A Song to Drown Rivers

“They say that when I was born, all the wild geese flew down from the sky, and the fish sank beneath the waves, having forgotten how to swim. Even the lotus flowers in our gardens quivered and turned their heads away, so ashamed they were of their own diminished allure in my presence.”

These three descriptions are taken from ancient Chinese poems describing the Four Great Beauties. Xi Shi’s in particular is the about the fish drowning and relates to water, a reoccurring motif in both the novel and her actual legend as she is rumored to either drown (as in this novel) or spend the remainder of her life floating on a boat with her lover (an alternative ending in her legend). Ann Liang also makes the flower a lotus to further the water motif in the novel.

“At times, I imagined there was a fissure running through my heart, one I could not stitch up no matter what I tried.”

Another of the novel’s motifs is the pain in Xishi’s heart, a physical manifestation of her emotional distress and a reference to one version of the ancient legend. It often appears as it does here when she is thinking of her murdered little sister or is in distress about Fanli or Fuchai. When she is happy and at peace with Fanli, the pain disappears, suggesting a direct link between emotional pain and physical pain.

“For one moment, time seemed to divide, and I saw my baby sister, her round eyes, her soft face, made from everything good in the world. I saw the sword pierce her side. I saw her fall—”

This moment is the inciting incident for all of Xishi’s actions. It is the motivation for actions that might otherwise seems contrary to her inherent goodness and morality.