Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See
From the publisher: According to Confucius, “an educated woman is a worthless woman,” but Tan Yunxian—born into an elite family, yet haunted by death, separations, and loneliness—is being raised by her grandparents to be of use. Her grandmother is one of only a handful of female doctors in China, and she teaches Yunxian the pillars of Chinese medicine, the Four Examinations—looking, listening, touching, and asking—something a man can never do with a female patient.
From Marya Johnston: Though this book is based on the real life of Tan Yunxian, a female doctor in 1400s China (that’s right, I said the 1400s!), at its core, this is a story about women. How they support each other, how they can undermine each other, how they cultivate lasting, deep friendships.
You will be captivated from the start of this book, as Yunxian sees her mother die from complications of foot binding. Lisa See can absolutely and effectively relate the horrors and pain of foot binding, which was practiced for a millennium in China. Raised by her doctor grandparents, Yunxian befriends the midwife’s daughter, Meiling, and it is this class difference between the two that plays out through the book.
Though Yuxian is privileged, an arranged marriage and bound feet make her a caged bird. Meiling, on the other hand, is a much more free woman. This begs the question even now, do women who are “haves” really have it better? This is a great read!
