarely voices her thoughts. In contrast to that loss and eventual reclamation, Ying-ying explains that today, as an old lady, she realizes that she and her daughter have suffered similar losses, and she wonders if these losses will ever be recovered. She feels as though she has not only lost her family, but that she has also lost her "self." As an old lady many years later, Ying-ying poignantly tells how she "lost herself." She says that she surrendered her identity as she felt herself being transformed into a shadow, insubstantial and fleeting. Four-year-old Ying-ying, who has fallen overboard, is desperate to be "found" - to once again be reunited with her family - and with herself. The drama in which the Moon Lady is a major character concerns the loss and reclamation of cultural and individual identities. ![]()
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