Lady Tan's Circle of Women

“It’s important for women—and girls—to find friendship and steadfastness where they can.”

Miss Zhao gives Yunxian this valuable counsel that introduces the novel’s chief theme of The Power of Women’s Alliances. In a culture that does not value women or respect female labor, Miss Zhao suggests that women must look out for one another as a survival mechanism, which proves to be the case.

“It means that goodness can grow from difficulties. Adversity can sprout into triumph.”

The saying “no mud, no lotus,” explained in this way, becomes a catchphrase between Yunxian and Meiling, an encouragement they give one another at several points in their lifelong relationship. The theme of turning adversity to triumph coheres with the value that is placed on female alliances, as females have small social value in this culture.

“I’m lucky to love your grandfather, but most men—other doctors, especially—don’t like to see us succeed. You must always show them respect and let them think they know more than you do, while understanding that you can achieve something they never can. You can actually help women.”

Grandmother Ru’s instruction confirms to Yunxian The Subordinate Status of Women and the importance of appearing subservient while still being of service to the family and larger society, the Confucian ideal. Grandmother Ru knows the medicine that can actually support women’s well-being, while male doctors, as Yunxian sees during her mother’s illness, are restricted in their ability to understand, diagnose, or treat women’s reproductive health.

“No matter what I do or where I go, I must live as a proper Confucian woman: When a girl, obey your father; when a wife, obey your husband; when a widow, obey your son. My entire life will be limited to a total of three places: the house where I lived with my parents, the Mansion of Golden Light, and my future in-laws’ compound and garden.”

Yunxian acknowledges the “Three Obediences” that govern her life, but the longing for interaction with the outside world provides internal conflict and motivates her character arc, introducing The Conflict Between Tradition and Ambition. While aware of how cultural traditions restrict women, she seeks ways to lead a fulfilling and engaged life within the enclosure that contains her.

“Hair-pinning days are the shortest and most precious time in a woman’s life, for a girl is like a camellia—perfect for one moment before it drops from the branch at the height of its beauty.”

Miss Zhao’s advice to Yunxian before she leaves for her marriage reflects how women are valued by their attractiveness and usefulness to men. The analogy of the camellia also suggests how women are admired for being lovely and delicate. Miss Zhao, as part of Yunxian’s circle of women, is advising Yunxian on this new phase of her life in place of the mother Yunxian lost.

“This moment is called ‘the great coming home,’ for it is said Heaven has preordained this union, but how can I feel anything but anxious—and scared—to see the place, family, and husband that have been set for me by destiny?”

Yunxian’s feelings as she approaches her husband’s home on her wedding day reveal her inner conflict about submitting to tradition. She wishes to conform to the ideals of her culture, but she also feels emotions of hesitancy and concern, speaking to The Conflict Between Tradition and Ambition.

“I have not done the one thing I’m supposed to do, which is get pregnant with a grandson who will guarantee her husband’s direct line and provide for her when she goes to the Afterworld.”

Yunxian’s mother-in-law, Lady Kuo, serves as a foil and antagonist to Yunxian during the early days of her marriage. Lady Kuo shares the belief that birthing sons is a woman’s primary function in the family and in life, while Yunxian harbors the contrary wish to value women by seeing to their health.

“I can survive most of these blows, but I will not give up who and what I am—even if that means hiding my actions by practicing medicine in secret.”

Yunxian thinks of practicing medicine as part of her identity; she bows to rules and her mother-in-law’s authority but refuses to concede this longing to have an outlet for her talents, reflecting The Conflict Between Tradition and Ambition. This decision shows Yunxian reshaping her grandmother’s advice to “be a dragon” (104); here, she will observe, and then act.

“Even when we’re separated, my thoughts are with you. The ties that bind us have been knotted even tighter.”

After her first child is born, Yunxian and Meiling reaffirm their friendship, and Yunxian is glad to have Meiling’s company and support. These female relationships nourish and support her, speaking to the theme of The Power of Women’s Alliances.

“It’s my obligation as Maoren’s wife to provide a son who’ll see to these responsibilities when he dies. Extra sons won’t hurt. But I need to give birth to that first important son, who’ll carry the burden of protecting the family and guaranteeing its future for generations to come.”

One of Yunxian’s character conflicts for much of the book is the need to bear a son for the Yang family. This cultural value on males is part of what makes Yunxian long to help women, while the restriction of her function and value to this one act fosters a resentment that in time makes her physically ill.

“In life and medicine, we always return to harmony and disharmony […] Yin and yang are always in movement—buoying and changing each other.”

The emphasis on balance and harmony reflects the prevailing model that governs Chinese medicine, philosophy, and spirituality. This need for balance plays out in the relationship of Yunxian and Meiling, who as characters and friends balance and complement one another.

“It may not be decorous to say aloud, but we women—rich, poor, educated, and uneducated—are at the mercy of our bodies: the cycles of blood, the patterns of energy, the depth and complexity of our feelings. Heaven has nothing to do with any of that.”

As she matures, Yunxian feels a growing resistance to the beliefs articulated by her culture, for instance when Doctor Wong repeats a platitude about predestiny and faith. Yunxian is frustrated by the medical system’s reluctance to fully acknowledge or address the specific differences women experience due to their reproductive organs and their shared existence, no matter their social status, inside a patriarchal social system.

“I consider Maoren to be a good man—and he is by most measures—but Grandfather was right about him. My husband was born in the Year of the Dragon, and he’s vexed by some of the Dragon’s worst attributes—especially refusing to accept failure with grace.”

As with her response to Doctor Wong earlier, a maturing Yunxian perceives the flaws in individual men while still acknowledging—and observing—the cultural value of obedience. The belief that the sign governing the year of one’s birth can affect personal qualities reflects a common Chinese belief, just as the Western zodiac is thought by some to influence lives.

“Although the Hongzhi emperor is traditional in his thoughts and deeds, women have more opportunities in Beijing than where we come from. Here you can find women who are moneylenders and merchants. And the empress’s doctor is a woman! You!”

Miss Zhao, who travels with Yunxian to Beijing, notes the contrast between women’s roles in the capital city compared to their provincial city of Wuxi. Expressing this greater freedom, her trip to Beijing allows Yunxian the opportunity to see more of the outside world, playing out The Conflict Between Tradition and Ambition that she experiences throughout the book.

“‘I have striven to make the palace a place of good thought and proper acts.’ The emperor’s voice is not at all what I might have imagined, if I’d ever given a moment’s thought to it. He sounds like a regular man—like my husband or my grandfather.”

Yunxian is surprised that the emperor’s larger-than-life authority does not manifest as a man more than human. Just as she is able to question the decisions of other men in her life, Yunxian speaks up to challenge the emperor’s decision to kill Meiling, demonstrating the importance of this female friendship and also her need to see justice done. Her intervention to save Meiling’s life reflects The Power of Women’s Alliances.

“The midwife continued her duties […] never once abandoning her responsibility to the empress. The midwife was prepared to give her life and that of her own baby. One did not survive. Do you now punish this woman who has already paid so much to do what is right and proper?”

Yunxian shows courage when she speaks before the emperor and speaks to the woman’s condition, which is to serve and submit, no matter what this sacrifice costs her. As a doctor, Yunxian feels that all lives have value and all people deserve care. She does not believe that the emperor’s sensibilities should matter more than Meiling’s loss, grief, and sacrifice.

“Each morning I pierce a vein in my wrist, let the blood drip into a cup, add tea brewed with healing herbs, and hold it to her lips. During the day I keep my wrist bound with gauze. Even so, blood seeps through—like red ink stains—until evening, when I fully open the wound again and make Meiling another cup of tea enhanced with my life force.”

For Meiling’s sake, Yunxian breaks the taboo on handling blood to tend her. According to the medical beliefs of the time, Meiling needs the element she has lost, which is blood, to heal. Blood has a symbolic resonance here as well as a practical function, invoking The Power of Women’s Alliances.

“My tears of happiness begin. I’ve accomplished my main duty as a woman: to provide a son who will care for the Yang family ancestors through offerings and prayers.”

Yunxian’s joy is mixed with relief when she at last gives birth to a son, fulfilling what has been imposed upon her as her primary responsibility as a woman. The irony of this single-minded focus is revealed by the Epilogue, when the postscript to Yunxian’s book by her great-nephew reveals that the male Yang descendants are eliminated by imperial persecution. Yunxian’s legacy will be her medical records and service—not her descendants.

“Could there be anything harder in the cosmos than turning my back on my mother-in-law, son, and servant? My heart pounds in my chest and my breasts ache, but I retrace my steps, pick up the satchels, and go to the entrance to the Garden of Fragrant Delights.”

Whereas earlier Yunxian longed to practice medicine and was forbidden, now she is compelled to put aside her family in order to provide doctoring skills to those stricken by smallpox. Her service to her family is subordinated here to her higher calling as a doctor, reflecting The Conflict Between Tradition and Ambition.

“I wish I were a giant gingko tree hundreds of years old, with the deep roots it takes to stand strong against mighty winds. Instead, I feel like a sapling in a typhoon, desperately trying to hang on.”

In a book not heavy on imagery or figurative language, this image stands out as Yunxian describes the exhaustion and despair she feels as her patients die of smallpox, despite her best efforts. The gingko tree, native to China, grows tall and extends roots deep into the soil; it is hardy and resilient. Yunxian, by contrast, feels her strength fading under the strain of her various duties.

“Anger […] Often when I get to the root of a woman’s ailments, anger is the spark, the fuel, and the creator of ash.”

In the medical model she practices, emotions can influence the body and physically manifest as illness. In one of her last conversations with her grandmother, who has been a pillar of her circle of women, Yunxian identifies anger as the root of many of women’s ills—a result of the frustration they feel at living in a culture where they are valued so little and restricted so much due to The Subordinate Status of Women.

“I have no words to reassure her. Few options exist for a woman like her. Watching her leave with only the clothes on her back, the scars on her face, and her child is sad beyond measure.”

Miss Chen’s expulsion from the Garden of Fragrant Delights, because she is no longer considered “beautiful,” vividly demonstrates how women and children are considered the property of the man, according to the values governing their society. Here again, Yunxian recognizes the costs to women when they are considered to exist only to please or be useful to men.

“‘Listen to your mother-in-law, but follow your mother’s example: Obey, obey, obey, then do what you want.’ I never could have imagined that my mother-in-law and I would one day find a way to laugh together, and yet we have.”

As Yunxian sends Yuelan off to her marriage, she has a moment of bonding when Lady Kuo at last enters Yunxian’s circle of women. Lady Kuo recognizes that Yunxian has held her own heart and her own path even while outwardly conforming to cultural expectations and traditions, reconciling The Conflict Between Tradition and Ambition.