Archive for May 26, 2009
SHANGHAI GIRLS by Lisa See
Shanghai China in 1937 is known as the “Paris of the East.” It is a thoroughly modern, international city, with a large foreign community. There is also a heavily populated Little Tokyo section, where Japanese residents promote “Friendship, Cooperation and Co-prosperity between China and Japan.”
May 26, 2009
Tags: 1930s, Add new tag, Chinese, immigration, Shanghai, Sisterhood Posted in: Diaspora 
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SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN by Lisa See
SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN is an epic tale which chronicles the lives of two Chinese women, Lily and Snow Flower. Set in a remote area of Hunan Province, Lily was born in 1823, “on the fifth day of the sixth month of the third year of Emperor Daoguang’s reign.” During her lifetime, Lily lives through the reigns of four emperors. Most Chinese girls had their feet bound and spent their lives in seclusion in nineteenth century China. Isolated and illiterate, they were not expected to think or to express emotions. They were expected to bear sons. However, the fortunate women living in Hunan villages of the Jian-yong region were exempt from some of this harsh oppression. They were taught to write a special women’s language and they were allowed, on occasion, to form special friendships.
May 26, 2009
Tags: Chinese, Epic Posted in: 19th Century, China, Facing History, Fiction based on Time Period, Women's Fiction No Comments
