On a Chinese Screen · Chapter
XXVII: Sullivan explained
The chapter tells the story of an Irish sailor who deserted his ship in Hong Kong and spent three years wandering across China, living on his wits by begging from magistrates.
What happens
The chapter tells the story of an Irish sailor who deserted his ship in Hong Kong and spent three years wandering across China, living on his wits by begging from magistrates. His luck ran out when a magistrate ordered him beaten, which so shocked and humiliated him that he abandoned his vagrant life and became a tide-waiter for the customs service. Now settled with a Chinese wife and children, he recounts his adventures freely but remains haunted by the inexplicable beating.
Themes in this chapter
Cultural Clash and Misunderstanding
Sullivan's inability to comprehend the magistrate's harsh punishment reflects a fundamental clash between Western expectations of leniency and Chinese legal practice.
Futility of Western Superiority
Despite his linguistic skill and cunning, Sullivan is utterly undone by a single act of Chinese authority, challenging any notion of Western invincibility.
Characters to notice
- The Stranger
The Irish sailor, Sullivan, who deserted his ship and walked across China, later became a tide-waiter.
Key passages
“He was an Irish sailor. He deserted his ship at Hong-Kong and took it into his head to walk across China.”
An Irish sailor abandoned his ship in Hong Kong and decided to travel across China on foot.
Opening of the chapter introducing Sullivan's background.
“He learned it, as is common among men of his class, with greater ease than do the more highly educated.”
Like many of his social background, he picked up Chinese more easily than educated people typically do.
Observation on Sullivan's language acquisition.
“It ruined his nerve. There and then he gave up his vagrant life and making his way to one of the outports applied to the commissioner of customs for a place as tide-waiter.”
The beating destroyed his confidence, so he immediately abandoned his wandering and sought a job as a customs inspector at a coastal port.
Turning point where Sullivan changes his life after the beating.