Chinese Cinderella

Title: Chinese Cinderella: The Secret Story of an Unwanted Daughter

Author: Adeline Yen Mah

Publisher: the Penguin Group

Summary:

Chinese Cinderella is an autobiography written by Adeline Yen Mah, who recounted her own childhood up to the age of fourteen. The story is set in Tianjin and Shanghai, which are big cities in China, during the Japanese occupied period of China and the civil war between the communists and nationalists. The story is about Adeline’s painful childhood and her struggle for acceptance from her family. She was seen as bad luck to the family when her mother died giving birth to her. She was used to be bullied by her siblings, neglected by her father and scolded by her stepmother. She was even sent to a politically-danger city by her parents as if she had been tossed aside like a piece of garbage. Despite of these sufferings, she studied hard hoping it would win the acceptance of the family.

Comment:

Have you ever dreamt to be Cinderella? All the problems can be swept away in a split second with a magic wand. A prince will come to save you one day, and you then end up being the happiest princess. There is no doubt that this dream can never come true. We can only be Chinese Cinderella but not Western Cinderella. Being Chinese Cinderella, we can overcome obstacles by our own efforts. Every one can be Chinese Cinderella just if you say yes. To my surprise, in this day and age, Chinese Cinderella is not easy to be found. When facing with failures and misfortunes, a majority merely knows to moan about how life is unfair and ultimately give up, and wait for a fairy to give us a magic wand with our arms folded. Adeline is an example of Chinese Cinderella which we should all learn from. Despite the fact that she is born with a silver spoon, she neither had got as much as others having the same affluent family, nor had a loving family as her peers did. As a...