Bilingual Reading - Dotted Line

Author: (English) Conrad Zhao Qiguang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-02-01
Features: Once a person closes the small door behind his childhood, he enters a magical garden. The dark corners of the garden shimmer with hope, and every bend in the road holds temptation.
At the beginning of the novel, the young "I" resigns from his job and drifts at a crossroads in life. The old captain Giles helps "I" get an appointment and becomes the captain of another ship. The unexpected promotion makes "I" feel elated. Upon arriving in Bangkok, Deng discovers that the crew has contracted malaria. The first mate Burns, who covets the captain's position and harbors resentment towards "I," soon falls ill as well. "I" orders the anchor to be raised without hesitation. However, for several days, there is no wind, and the ship is stranded in the calm sea. The crew's condition worsens daily, while the spare quinine has been secretly sold by the deceased former captain—his ghost seems to haunt the ship. The location of his watery burial, at 8 degrees 20 minutes north latitude, looms like a shadow ahead of the ship. Burns had once resisted him, and the immense pressure drove him to the brink of collapse, unintentionally becoming a captor and spokesperson for the former captain's evil spirit.
The ship's cook, Lanscombe, remains calm, optimistic, and tenacious. Despite suffering from heart disease, he always willingly takes on the responsibility of caring for the sick crew. At the critical moment when the wind picks up at sea, he bravely steps forward to assist "I" in adjusting the sails, only to suffer a heart attack in the process. In moments of despair, "I" almost takes the same reckless actions as Burns, driving the ship to the other side of the bay, but under Lanscombe's influence, he ultimately overcomes himself and sails through the "shadow line." Through this experience, "I" matures—as everyone, whether consciously or not, has gone through their own "shadow line" in life, transitioning from carefree, passionate youth to a more self-aware, profound adulthood.
The author dedicates this story to his beloved son and to all generations of young people around the world.