Daughters of Shandong

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2024

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Prologue-Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Book Club Questions

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

The Jade Bangle

Jade, a metamorphic rock that can naturally occur in several colors, has long been attributed with special qualities in Chinese culture. It was historically used in tools as well as ornamental and sacrificial objects. As Hai notes, “The Chinese believe that, over time, jade absorbs the aura of its bearer, and its color will change to reflect that energy” (335). Mom’s jade bangle is a deep green, which signals the qualities that Hai most admires in her: She is beautiful, graceful, and strong.

The jade bangle is an important family heirloom and symbolizes the connection and nurturing ties between women, who otherwise are not accorded much value in traditional Chinese culture. Mom’s mother, Hai’s Lao Lao, wore the bracelet for many years, and both Mom and Hai believe it has become imbued with her essence. The jade bangle, a gift at Mom’s wedding, represents the love and nurturing of her birth family as well as their goodwill. During her marriage, the jade bangle becomes a relic of an easier, kinder past when Mom’s present is difficult and her future uncertain.

Mom carries this valuable item throughout their journey, a symbol of her own hidden value, and admits to Hai, “I treasure this bangle because it is a way for me to hold on to my past” (336). However, Mom goes on to tell Hai, “my past is not nearly as important as your future” (336). Selling the jade bangle to pay for Hai’s exam fees gives Hai a chance at a career and a secure economic future. In sacrificing the bangle, Mom tries to give Hai the opportunities she herself never had, turning it into a symbol of maternal sacrifice and love.

Hai’s Calligraphy

Hai’s ability to read and write becomes a useful skill and also a symbol of the inner worth that she clings to even when her culture tells her girls are of less value than boys or men. Initially, her skill indicates her family’s status, as it is a luxury to educate a female child. Learning calligraphy also represents Hai’s intelligence and curiosity, as she enjoys learning.

Later, while they are living in Hong Kong, Hai’s calligraphy becomes a symbol of her ambition and determination as well as her wish to demonstrate the worth of girls. Though she meets resistance and ridicule, especially from those who dislike the competition, she makes a success of her small business of writing letters for others. Her ability to earn money to help support the family proves her worth despite what others say. The callus she gains from holding her writing brush is evidence of her own hard labor.

Later, Hai builds on this determination and ambition when she enters school in Taiwan. She learns another language, though it is difficult, and makes every effort to succeed, even sneaking in to eavesdrop on the cram school. Her eventual success provides evidence of her skill and sense of personal value.

Lan’s Legs

Lan’s legs become a powerful symbol of the suffering that the Ang women survive during their perilous travels and the opportunities they forge for themselves. Like the tuberculosis that kills Three, Lan’s disease stands in for the many dangers that face a young child during this time period, when vaccinations are either not known or not easily available. After Lan survives tuberculosis, her legs are damaged: “[S]he could bear weight only on her right leg; her left leg hung limply. Lan could only crawl, pulling herself forward with her arms and kicking her right leg for support” (148). Lan survives because her family all help take care of her, showing how important communal support can be for those experiencing disability, displacement, or extreme poverty.

When she becomes an elementary school teacher in Taipei, Hai saves up money for a surgery that will repair Lan’s legs, “reducing her limp and eliminating her pain” (360). This shows how Hai has taken advantage of the opportunities her mother forged for her. Hai’s husband Jia-Shen helps pay for the surgery, proving he is a man who can accept gender equality in his marriage. While the success of the surgical correction isn’t described, Lan’s new legs symbolize the achievement of Hai’s cherished dream for financial security, independence, and the opportunity to overcome historic barriers for women and people with disabilities.