The Several Blessings of Wang Ta-nien by Hua-Ling Neih

The relationship between Ta-nien, his wife Wen-chin, and their friend, the Sage, an integral part of this piece, is revealed more through their dialogue than through any separate description provided by the author, and serves to characterize them all. Ta-nien is brazenly optimistic, coming up with get-rich-quick schemes that he drags Sage into. Sage is down on his luck and relies on his friend for help, and thus feels obligated to go along with his schemes, in spite of the much higher risk on his side. And Wen-chin acts as a catalysts between them, never happy and trying to get both men to see reason. But in some ways these characterizations are an act, especially Ta-nien. In acting so confident that things are improving, that the Nationalists will soon return to power, he gives hope to others in exchange for his own ability to confide his fears. As is revealed explicitly in the last line, he has to pretend that he is unafraid; he is not as confident in his words as he appears. This can also be seen in his daily ritual-- every day he gets up and does the same thing to try to improve and bolster himself, and every day that list hangs looser and looser from its failing tape, no longer giving the satisfaction that it once did. Through the use of dialogue and details of the lives of the characters, Hua-Ling Neih makes them far more complex and interesting than a simple description could ever manage.