A Thousand Years of Good Prayers: Stories by Yiyun Li

Author:Yiyun Li [Li, Yiyun]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Short Stories (Single Author), Fiction
ISBN: 081297333X
Google: LwqyNzBklF8C
Amazon: B000SF58F4
Publisher: Random House
Published: 2007-12-17T16:00:00+00:00

Son

HAN, THIRTY-THREE YEARS OLD, SINGLE, SOFTware engineer and recently naturalized American citizen, arrives at Beijing International Airport with a brand-new American passport and an old Chinese worry. He has asked his mother to stay at home; knowing she would not, he has feared, for the whole flight from San Francisco to Beijing, that she would be waiting at the terminal with an album of pictures, girls smiling at him out of the plastic holders, competing to please his eyes and win his heart. Han is a zuanshi-wanglaowu, a diamond bachelor, earning American dollars and holding American citizenship. But even when he was at lower levels—silver or gold or whatever he was—his mother never tired of matchmaking for him. At first Han said he would not consider marriage before he got his degree. Then it was a job, and then the green card. But now that Han has got his American citizenship, he is running out of excuses. He imagines the girls his mother has collected, all busy weaving sturdy nets to catch a big fish like him. Han is gay. He has no plan to marry any one of them, nor does he intend to explain this decision to his mother. Han loves his mother, but more so he loves himself. He does not want to bring unnecessary pains to his mother’s life; he does not want to make any sacrifice out of filial duty, either.

But to his surprise, what his mother presents to him is not a picture album but a gold cross on a gold chain. A miniature of Jesus is pinned to the cross. “I special-ordered it for you,” she says. “Feel it.”

Han feels the cross, his finger avoiding the crucified figure. The cross is solid and heavy in his hand. “Twenty-four-karat gold,” his mother says. “As pure as our faith.”

“That sounds like the oath we took when we joined the Communist Youth League. Our faith in communism is as pure and solid as gold, ” Han says.

“Han, don’t make such inappropriate jokes.”

“I’m not joking. What I’m saying is that many things are circulated and recycled. Language is one of them. Faith is another one. They are like the bills in our wallets. You can buy anything with them, but they themselves hold no meaning,” Han says. His mother tries to smile, but he sees the disappointment she cannot hide. “Sorry, Mama. Of course we can’t go on without the paper bills in our wallet.”

“You talk a lot now, Han,” his mother says.

“I’ll shut up then.”

“No, it’s good you talk more than before. You’ve always been a quiet child. Baba would be happy to know that you’ve opened up.”

“It’s not easy to shut up in America. They value you not by what’s inside you, but by what’s pouring out of your mouth,” Han says.

“Yes, of course,” Han’s mother says, quickly agreeing. “But Baba would say you have to learn to listen before you open your mouth. Baba would say the more you talk, the less you gain.”

“Mama, Baba is dead,” Han says.

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