Introduction
Creator: Tiffany Zarriello
Chinese Cinderella is Adeline Yen Mah's autobiography. Adeline's problems with her family started out the day she was born when her mother died in labor. From that day on, her family considered her to be unlucky. But that was just the beginning of Adeline's problems. Her father remarried when she was a year old to a lady who in the book is referred to as Niang (which means "Stepmother" in Chinese). Naing has a huge amount of contempt for Adeline and her other siblings and she favors her own two children over them. But she has a particular loathing for Adeline for reasons that were not quite clear to me in the book because Adeline tried very hard to earn the approval of her parents. She was the top person in her class at school, she won a bunch of awards, she did everything they told her to do, and yet it still wasn't enough. Not only that, but her siblings, her true siblings and her half siblings, abused her as well. The only two members of her family who showed Adeline love were her Aunt Baba and her Ye Ye (grandfather). The book follows Adeline's story of surviving domestic abuse and coming out on the other side of it a stronger, more independent person.
Just a historical note: this story takes place in Eastern China right after the end of World War II, and it alternates between the cities of Tianjin, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. There is a lot of political drama that goes on in the background in the story such as the occupation by Japanese during the War Years to the rise of communism in China.
For this webquest, all I want you to do is to take a look at the sources I have selected that give more background information about the book, Chinese culture, and the historical time period.
Process
*copy and paste the links into an internet searchbar*
https://chinaculturecorner.com/2013/06/21/the-chinese-family/
This source will give you information about family dynamics in China. It is long, so I would recommend reading the sections titled "The Chinese Family Structure" and "The History of Family in China" as those give information that is most relevant to the book. It is written by Sean Utpon-McLaughlin, who has lived in China for six years and has a deep understanding of its culture, which gives him credibility. Hopefully through reading this source, you will understand more about the Chinese people's sense of what it means to bring honor to your family, which is referred to in the book.
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/chinese-rev
This source will give you information about the Communist Revolution in China that happened in 1949. This event is happening in the background in the book and impacts Adeline's family. It is off of the History Channel's website. True, content put out by the History Channel can tend to be sensationalized, but it in order for it to still be a resource that teachers use sometimes, the content on there has to be well researched, which helps make it accurate and credible.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/movingwords/celebrity…
This source will give you more information about the author. It gives you a list of all of the other books she has written, in case you find her to be a fascinating person and you want to either read Chinese Cinderella or one of her other books. It is a very nice overview and since it is connected with the BBC, which is the largest media broadcasting company in Great Britain, it is most likely accurate and well researched.
https://www.extension.purdue.edu/providerparent/parent-provider%20relat…
This is a source about how to talk to a child who you know has been experiencing domestic abuse. I would highly recommend that you look at this, especially if you are someone who works with children a lot or if you are planning to go into a career in education because by reading it you could get tips on how to reach out to a child or student who you know is hurting. Since it is affiliated with a University, it most likely contains accurate information. To not do so would be to jeopardize Purdue Unversity's reputation.
http://www.history.co.uk/study-topics/history-of-ww2/sino-japanese-war
This is a source that walks you through the invasion and occupation of China by the Japanese in the 1930s. This source touches on another historical aspect of the book because at the very beginning, Adeline's mentions that she was alive when Japan occupied China and that there was widespread fear of the Japanese soldiers. Read this to get more context to better understand the political background of Chinese Cinderella. This webpage is from the website of the Office of the Historian in the U.S. Government. Again, it if it has the backing of the government, which is a huge, important institution in the United States, the chances of it containing historically accurate content are pretty high.
Conclusion
This book definitely gives you a lot to think about, that's for sure! Here are some things to think about after reading this book and completing this webquest activity:
1. What is the best way to help someone who is experiencing domestic abuse?
2. How much do you think the political background in the story helped shape the Adeline's family?
3. What would you do if you were in Adeline's shoes?
4. How much of an impact did culture and tradition have, do you think, in shaping the dynamic of Adeline's family?
5. Why is learning about Adeline's story important? What are some things that you will take away from the book and this activity?
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Extra:
Now that you have completed this webquest, allow me to share my personal opinion of the book. This book made me feel all sorts of crazy emotions! By "crazy" I mean anger, saddness, and frustration. Sure, there were some moments when I felt happy and celebrated along with Adeline in her accomplishments and personal achievements. But during those times I felt like I was the only who was happy for her and who cheered her on. This is where the anger, saddness, and frustration came in. I can understand when parents sometimes get impatient with their kids. I can understand when parents punish their kids for misbehavior. But what Adeline's parents did to her was completely uncalled for! She did absolutely nothing to deserve their hatred and abuse (both verbal and physical). Her Niang pushed her abuse to the brink of child abandonment (telling her Adeline that she was no longer welcome in her own home and then shipping her off to boarding school). And the really sad thing is, no one even bothered to stand up for her! Her father supported Niang's treatement of Adeline and her Aunt Baba and Ye Ye were too scared of Niang to say anything! Overall, though, I think that despite how heartbreaking it is, I am still glad I read it and I would recommend it to kids who are in middle school or higher to read because it truly is a story of triumph over circumstance.
Credits
Bibliography:
"The Chinese Revolution of 1949." Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affiars. United States Department of State, n.d. Web. 9 May 2016.
"Learning English: Moving Words--Adeline Uen Mah." BBC Learning English. BBC, 2009. Web. 9 May 2016.
Ramamoorthy, Saraswathy, and Myers-Walls, Judith A. “Talking to a Child Who Has Been Abused.” Provider-Parent Partnerships. Purdue University, n.d. Web. 8 May 2016.
"Sino-Japanese War." History. AETN UK, n.d. Web. 10 May 2016.
Upton-McLaughlin, Sean. "The Significance of Family in China." The China Culture Corner. The China Culture Corner, 21 June 2016. Web. 9 May 2016.