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1 AfterawhileIsaid, Whendidmymama die? ThoughIwasonlyfouryearsold, , ,theyworkedtogetherinabankinShanghaiowne dbyourgrandaunt, , ALSO AVAILABLE IN LAUREL-LEAFBOOKS:THE HERMIT THRUSH SINGS,Susan ButlerBURNING UP,Caroline B. CooneyONE THOUSAND PAPER CRANES,Takayuki IshiiWHO ARE YOU?,Joan Lowery NixonHALINKA,Mirjam PresslerTIME ENOUGH FOR DRUMS,AnnRinaldiCHECKERS,John MarsdenNOBODY ELSE HAS TO KNOW,In-grid TomeyTIES THAT BIND, TIES THATBREAK,Lensey NamiokaCONDITIONS OF LOVE,RuthPennebakerIhavealwayscherishedt hisdreamofcreatingsomethinguniqueandimpe r-ishable, , , (asaten-year-old)inShanghai,withoutactua llyhavinglefttheirownhomesinSydney,Tokyo ,London, , Howsplendidofyoutovisitme!

2 You are going through. 6/424 Author s of the Tianjin Nai s Bound in in Day at New School Sister s Birthday School in of from Aunt BabaThe Story of YeXian:The Original Chinese CinderellaHistorical NoteAuthor s Postscript8/424 About the Author9 , ,Ihopenotonlytointrigueyouwiththeplighto falittlegirlgrowingupinChina,butalsotoin terestyouinherlanguage,history and , feel unwanted all my ,personaltaleofthejourneyofoneunlovedlit tleChinesegirlgrowingupinShanghaiandHong Kong, , ,includingfairytales,presentelementaltru ths,whichcansometimespermeateyourinnerli feandbecomepart of , ,todothebestyoucan,tomakethemostofyourta lents,tobehappywiththesimplethingsinlife .

3 Andtobelievedeepdownthatyouwillultimatel ytriumphifyoutryhardenough to prove your , ,pleasebe13 ;tohavefaithintheendyourspiritwillprevai l;totran-scendyourabuseandtransformitint oasourceofcourage, , , Loneli-nessandthefeelingofbeingunwanteda rethegreatestpoverty. TothisIwilladd:Pleasebelievethatonesingl epos-itivedreamismoreimportantthanathous and negative ,achildiscalledbymany ssurnameisYen(). of a person s , ,myChinesenameisYenJunling. () , , (jie,)andyoungersister(mei,);olderbrothe r(ge,)andyoungerbrother(di,).SinceIwasth efifthchildinmyfamily,mynameathomewasFif thYoungerSister(WuMei,).

4 However,myyoungersiblingscalledmeWuJie() ,whichmeans Fifth Older (), ()now means Fifth ()canmeanSe-condYoungerBrotherorSe-cond ,mynamebecame Adeline ,IadoptedthelastnameofmyChineseAmericanh usband,BobMah,andmynameisnowAdelineYen s()nameisLy-dia;BigBrother s()isGregory;SecondBrother s()isEdgar;ThirdBrother s()isJames;FourthYoungerBrother s()nameisFrank-lin;andLittleSister s()name is in two 1 CHAPTERCHAPTER 2 CHAPTERCHAPTER 3 CHAPTERCHAPTER 4 CHAPTERCHAPTER 5 CHAPTERCHAPTER 6 CHAPTERCHAPTER 7 CHAPTERCHAPTER 8 CHAPTERCHAPTER 9 CHAPTERCHAPTER 10 CHAPTERA syouread,youwillgraduallyrecog-nizetheCh inesesymbolsforthenum-bers one to (11)inChineseiswrittenas(Tennextto One)18/424 Twelve(12)inChineseiswrittenas(Tennextto Two)Twenty(20)inChineseiswrittenas(Twone xtto Ten)Twenty-one(21)inChineseiswrittenas(T wonexttoTennexttoOne)

5 Sincethereareonlytwenty-twochaptersinChi neseCinderella, word for hundred. It is ().30 is ()31 is ()32 is ()33 is ()40 is ()50 is ()60 is ()70 is ()19/42480 is ()90 is ()100 is ()110 is ()20/424 AUTUMN 1941 AssoonasIgothomefromschool, my bed. What s that hanging on your dress? It Myauntlookedthrilled. Sosoon?Youonlystartedkindergartenaweekag o. What is it for? It , ,thiscertificategoeswithit. Iopenedmyschoolbagandhandedheran envelope as I climbed onto her Why,it ,mypreciouslittletreasure? Iknewshewaspleasedbecauseshewassmilingas shehuggedme.

6 Onedaysoon, shecontinued, you ,we lljustwritetoday sdate22 ,pearlneck-laceanddiamondwatch,asifmyawa rdwerealsosomepreciousjewelim-possible to , , Isthisapictureofmyfatheranddead mama? I Shequicklytookthephotofrom me and locked it into her box. Doyouhaveapictureofmydeadmama? Sheavoidedmyeyes. , to see them? AuntBabadidnotreply, I said, When did my mama die? Shehesitatedforamoment,thenexclaimedsudd enly, Howdirtyyourhandsare!Haveyoubeenplayingi nthatsandboxatschoolagain?Gowashthematon ce!Thencomebackanddoyour homework!

7 , , ,theyworkedtogetherinabankinShanghaiowne dbyourgrandaunt, , luck. 25/424 Atthetimeofmybirth, , sdeathand never forgave , ,whomwecalledNiang, , , ,stoodverystraightanddressedonlyinFrench clothes, , ,darkbrowneyeswerefringedwithlong, , ,Chineseterm for ,theyhadason(FourthBrother),followedbyad aughter(LittleSister).Therewerenowseveno fus,fivechildrenfromFather sfirstwifeandtwofromourstepmother ,welivedwithourGrandfatherYeYe,Grand-mot herNaiNaiandAuntBabainabig27/424houseint heFrenchconcessionofTi-anjin, ,shyandunmarriedandhadnomoneyofherown, , , ,per-hapsitwasinevitablethat,intime,weca me to care for each other very ,Chinahadlostawar,knownastheOpiumWar, ,manycoastalcitiesinChina,suchasTianjina ndShanghai,cametobeoccupiedbyforeign ,claimingthemastheirown ter-ritories or concessions.

8 Tianjin ,ithadporches,balconies,bowwindows, School,wherethe teachers were French ,whentheJapan-esebombedPearlHarbor, , ,whichtheyexpectedeveryonetounderstand and , , , wayofannouncingthatnoChinesewereal-lowed thereexceptformaidsinchargeof white , , ,Iplacedmyfootnexttoherembroideredblacks ilk shoe to compare sizes. NaiNai,howcomeyourfeetaresotiny? I asked. WhenIwasthreeyearsold,atightbandagewaswo undaroundmyfeet, , , ,unboundfeet, was the custom. Did it hurt? Ofcourse!IthurtsobadlyIcouldn ,butshewouldn , , tbeabletorun or jump either.

9 Iwenttothefootofthetableandsatinmyassign edseatbetweenSecondBrotherandThirdBrothe rasmythreebrothersranin, to , ,he dtriedtoteachmehowtowhistle,butnomatterh owhardItriedIcouldn to some new mischief today?ThepreviousSundayafternoon,Ihadcom eacrosshimcrouchedbyGrand-fatherYeYe sbed, ,BigBrothersuddenlyapproachedYeYeandcare -fullypinchedthenasalhairbetweenhis34 , ,mesmerizedandnotdaring to make a ,jumpedfromhisbed, ,BigBrotherrushedoutoftheroom,sliddownth ebanisterandmadeacleangetawayintothegard en,allthetimeholdingYeYe shair aloft like a ,heraisedhis35/424eyebrowandsmiledatme.

10 What sthat? heaskedinhisquiet,thoughtfulway. It Congratulations!Firstweekatschool and you get a medal! Not bad! WhileIwasbaskinginThirdBroth-er spraise, me. Whatdidyoudothatfor? ,hardtwistwhilenoonewaslooking. Be-causeIfeellikeit!That swhy,youuglylittlesquirt!This llteachyoutoshowoffyour medal! 36/424 IturnedforhelpfromThirdBrother,buthewasl ookingstraightahead, ,Father,NiangandBigSistercameintogethera ndSecondBrotherimmediately let go of my , ,hermovementswereslowandawkwardandshelik edtoordermeorThirdBrotherto carry out her chores.