Daughters of Shandong by Eve J. Chung

July 31, 2024

Daughters of Shandong by Eve J. Chung

The cultural revolution erupts in China in 1948, but in rural Shandong, the Ang family is living according to 10th century traditions and is more concerned about the lack of a male heir. The oldest son's wife produced only daughters, considered to be useless mouths to feed until they marry and leave. When the Communists take control of the country, the son and his parents flee, leaving his wife and their daughters behind at the family home, with little food and no money. When they are evicted, the mother and daughters decide to go to the city to try to find the rest of the family.

Based on the author's grandmother's story of fleeing China for Taiwan during the Cultural Revolution. The Chinese treated their girls like crap; they may still. And the mothers and grandmothers not only put up with it, they encouraged it. Not that the Chinese have a patent on treating daughters with disdain - my own parents weren't that crazy about having a daughter (I was the only one) and made it obvious that they much preferred my brothers, until they got old and then having a daughter to look after them was a good thing. Inspiring story but depressing at the same time.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Cutting off a man's pigtail, considered to be a sign of the ruling or wealthy class, during the Cultural Revolution