The Last Mapmaker

Paiyoon’s eyeglass is said to be made from a dragon’s inner eyelid, which allegedly shows “the true nature of a thing” (123). For part of the story, the eyeglass serves as a symbolic archetype from the Hero’s Journey, for it arguably serves as a magic tool that the hero needs to complete her quest. Paiyoon gives Sai the eyeglass when he is forced off the ship, adding, “How can you see what you need to see without a good eyeglass?” (255). This supposition is upended when Sai recognizes Rian’s treacherous nature without needing to resort to magical measures to discern truth from lies. Thus, the eyeglass symbolizes both conscience and instinct, the traits that Sai actually needs to recognize Truth, Lies, and Self-Deception.

Maps take on a dual symbolic role in the story. In one sense, they symbolize the quest for truth and knowledge. As Paiyoon tells Sai, “[T]hese little maps can teach us a lot if we know how to look at them” (92). On a superficial level, they are made to record and share geographic knowledge, and as such, they are widely assumed to be an objective and accurate reflection of the physical world. Yet Sai soon learns that many factors are at play behind the scenes of mapmaking, and she comes to realize that the very integrity of the mapmaking industry is tainted by the grasping goals of war and profit-seeking.

Due to the Imperialist Agenda of State-Sanctioned Exploration, maps also symbolize flawed perceptions and even deliberate distortions of the truth. Whenever a war is won, the conquering nation takes the liberty of redrawing the maps, changing the boundaries, and giving all the conquered lands new names. The underlying landmasses, representing the world’s objective truth, never actually change, but humans cover the landscape with layers of their own subjective values and beliefs. Ultimately, Sai herself actively distorts truth in her map of the Sunderlands, but her goal is not one of conquest; instead, she seeks to create a deterrent so that people will not be drawn to destroy the Sunderlands for profit and personal glory. Paiyoon, the inspiration for the book’s title, is considered the last mapmaker because his old-fashioned mapmaking techniques are becoming a lost art, suggesting that truth and honesty are becoming rare qualities.

Dragons also take dual meanings. In the form of the Ouroboros—the circular emblem depicting a dragon devouring its own tail—the dragon is used by the Kingdom of Mangkon to embody its motto: The Tail is the Teeth. This means that where a person ends up depends on where they start. In other words, one’s birth determines one’s destiny. In this sense, the image of the Ouroboros reflects the theme of Social Class and the Limits of Upward Mobility by representing class inertia. On the other hand, living dragons such as the Slake represent the victims of imperialist exploitation and destruction. By witnessing the protective instincts of the Slake, Sai connects the abstract ideas of imperialism to a living creature that is trying to protect its home and offspring.