About the Novel:
Chinese Cinderella: The Story of an Unwanted Daughter is a memoir by Chinese-American physician and writer Adeline Yen Mah describing her experiences growing up in China following World War II. Born the fifth child of a wealthy Chinese family, Adeline (also known as Jun-Ling) was viewed as bad luck because her mother died after giving birth to her. Often abused and mistreated by her stepmother and ignored by her father, Adeline had to find her own way in the world find a way to accomplish her dreams.
About the Author:
Adeline Yen Mah was born in Tianjin, Republic of China on 30 November 1937, to Joseph Yen (Yen Tse-Rung), a businessman, and Ren Yong-ping, an accountant. She had an older sister called Lydia (Jun-pei) and three older brothers, Gregory (Zi-jie), James (Zi-lin) and Edgar (Zi-jun). She has stated in Falling Leaves that she did not use the real names of her siblings and their spouses to protect their identities but she did, however, use the real names of her father, stepmother, aunt and husband, while referring to her paternal grandparents only by the Chinese terms 'Ye Ye' and 'Nai Nai' .
Her legal birthday is 30 November, as her father did not record her date of birth and instead he gave her his own (a common practice prior to the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949). Two weeks after her birth, her mother died of puerperal fever and according to traditional Chinese beliefs, Yen Mah was called 'bad luck' by the rest of her family.
Her legal birthday is 30 November, as her father did not record her date of birth and instead he gave her his own (a common practice prior to the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949). Two weeks after her birth, her mother died of puerperal fever and according to traditional Chinese beliefs, Yen Mah was called 'bad luck' by the rest of her family.
Why Teach Chinese Cinderella?
" I have always cherished this dream of creating something unique and imperishable, so that the past should not fade away forever. I know one day I shall die and vanish into the void, but I hope to preserve my memories through my writing. Perhaps others who were unwanted children may see them a hundred years from now, and be encouraged. I image them opening the pages of my book and meeting me (as a ten-year-old) in Shanghai, without having actually left their own homes in Sydney, Tokyo, London, Hong Kong, or Los Angeles. And I shall welcome each and every one of them with a smile and say, "How splendid of you to visit me! Come in and let me share with you my story . . . because I understand only too well the rankling in your heart and what you are going through." - Adeline Yen Mah