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Our guest for the grand celebration was Fred's Chinese counterpart. Fred introduced him as, Jacky Kwan. He came across as a gentle, quiet man. I had expected someone big and imposing with a stature that reflected his position in government. I also expected an elderly man, someone with decades of experience. It turned out that Jacky was actually younger than anyone of us, according to Fred, not by much perhaps, but he was younger.
Fred told us that he and Jacky had worked together in the past on several occasions, and that it was really Jacky who had invited us to come to China when the emergency situation arose. He said that Jacky had suggested this when he called him that day, before he could even ask the question. Apparently Jacky knew that we were in trouble before Fred himself was aware of it.
Jacky had come all the way from Beijing for the occasion of our celebration. He had come officially to present us a gift from the government of China in recognition of Fred's support of China in the past. He has also come for our 'official' launching of the Lu Rose. He had arrived late the previous night. Nevertheless, he had been up with us when the first beams of the morning sun hit the upper deck. He even helped Fred and I to get the upper deck set up for breakfast.
Since the celebration was to be a grand affair, the ship's heavy portable tables were laborious carried, or struggled, up to the upper deck by Tony and Ross, while the girls were getting the food ready.
It was up there, on the upper deck, in the bright morning sunshine after an elaborate meal, that Jacky presented to us his gift of a glass sculpture of a dragon poised in front of a giant lotus blossom. The combination was created by the artist in such a manner that it also symbolizes the rising sun. Jacky explained that the dragon represents the restrained power of China. Then he blushed and shook hands with Fred, and said that he regarded our presence as a part of China's rising sun. He said that he was told by an old philosopher that the brighter the sunlight becomes, the more the dragon becomes a benign power. He said that this ancient wisdom had been woefully disregarded during the last century by powerful nations that had been seeking the greatness in themselves that they believed in, but had missed the mark totally, and thereby set the stage for their self-destruction. He said that he was recognizing that China would never follow this course for as long as it would align itself with all those forces that bring sunshine into the world of humanity. He said that with that, he meant us.
Jacky told us a story that he said was also connected with the design of the sculpture. He said that the story was located far back in time in Chinese mythology.
I had assumed that this would be the opening line of a long speech. But there was no speech given. Some small talk followed the presentation of the gift, interrupted by a lot of jokes. Jacky enjoyed himself. He spoke in English, and was proud to show off his mastery of the language, although the jokes didn't stand up well in translation. The only subject that he seemed to avoid like the plaque, was politics, as if he were afraid to get into this subject at the dockside. This changed, however, once we were far out on the lake and the music of the symphony had ended.
When the grand choral ending still echoed in my mind, Steve stopped the ship, right in the middle of the great lake Poyang Hu, and asked everyone to gather on the upper deck, where he said that Jacky had something important to say to us.
This time, he had everyone's attention. He stood up and began to talk about the lake at first, about things that we already knew. He talked about the rivers that were flowing into the lake, which kept the lake fresh and productive so that it became an important resource for harvesting fish that the entire region benefited from. He talked about how the waters of Poyang Hu flow into the Yangtze and eventually into the oceans of the world. Then he compared the lake Poyang Hu to a nation that is fed by the achievements of its scientific and cultural pioneers, and all the historic achievements of mankind. He talked about the rich traditions of humanist developments in art, literature, music, scientific discoveries, and technological accomplishments, all of which greatly enrich a nation. "When these rivers flow strong, a nation prospers," he said.
"But what happens," he asked, "if the rivers become poisoned?" He said that the lake becomes lifeless, then. It dies. It becomes a stinking mess that threatens to poison everything that is touched by its waters. Jacky added quietly, "This is the state of America, today. America is dying."
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