Tag: Chinese setting

Eve J. Chung’s—Daughters of Shandong *****

In 1948, when Mao’s army pushes back Chen kia Shek’s Nationalists’ fighters, life becomes increasingly dangerous for rich landowners like the Angs. At a family meeting, the grandmother ruthlessly decides they should all escape except her son’s wife and daughters since his wife has not produced a son. They leave for Qingdao, taking everything of value. When communist cadres arrive on their doorstep, the mother and the three daughters left behind are kicked out of their house and soon their long and treacherous journey begins.

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Yangsze Choo’s—The fox wife *****

This is a fantasy tale influenced by Chinese myths about foxes that is captivating. Bao is assigned by a restaurant owner to learn the name of the woman who died on the steps of his establishment so the owner can conduct prayers so the woman won’t haunt his business. While Bao traces his steps from a brothel back to the village where the dead woman came from, he encounters tales of a fox woman and other mysterious deaths that remind him of his childhood with Tagtaa whom he secretly adored and their fascination with foxes.

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Sue Lynn Tan’s—Daughter of the Moon Goddess*****

Xingyin lives a contented but isolated childhood with her mother, the Moon Goddess who is forbidden to leave her domain. But after Xingyin experiments with magic lights around her, the Celestial Empress visits accusing her mother of trying to escape from her imprisonment. Fearing her daughter will be discovered, she instructs Xingyin under the protection of Ping’er, to hide in the Southern Sea with Ping’er’s family. During the journey, they are attacked by Celestial soldiers and the pair are separated. Alone, Xingyin must forge a new life in the Celestial Kingdom in the hope that she can free her mother from the chains of her isolation.

Lisa See’s — Shanghai Girls *****

Two sisters, Pearl and May, lead exciting lives in Shanghai until their father’s once rich lifestyle is gambled away. Their father is forced to sell his daughters as wives to men in California seeking wives. Escaping from invading soldiers, they journey across to U.S.A. to begin new lives with the strangers they’ve married. This is Lisa See at her best.

Another five out of five is her Lady Tan’s Circle of Women. Set in Wuxi in the 1400s, Yunxian is sent to her grandparents after her mother dies and her father leaves to study for an exam. When Grandmother Ru sees the potential in her granddaughter, she begins to share her medical knowledge with Yunxian until it is time for her marriage. Under her mother-in-law, she is forbidden to practise medicine, but Yunxian cannot bear to see other women suffer because male doctors can only question women behind a curtain, thus leading to many unsuccessful diagnoses.
Set within a rich Chinese family’s compound, with customs such as seclusion of women and foot binding, this is a tale of Tan Yunxian’s life against all the richness of the times.