A Thousand Years of Good Prayers

by

Yiyun Li

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on A Thousand Years of Good Prayers makes teaching easy.
Madam is an Iranian immigrant to the United States who lives in a retirement home in the same town where Mr. Shi’s daughter lives. She is 77 years old, two years older than Mr. Shi. She speaks little English, but develops a friendship with Mr. Shi based on their mutual connection. She wears bright colors and patterns that bring joy to Mr. Shi. They sit together on a park bench most mornings and tell each other stories, she in Persian and Mr. Shi in Chinese. They exchange some words in English, and she tells him that she believes America is a good country. Mr. Shi imagines her background and her life in Iran and believes that she must have been protected from misfortune by the men in her life. Mr. Shi, however, may be unaware of the turmoil in recent Iranian history that imposed strict rules regarding women’s behavior and may have prompted her to leave. At the end of the story, Mr. Shi sits on the park bench with Madam and feels grateful for their friendship. He appreciates the joy and vibrancy she has brought to his life, and the story concludes with him feeling like he can see the world in detail for the first time in his life thanks to her.

Madam Quotes in A Thousand Years of Good Prayers

The A Thousand Years of Good Prayers quotes below are all either spoken by Madam or refer to Madam. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Language, Communication, and Understanding Theme Icon
).
A Thousand Years of Good Prayers Quotes

“I love America. Good country for everybody.”

“Yes, yes. A rocket scientist I am in China. But very poor. Rocket scientist, you know?” Mr. Shi says, his hands making a peak.

“I love China. China a good country, very old,” the woman says.

“America is young country, like young people.”

“America a happy country.”

“Young people are more happy than old people,” Mr. Shi says, and then realizes that it is too abrupt a conclusion.

Related Characters: Mr. Shi (speaker), Madam (speaker)
Page Number: 187
Explanation and Analysis:

“In China we say, Xiu bai shi ke tong zhou,” Mr. Shi says when Madam stops. It takes three hundred years of prayers to have the chance to cross a river with someone in the same boat, he thinks of explaining to Madam in English, but then, what’s the difference between the languages? Madam would understand him, with or without the translation.

Related Characters: Mr. Shi (speaker), Madam
Page Number: 192
Explanation and Analysis:

Talking is like riding with an unreined horse, you don’t know where you end up and you don’t have to think about it. That’s what our talking was like, but we weren’t having an affair as they said. We were never in love,” Mr. Shi says, and then, for a short moment, is confused by his own words. What kind of love is he talking about? Surely they were in love, not the love they were suspected of having—he always kept a respectful distance, their hands never touched. But a love in which they talked freely, a love in which their minds touched—wasn’t it love, too?

Related Characters: Mr. Shi (speaker), Mr. Shi’s Daughter, Madam, Yilan
Page Number: 202
Explanation and Analysis:

It is what we sacrifice that makes life meaningful”—Mr. Shi says the line that was often repeated in their training. He shakes his head hard. A foreign country gives one foreign thoughts, he thinks. For an old man like him, it is not healthy to ponder too much over memory.

Related Characters: Mr. Shi (speaker), Madam, Yilan
Page Number: 203
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire A Thousand Years of Good Prayers LitChart as a printable PDF.
A Thousand Years of Good Prayers PDF

Madam Quotes in A Thousand Years of Good Prayers

The A Thousand Years of Good Prayers quotes below are all either spoken by Madam or refer to Madam. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Language, Communication, and Understanding Theme Icon
).
A Thousand Years of Good Prayers Quotes

“I love America. Good country for everybody.”

“Yes, yes. A rocket scientist I am in China. But very poor. Rocket scientist, you know?” Mr. Shi says, his hands making a peak.

“I love China. China a good country, very old,” the woman says.

“America is young country, like young people.”

“America a happy country.”

“Young people are more happy than old people,” Mr. Shi says, and then realizes that it is too abrupt a conclusion.

Related Characters: Mr. Shi (speaker), Madam (speaker)
Page Number: 187
Explanation and Analysis:

“In China we say, Xiu bai shi ke tong zhou,” Mr. Shi says when Madam stops. It takes three hundred years of prayers to have the chance to cross a river with someone in the same boat, he thinks of explaining to Madam in English, but then, what’s the difference between the languages? Madam would understand him, with or without the translation.

Related Characters: Mr. Shi (speaker), Madam
Page Number: 192
Explanation and Analysis:

Talking is like riding with an unreined horse, you don’t know where you end up and you don’t have to think about it. That’s what our talking was like, but we weren’t having an affair as they said. We were never in love,” Mr. Shi says, and then, for a short moment, is confused by his own words. What kind of love is he talking about? Surely they were in love, not the love they were suspected of having—he always kept a respectful distance, their hands never touched. But a love in which they talked freely, a love in which their minds touched—wasn’t it love, too?

Related Characters: Mr. Shi (speaker), Mr. Shi’s Daughter, Madam, Yilan
Page Number: 202
Explanation and Analysis:

It is what we sacrifice that makes life meaningful”—Mr. Shi says the line that was often repeated in their training. He shakes his head hard. A foreign country gives one foreign thoughts, he thinks. For an old man like him, it is not healthy to ponder too much over memory.

Related Characters: Mr. Shi (speaker), Madam, Yilan
Page Number: 203
Explanation and Analysis: