From my post last month about Shanghai Girls, it is clear that I am thoroughly enamored with Lisa See. I finished Snow Flower and the Secret Fan this week--another informative read. Like Shanghai Girls, Snow Flower and the Secret Fans is a sorrowful read.
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan takes place in the 1800s and centers around the relationship of two loatong, "old-sames." Snow Flower and Lily signed their laotong contract at the age of seven basically agreeing to be best friends for life. Having a laotong raised one's status and marriageability and enabled Lily and Snow Flower to have a friendship that went beyond their childhood "daughter days" into their adolescent "hair-pinning days" into their married "rice and salt days." Most women's friendships ended when they got married and moved to a new village, but laotong, like Snow Flower and Lily, communicated through letters using nu shu--phonetic writing exclusive to women.
In addition to following the joyous, sorrowful and surprising moments of Lily and Snow Flower's friendship, the book also gave graphic and fascinating accounts of foot binding and a picture of the women's realm in 19th century China. While men where (and are?) clearly favored in Chinese society, the women had a unique culture all their own.
Have you ever heard of nu shu? Does anyone know when both Chinese women and men began to use the same alphabet?
1 comment:
Didn't know about "女书“ The two characters translate to 女＝woman 书＝book. But I guess it's not surprising given the lowly status of women in old/traditional Chinese society. Women back then were not allowed to go to school and learn. This is reflected in a famous Chinese story, about a girl who disguises herself as a boy so that she can go to school. Despite this one radical idea, the story develops into a kind of sad Disney film- girl gives up all her dreams and goals when she falls in love with her classmate and then kills herself eventually in a Romeo and Juliet style ending.
But it is still the case that men are favored/more valued even in present day China.
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