A Daughter of Han: The Autobiography of a Chinese Working Woman

Description

Within the common destiny is the individual destiny. So it is that through the telling of one Chinese peasant woman's life, a vivid vision of Chinese history and culture is illuminated. Over the course of two years, Ida Pruitt—a bicultural social worker, writer, and contributor to Sino-American understanding—visited with Ning Lao T'ai-ta'i, three times a week for breakfast. These meetings, originally intended to elucidate for Pruitt traditional Chinese family customs of which Lao T'ai-t'ai possessed some insight, became the foundation for an enduring friendship. As Lao T'ai-t'ai described the cultural customs of her family, and of the broader community of which they were a part, she invoked episodes from her own personal history to illustrate these customs, until eventually the whole of her life lay open before her new confidante. Pruitt documented this story, casting light not only onto Lao T'ai-t'ai's own biography, but onto the character of life for the common man of China, writ large. The final product is a portrayal of China that is "vividly and humanly revealed." Contents Prologue The City Book One. The Family CHILDHOOD 1867-1870 GROWING UP 1870-1881 THE WEDDING 1881 MARRIAGE 1881-1887 MY FATHER AND MY MOTHER STARVATION THE YOUNGER CHILD 1889 Book Two. In Service WITH THE MILITARY OFFICIALS 1889-1896 THE JAPANESE COME 1895 WITH THE MOHAMMEDANS 1895-1897 WITH THE CIVIL OFFICIALS 1897-1899 Book Three. The Family TOGETHER AGAIN 1899 WITH THE MISSIONARIES 1899-1902 MANTZE’S MARRIAGE 1901 CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN 1902-1910 NEIGHBORS 1908-1911 CHEFOO MY SON IS STARTED IN LIFE PEIPING 1934-19m THE FAMILY ESTABLISHED THE JAPANESE COME AGAIN 1937-1938