Chinese stories… we each have our own, and I’m guessing it’s mostly a remix of clichés we picked up along the way. But every once in a while, we cross paths with a book or a movie that makes us feel there is more to Chinese culture than we know. Amy Tan’s novels have that effect on me, and I’ve decided to focus on The Bonesetter’s Daughter for today.
The story in one phrase
One woman’s forgetfulness opens up her life story to her daughter, a story of strong women, tragic events and a survival instinct of mothers and daughters in rural China, at the beginning of the 20th century.
My favourite character
Precious Auntie is the one character that stayed with me after I finished the book. The daughter of a bonesetter, she grows up thinking she is the master of her destiny, only to discover the harsh reality of women’s lives in a traditional society. She is the image of all that is positive in Chinese traditions, as well as negative. For even if her destiny proves to be tragic, the values of self respect, of unconditional motherly love and the ultimate principle of freedom are the pillars that constitute her strength.
Top 3 Details
Resilience : many characters in the book remind us that adversity challenges us to find creative solutions. The nature of our hardships might change over centuries, however, the creative, resilient, feminine structure is able to find a way towards balance.
Mother-daughter relationships : I have to confess this is a subject I like to observe in many novels that depict different cultures. The novel mirrors two mother-daughter pairs, with similar fundamental paths, as they unconsciously repeat familial patterns, but are also joined in similar conclusions. I think that in the end, we are invited to better understand our family before we judge their actions.
Chinese philosophy : The Bonesetter’s Daughter is a distressing story with strong characters, yet we often find a testimony of Amy Tan’s attachment to her chinese ancestry in small details of elegant meaning : You are beauty, we are beauty, we are divine, unchanged by time.
My favourite Quote
That is the problem with modern ink from a bottle. You do not have to think. You simply write what is swimming on the top of your brain. And the top is nothing but pond scum, dead leaves, and mosquito spawn. But when you push an ink stick along an inkstone, you take the first step to cleansing your mind and your heart. You push and you ask yourself, What are my intentions? What is in my heart that matches my mind ?
– Amy Tan, The Bonesetter’s Daughter
Yin Yang
This is most definitely a Yin novel ! Not only are we constantly surrounded by feminine energy, but even the fundamental principles of love, of shame, of submission so radical it can only call for freedom, are silently working in the construction of a moving piece of literature.
The Ritual
Amy Tan’s novels have incredible depth of scenery, so they transport me instantly to something i like to call my own MADE IN CHINA.
Chrysanthemums are representative of many Asian cultures. Still, their origin dates back to 15th century B. C. China. In Chinese art, they are one of the Four Gentlemen, or Four Noble Ones, a specific selection of four plants : the plum blossom, the orchid, the bamboo and the chrysanthemum. In line with the wide use of nature as imagery in literary and artistic creation, the Four Gentlemen are a recurring theme for their symbolism of uprightness, purity, humility, perseverance against harsh conditions, among other virtues valued in the Chinese traditions. Chrysanthemums often don’t bloom until the late days of autumn, and their colorful, cheerful flowers demonstrate perseverance in times of difficulty. This is a flower celebrated by Chinese poets for millenia :
“Plucking chrysanthemums under the eastern hedge, I calmly view the southern hills.”
Tao Yuanming (365–427)
Somewhat of an acquired taste, I only recently found pleasure in drinking pu-erh tea. I find it to be the most “unlike” other types of camellia sinensis teas, the extravagant one. It is a fermented dark tea from the Yunnan region, with a very earthy smell to it, and a sweet mushroomy taste, almost no bitterness or astringency whatsoever. It is transporting by its uniqueness, and eye-opening as an overall experience. I have only tasted a few, but I will surely continue the exploration.
Drinking pu-erh reminds me of rain, the smell of wet leaves in the forest, of cleaning the soil off wild mushrooms, and gives me the very tactile sensation of caressing a bed of moss.
The soft feeling on the very tip of your fingers… the sound it makes when you brush your hand over it… the harmony of an infinite palette of colours, silk is truly the epitome of luxury when it comes to fabric. I always knew the story of the Silk Road, so I imagined China to be at the center of that,but little did I know that Silk is a fabric first produced in Neolithic China ? The different dynasties have encouraged and transformed the craftsmanship of this material, honoured in many writings, including the philosophical work of Master Xun :
How naked its external form,
Yet it continually transforms like a spirit.
Its achievement covers the world,
For it has created ornament for a myriad generations.
Ritual ceremonies and musical performances are completed through it;
Noble and humble are distinguished with it;
Young and old rely on it;
For with it alone can one survive.
Xun Kuang, Confucian philosopher, 310 B.C. – 235 B.C.
Sometimes, it can be as easy as that : I buy myself some beautiful chrysanthemums and enjoy the ritual of composing my different vases for the rooms, I brew a nice pu-erh and enjoy the remarkable sensations it gives to my taste buds, I browse through an art catalogue and enjoy the delicate feel of a silk scarf… all this induced by a novel. An afternoon spent in China, or a dream.
Until next time, enjoy your reading, and your rituals !
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