Falling Leaves by Adeline Yen Mah
SUMMARY:
There is a superstition in China known as Ke Xing which says that the baby that causes the death of her mother during child birth is considered to have something stronger than the mother's spirit, which is considered bad luck. Adeline's mother died in giving birth to her. Falling leaves is the true story of Adeline Yen Mah. It told of a person that was discriminated and emotionally abused by her family for all her life since her birth, all her life she suffered and was punished by her family from something she was innocent of and didn't do. To understand this, a brief background of her family history should be known.
Adeline's Father Joseph Tsi-Rung Yen came from a rich family in Shanghai. He was born in 1907. During the time when Shanghai was divided into foreign concessions He was born and raised in the French concession where citizens were ruled by the French, under French law, French police, and French troops. He went to a French missionary school and became baptized as a Catholic. Everything around Adeline's father, Joseph was French. Adeline's father suffered from colonialism. To him, the lowliest French citizen was higher than the highest Chinese Mandarin. His Sister on the Other hand, Adeline's Aunt Baba never stepped into advanced education because it could be considered detrimental to the marriage prospects of young girls. Only the ignorant women were virtuous. - Confucius. Adeline's Grandfather and Grandmother played a great role in her life, just as her Aunt Baba did, for they were the ones that stood by her and encouraged her during her childhood. Adeline's Grandfather Ye Ye was successful during his time and many mei-po (professional female marriage broker) were constantly coming up to him, he was then arranged to marry Adeline's 15 year old grandmother who came from a suitable Shanghai family, Grandma. They were married in 1903. Grandma was a very witty woman though she had difficulty walking because her feet were
There is a superstition in China known as Ke Xing which says that the baby that causes the death of her mother during child birth is considered to have something stronger than the mother's spirit, which is considered bad luck. Adeline's mother died in giving birth to her. Falling leaves is the true story of Adeline Yen Mah. It told of a person that was discriminated and emotionally abused by her family for all her life since her birth, all her life she suffered and was punished by her family from something she was innocent of and didn't do. To understand this, a brief background of her family history should be known.
Adeline's Father Joseph Tsi-Rung Yen came from a rich family in Shanghai. He was born in 1907. During the time when Shanghai was divided into foreign concessions He was born and raised in the French concession where citizens were ruled by the French, under French law, French police, and French troops. He went to a French missionary school and became baptized as a Catholic. Everything around Adeline's father, Joseph was French. Adeline's father suffered from colonialism. To him, the lowliest French citizen was higher than the highest Chinese Mandarin. His Sister on the Other hand, Adeline's Aunt Baba never stepped into advanced education because it could be considered detrimental to the marriage prospects of young girls. Only the ignorant women were virtuous. - Confucius. Adeline's Grandfather and Grandmother played a great role in her life, just as her Aunt Baba did, for they were the ones that stood by her and encouraged her during her childhood. Adeline's Grandfather Ye Ye was successful during his time and many mei-po (professional female marriage broker) were constantly coming up to him, he was then arranged to marry Adeline's 15 year old grandmother who came from a suitable Shanghai family, Grandma. They were married in 1903. Grandma was a very witty woman though she had difficulty walking because her feet were