The Farthest Shore
Read the storyIn the tumultuous and glittering Shanghai of 1924, a naive American missionary finds his faith and identity shattered by a passionate, anonymous affair with a powerful Chinese man, forcing them both to confront the impossible chasm between their worlds. The year is 1924. ELIJAH GREENE (20s), an earnest and devout American missionary, arrives in Shanghai, a city of stark contradictions and overwhelming sensuality. He is a man of rigid moral codes and a singular mission: to save souls and serve God. He expects to find poverty and spiritual need, but instead is confronted by the dazzling, cosmopolitan excess of the foreign concessions, a world of jazz, decadence, and unbridled ambition. Elijah takes up residence in a modest boarding house on the border between the French Concession and the Chinese sector. It is run by MADAME SU (50s), a sophisticated and observant woman who tends to turn a blind eye to her tenants' lives. On his first night in the city, a chance encounter introduces him to HAO (20s), a captivating and enigmatic Chinese man. Hao is part of the new Chinese elite, a class of comprador merchants and industrialists who have grown immensely wealthy amidst the political turmoil of the Warlord Era. Their connection is immediate and charged. Their physical relationship begins that very night, a desperate, passionate act that shatters Elijah's preconceived notions of sin and self. Elijah has a chance encounter with WEI (20s), a young, politically active Chinese intellectual and acquaintance of Hao's from a different circle. Wei is a stark contrast to Hao's apolitical nature, passionately discussing the rise of Chinese nationalism and the need for revolution. He sees the foreign presence in Shanghai as an affront to Chinese sovereignty and views the wealthy Chinese elite—like Hao—who cooperate with them as part of the problem. This brief, tense exchange with Wei further highlights the political and social chasm that separates Elijah and Hao, as well as the different paths the new generation of Chinese men are taking.