Dragon's Gate

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Otter Young is struggling in his town. Many members of the town are addicted to the opium introduced by European merchants. They may kill to afford the next dose. This potential danger’s pressure is a burden on Otter Young alone. All of his male relatives have immigrated to America to send money home. During a brief respite, Otter visits The Dragon’s Gate monument. The gate is built over a rapid river, with the myth going that if any ordinary carp can manage to fight their way upstream and through the gate, then they will be transformed into a great dragon. While ruminating on this serene ideal, a Manchu soldier threatened Otter because of suspicion. In defense, he accidentally killed the soldier. The only way to escape condemnation was to join his relatives in America. His glamorous perceptions of how an immigrant worker is treated were shattered, finding himself in the Californian mountains, slaving away, pounding on stone by day, and avoiding hypothermia at night, with the constant threat of beatings bolstering indignation. That dreaded cave is his crucible, Otter’s own dragon gate. The carp becomes a dragon. With a message on becoming with peace, with effort, but without physical reward, Dragon’s Gate shows how heroes are made, and makes us question if we have yet acquired the will to value others above ourselves.