Chinese Cinderella
By: Adeline Yen Mah
By: Adeline Yen Mah
*Summary*
Adeline Yen Mah is born into a rich and privileged family, but she is considered to be bad luck due to the death of her mother during complications in giving birth to her. As a result, she is neglected by her father, Joseph Yen, a successful businessman and her four siblings. When her father remarries, her Eurasian stepmother, Jeanne Prosperi (whom the children called "Niang", which means Mother)treats her and her siblings coldly while spoiling her own children and soon Jun-ling's older sister, who was their leader. (Jun-ling's half-brother and half-sister) " Adeline Yen Mah was born in Tianjin, China. Her mother died two weeks after her birth and Adeline was considered to be a source of bad luck by her family. Her father remarried a beautiful Eurasian woman one year later. She was half French and half Chinese and divided the Yen family into two different classes. Adeline's father, aunt, grandfather, stepmother and her two children were the upper class, where as Adeline and the four other step-children by the first wife were considered second class." Niang was described as a stunningly beautiful woman, who had a French father and a Chinese mother. To show this, she wore beautiful and expensive jewelery and clothing made in France. She is depicted as a cruel and manipulative woman. She married Joseph Yen, Adeline's father, when she was 17 years old. In marrying him, she also gained five Chinese stepchildren. She gave each of them (including Adeline) their European names: Her Big Sister, Jun-pei became Lydia, Her Three Brothers, Zi-jie, Zi-lin and Zi-jun were called Gregory, Edgar and James. Later her Step-mother gave birth to two children called Franklin and Susan ( Jun-qing ) Her two children of her own: Franklin and Susan which are spoiled rotten while Adeline is treated terribly. Jun-ling struggles for her father's attention and affection. She comes top of her class every week, bringing home a badge or a certificate. It works but it also makes her siblings turn on her as she starts getting most of the very little attention that her father gave to the children from his first marriage. Adeline makes friends, but due to her parent's strict rules, cannot invite them over, or go over to their house. She is sent to many boarding schools around China, but she is never visited by her parents. When she lives at home, Aunt Baba, her beloved aunt, and Ye Ye, her grandfather, treat her kindly. However, she is separated from them by Niang. Eventually she is sent to live at a boarding school in Hong Kong, where she finds much happiness. Her friends become suspicious when no-one ever visits her or brings her gifts. She wears the same, small outfits. Adeline is very intelligent and enters a writing contest. Surprisingly to her, she won and gained her father's acknowledgment. At her desperate pleading, her father agreed to send her to college, but not for what she would like to do,writing,but for medical school instead. She does not really care, because it is a way out. The book ends here. In her real life, she is reunited with her brothers in London and eventually finds love and settles down and has two kids.
*Non-Fiction*
1.) How has reading this book changed your opinion of a certain person or topic?
Yes. I do not view Chinese like many other people have tried to persuade me to think of them. Most of them do not have a choice of becoming what they are. Most of what they do is not by choice nor because they think they are better than other people so they have to continue shoving eduction down their throat. Chinese children are like other children. They want to have fun. they want to be kids. The old traditions kick in and they have to grow up at a young age to carry a strong family name and bring honor to their family.
2.) What did you find surprising about the facts introduced in this book?
This book really opened my eyes to the things going on in China. this book was very interesting because it was not an ordinary autobiography. This book kept my attention because it started off as a story and as it progressed it continued to be very shocking so I continued to think it was a story. I thought that there was no way a child could through so many cruel punishments and then the way her parents treated her was astonishing. They wanted her to be a true Chinese daughter and over in china that is a big deal. I was surprised at the fact that majority of the households treated their children like that, especially the daughters.
MY LIKES ABOUT THIS BOOK WOULD HAVE TO BE THE FACT THAT EVEN THOUGH IT WAS AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY, IT WAS NOT BORING. THE AUTHOR DIDN'T ADD ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION THAT MADE HER STORY ABOUT HER LIFE DRAG ON. FROM ONE MOMENT TO THE NEXT, I COULD NEVER PREDICT WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT. I ALSO LIKED THAT THE AUTHOR STILL HAD HER LANGUAGE IN THE BOOK. SHE WOULD SAY A WORD IN CHINESE FIRST AND THEN TELL YOU WHAT IT MEANT IN ENGLISH. THE AUTHOR ALSO HAD THE SYMBOL FOR THE NUMBERS 1-100.
MY DISLIKES ABOUT THIS BOOK WOULD HAVE TO BE THE FACT THAT IT WAS ALL TRUE. I DID NOT LIKE THAT SHE ACTUALLY WENT THROUGH ALL THAT TURMOIL. I ALSO DIDN'T LIKE THAT HER PARENTS NEVER APOLOGIZED FOR THE WAY THEY DID THINGS. THEY WERE HEARTLESS AND STAYED HEARTLESS EVEN UNTIL THEY DIED.
Adeline Yen Mah is born into a rich and privileged family, but she is considered to be bad luck due to the death of her mother during complications in giving birth to her. As a result, she is neglected by her father, Joseph Yen, a successful businessman and her four siblings. When her father remarries, her Eurasian stepmother, Jeanne Prosperi (whom the children called "Niang", which means Mother)treats her and her siblings coldly while spoiling her own children and soon Jun-ling's older sister, who was their leader. (Jun-ling's half-brother and half-sister) " Adeline Yen Mah was born in Tianjin, China. Her mother died two weeks after her birth and Adeline was considered to be a source of bad luck by her family. Her father remarried a beautiful Eurasian woman one year later. She was half French and half Chinese and divided the Yen family into two different classes. Adeline's father, aunt, grandfather, stepmother and her two children were the upper class, where as Adeline and the four other step-children by the first wife were considered second class." Niang was described as a stunningly beautiful woman, who had a French father and a Chinese mother. To show this, she wore beautiful and expensive jewelery and clothing made in France. She is depicted as a cruel and manipulative woman. She married Joseph Yen, Adeline's father, when she was 17 years old. In marrying him, she also gained five Chinese stepchildren. She gave each of them (including Adeline) their European names: Her Big Sister, Jun-pei became Lydia, Her Three Brothers, Zi-jie, Zi-lin and Zi-jun were called Gregory, Edgar and James. Later her Step-mother gave birth to two children called Franklin and Susan ( Jun-qing ) Her two children of her own: Franklin and Susan which are spoiled rotten while Adeline is treated terribly. Jun-ling struggles for her father's attention and affection. She comes top of her class every week, bringing home a badge or a certificate. It works but it also makes her siblings turn on her as she starts getting most of the very little attention that her father gave to the children from his first marriage. Adeline makes friends, but due to her parent's strict rules, cannot invite them over, or go over to their house. She is sent to many boarding schools around China, but she is never visited by her parents. When she lives at home, Aunt Baba, her beloved aunt, and Ye Ye, her grandfather, treat her kindly. However, she is separated from them by Niang. Eventually she is sent to live at a boarding school in Hong Kong, where she finds much happiness. Her friends become suspicious when no-one ever visits her or brings her gifts. She wears the same, small outfits. Adeline is very intelligent and enters a writing contest. Surprisingly to her, she won and gained her father's acknowledgment. At her desperate pleading, her father agreed to send her to college, but not for what she would like to do,writing,but for medical school instead. She does not really care, because it is a way out. The book ends here. In her real life, she is reunited with her brothers in London and eventually finds love and settles down and has two kids.
*Non-Fiction*
1.) How has reading this book changed your opinion of a certain person or topic?
Yes. I do not view Chinese like many other people have tried to persuade me to think of them. Most of them do not have a choice of becoming what they are. Most of what they do is not by choice nor because they think they are better than other people so they have to continue shoving eduction down their throat. Chinese children are like other children. They want to have fun. they want to be kids. The old traditions kick in and they have to grow up at a young age to carry a strong family name and bring honor to their family.
2.) What did you find surprising about the facts introduced in this book?
This book really opened my eyes to the things going on in China. this book was very interesting because it was not an ordinary autobiography. This book kept my attention because it started off as a story and as it progressed it continued to be very shocking so I continued to think it was a story. I thought that there was no way a child could through so many cruel punishments and then the way her parents treated her was astonishing. They wanted her to be a true Chinese daughter and over in china that is a big deal. I was surprised at the fact that majority of the households treated their children like that, especially the daughters.
MY LIKES ABOUT THIS BOOK WOULD HAVE TO BE THE FACT THAT EVEN THOUGH IT WAS AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY, IT WAS NOT BORING. THE AUTHOR DIDN'T ADD ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION THAT MADE HER STORY ABOUT HER LIFE DRAG ON. FROM ONE MOMENT TO THE NEXT, I COULD NEVER PREDICT WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT. I ALSO LIKED THAT THE AUTHOR STILL HAD HER LANGUAGE IN THE BOOK. SHE WOULD SAY A WORD IN CHINESE FIRST AND THEN TELL YOU WHAT IT MEANT IN ENGLISH. THE AUTHOR ALSO HAD THE SYMBOL FOR THE NUMBERS 1-100.
MY DISLIKES ABOUT THIS BOOK WOULD HAVE TO BE THE FACT THAT IT WAS ALL TRUE. I DID NOT LIKE THAT SHE ACTUALLY WENT THROUGH ALL THAT TURMOIL. I ALSO DIDN'T LIKE THAT HER PARENTS NEVER APOLOGIZED FOR THE WAY THEY DID THINGS. THEY WERE HEARTLESS AND STAYED HEARTLESS EVEN UNTIL THEY DIED.
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