Shaoyi sighed shakily as he set the porcelain doll down to dry. It was the last one for the day and he was glad. He rubbed his one hand with the other—sore from a long day of painting.
He looked again at the small figurine and wondered at its significance. Why would someone buy something so small and plain? What did it mean?
The figure was of a newborn child. He was lying in some sort of trough filled with dried grass. He seemed to Shaoyi a cast-off. What kind of parents would put their child in a feeding trough? What was the story behind this forgotten child?
“I must know,” he decided as he placed the finished piece on a table full of completed figures.
Shaoyi forgot all these questions when he left the factory. But the next morning his curiosity returned when he picked up the dried figure.
As he did, he looked around at the other work stations. The painters were not encouraged to talk to each other. It interrupted production. So Shaoyi quietly got up for a break. As he did, he peeked in on the other workers and watched them as they painted.
One woman was just finishing the eyes of a beautifully sculpted face. So deep was the expression of awe and joy on this young girl that Shaoyi longed to touch it.
Next to her, a young man was working on the robe of a tall figure. The face was weathered and wise. His shoulders sloped under some great weight.
Another painted a boy with an instrument. The man waved him over and whispered, “I’ve done it this time . . . see how his face shines! How I wish I could hear the song he plays.”
Shaoyi went on more quickly now, nervous that his “break” was becoming too long. He came upon a man that was working on three figures at once. The colors were bright and rich. The three seemed to be a set.
Shaoyi said to the man, “What do you think these men are doing?”
The man answered, “I’ve been doing this for 15 years, and everyday I make up stories about what these three kings could be doing. One day they are on a great mission, the next they are being worshipped in their throne room. But after all this time, I still can’t decide on their true purpose."
Shaoyi made his way back to his desk and finished out the rest of the day, wondering with each stroke how this small child fit in with the other larger figures of the set.
Later that afternoon, Shaoyi was finishing up at his work station when he heard a noise. Most of the other workers had gone, and he was working late to finish one last piece. He got up to follow the noise and found himself opening the door to a large room. A chair was overturned at the table, but he saw no one.
Shaoyi picked up the chair and sat down in front of an aggregate of figurines. They were all the pieces he had seen his co-workers painting plus a small shelter. Apparently, this was where all the pieces were assembled and packed in a box. But how did they all fit together? What was the story?
He picked them up one-by-one and examined their faces and dress. Then he noticed that the piece he had been working on was not included in the set. “Then what is the child for?” he muttered to himself.
Shaoyi began arranging the figures in the set. At first he arranged all the figures around the three kings. They must be the focus of attention with their beautiful crowns and expensive items. But the kings looked distracted as if they were the ones watching someone else.
So, he picked up the boy and his instrument and put him in front as if he were giving a concert. That didn’t work either because the boy’s song seemed too personal and intimate for it to be a performance.
Shaoyi was getting tired, and he dropped his head into his arms and fell asleep. It had been a long day and the warm room was making him sleepy.
Suddenly the full set of figurines animated into life as he dreamed. First he saw the empty shelter. It was brown and dirty with the moon streaming through a window. A few cows were gnawing on the hay that lay in a manger. Soon there was a commotion outside the shelter door, and several dozing birds fluttered from their nests. The beautiful woman entered with tears streaming down her face. She was obviously pregnant and it was time for the baby to be born. The weary man scooped some hay into a pile that became her bed and held her hand as she writhed in pain.
Soon the baby was crying in his mother’s arms. As they sat looking at the child, they heard the sound of a wooden flute echoing down the path. The mother laid the child in the cow’s feeding trough as a shepherd entered with his sheep. He bowed low before the baby and began to tell a marvelous tale of an angel’s message. “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” *
He no sooner finished his story, than he was joined by another set of visitors who showed the same face of wonder. They were three kings with brightly colored clothes and shiny crowns. They brought gifts and presented them to the woman as gifts for the child who was to be a king.
The mother looked at each guest and at her husband. She then glanced towards the new baby. As she touched his forehead, the whole scene froze—capturing every bit of the awe and wonder that Shaoyi saw on the faces of the porcelain figurines.
When he awoke, each of the figures was positioned just as it had been at the end of his dream—except there was no child. As Shaoyi rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, he realized that he held the baby figurine. He looked at it with wonder—realizing that his hope had been revealed. He now understood the story and believed.
With new joy, he placed the baby in the center of the bowing figures and smiled as he looked down upon the completed picture. He said to his new King, “I wondered what part such a small child had to play, but now I know that you are the center. Thank you for letting me be part of your story.”
*Luke 2:10-12, NIV
(We first wrote this story in 1999. It was part of an idea for a nativity set designed to help people imagine how people from other countries might perceive the Christmas story. We ended up creating a small nativity with this story for family and friends but have never shared it online. We hope that it helps bring the story of Christ's birth to life in new ways through the eyes of this young Chinese factory worker.)
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| Read more Generous Mind Christmas reflections here! |
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