Mao’s Last Dancer: Chapter 11: The Pen Summary & Analysis

As the Chinese New Year approaches, Cunxin becomes increasingly anxious to see his family, even though he worries that his poor grades will bring them shame. He’s so exhausted from all the tension that he sleeps most of the train ride home. Cunyuan meets him at the station and pedals him home on Dia’s precious bike. On the way, Cunxin tells Cunyuan about the hustle and bustle of Beijing, about the places he’s seen on his field trips, and about Madame Mao visiting the school. Cunyuan laughs over Cunxin’s complaints about the school’s toilets and makes him promise not to tell Niang about his homesickness. He reminds Cunxin about the harsh life he escaped, encouraging him to try harder at school.

When Niang rushes out of the house to greet Cunxin, she looks older than he remembers. But she wears the same worn and patched clothing, and her embrace feels as heavenly as ever. Soon Niang’s friends start dropping by to see Cunxin, curious about Beijing and the academy. After a while, he escapes their questions to visit his friends. That first afternoon, Cunfar retrieves a glass jar from the shed. He’s saved his prized fighting cricket from the summer, named King, to show Cunxin. But when Cunxin shakes the jar, they discover that King has died. Cunfar is devastated, and Cunxin feels sad, too; King looks like he had been a marvelous cricket.

Life in the family and the village is still very much the same, with a few small changes. The family has more—but still not enough—food to eat now that Cunyuan has started to work for the commune. Cunsang has joined the navy and will leave soon for his first post. People in the village long for hope, and Cunxin offers them stories of Beijing. His friends beg him to teach them a dance, and one day he offers to teach them some Beijing Opera Movement exercises and ballet positions. They struggle to move their bodies into the awkward, stylized poses and consider the lesson painful, un-fun, and unimpressive. Cunxin remembers Gao Dakun wrenching his body into position. He doesn’t know how to explain that dancing isn’t fun.

On Cunxin’s last night at home, Dia hands him eight yuan and an envelope containing a beautiful blue fountain pen. He says he hopes that when Cunxin uses it, it will remind him of his parents’ love and expectations. The family hopes he will bring the family pride by earning better grades next year. Since before he left Beijing, Cunxin has been expecting a shame-inducing lecture. But Dia’s carefully chosen, calm words have a stronger effect than anger. Even though his parents don’t blame him, he feels he has let them down, and he wants to do better.