Lise See’s latest novel is set in China in the Ming Dynasty of the 15th century. The novel opens with 8-year-old Tan Yunxian being trained by her mother, Respectful Lady, on how to be proper lady.
She tells her daughter, “Whether animal or woman, we are a man’s possessions. We women exist to give him heirs and feed and clothe and amuse him.” Which included the anguish of binding her feet so that they stayed small, a sign of wealth and privilege. Yunxian leads a very sheltered life behind the walls of her father’s property. Early in the novel her mother gets an infection from her foot bindings and dies suddenly from sepsis. This event is life-altering, to say the least.
She goes to live with her paternal grandparents, who are doctors. Her grandmother was one of the first female doctors in China. Grandmother Ru begins to train her to become a doctor, a process that will take years. She teaches Yunxian the pillars for Chinese medicine and the Four Examinations which are looking, touching and asking. This is something a man could never do with female patient. Tan Yunxian was a real-life character who became a famous doctor who published a compendium of thirty one medical cases called “Miscellaneous Records of a Female Doctor.”
While living with her grandparents, she makes an unlikely friend. Meiling is the daughter of the local midwife who delivered the babies born in their palace. Meiling is destined to be a midwife like her mother, a career that is looked down on because they come in contact with “corrupting blood.” But at the same time midwives are considered indispensable because male doctors cannot look at or touch their female patients.
Yunxian was promised in marriage as a teenager. She went to live with her husband’s family in their palace. Her husband was handsome and kind but was very busy with his work. Yunxian was very lonely for a while and felt unwelcome by her mother-in-law, who belittled and criticized her. After a while, she began to fit in with the other ladies in the palace.
The title of the book is accurate. Yunxian relies on other women for support. She is surrounded by women who are available to help her during different times of her life. They include her father’s concubine, Miss Zhao; her personal maid, Poppy; Grandmother Ru; Midwife Shi; and many others who reside in the palace.
Yunxian and Meiling remain friends, but the friendship is sometimes strained due to the class differences. In spite of their somewhat strained friendship, she remains in Yunxian’s friendship circle.
Even though Yunxian is a doctor and had suffered the agony of foot binding, she binds her three daughters’ feet and celebrates over each broken bone. Foot binding was first outlawed in 1911 but continued in some areas until the 1950s.
See does a great job of describing the traditions for women in China. “Lady Tan’s Circle of Friends” is a compelling novel of women helping each other,
“Lisa See is the New York Times bestselling author of Lady Tan’s Circle of Women, The Island of Sea Women, The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Peony in Love, Shanghai Girls, China Dolls, and Dreams of Joy, which debuted at #1. She is also the author of On Gold Mountain, which tells the story of her Chinese American family’s settlement in Los Angeles. See was the recipient of the Golden Spike Award from the Chinese Historical Association of Southern California and the Historymaker’s Award from the Chinese American Museum. She was also named National Woman of the Year by the Organization of Chinese American Women.” (lisasee.com)
Cathy Lay Mayor grew up in Cullman and graduated from Cullman High School in 1976. She says when she writes book reviews, she tries to remember what Mrs. Gilbert taught her in 11th-grade English. She lived in Dothan for more than 30 years and is married with three adult children and six grandchildren. She retired to Panama City, but still calls Alabama home.
