Hello friend! Today I am writing about Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See. This is my first book by the author and I have seen many people rave about her previous works. This is a well-researched book about a female doctor in 1400s China and it gave me lots to think about, through the characters and setting. Take a look at the synopsis and read on for my review.
Lady Tan’s Circle of Women
By Lisa See | Goodreads
The latest historical novel from New York Times bestselling author Lisa See, inspired by the true story of a woman physician from 15th-century China—perfect for fans of See’s classic Snowflower and the Secret Fan and The Island of Sea Women.
According to Confucius, “an educated woman is a worthless woman,” but Tan Yunxian—born into an elite family, yet haunted by death, separations, and loneliness—is being raised by her grandparents to be of use. Her grandmother is one of only a handful of female doctors in China, and she teaches Yunxian the pillars of Chinese medicine, the Four Examinations—looking, listening, touching, and asking—something a man can never do with a female patient.
From a young age, Yunxian learns about women’s illnesses, many of which relate to childbearing, alongside a young midwife-in-training, Meiling. The two girls find fast friendship and a mutual purpose—despite the prohibition that a doctor should never touch blood while a midwife comes in frequent contact with it—and they vow to be forever friends, sharing in each other’s joys and struggles. No mud, no lotus, they tell themselves: from adversity beauty can bloom.
But when Yunxian is sent into an arranged marriage, her mother-in-law forbids her from seeing Meiling and from helping the women and girls in the household. Yunxian is to act like a proper wife—embroider bound-foot slippers, pluck instruments, recite poetry, give birth to sons, and stay forever within the walls of the family compound, the Garden of Fragrant Delights.
How might a woman like Yunxian break free of these traditions, go on to treat women and girls from every level of society, and lead a life of such importance that many of her remedies are still used five centuries later? How might the power of friendship support or complicate these efforts? Lady Tan’s Circle of Women is a captivating story of women helping other women. It is also a triumphant reimagining of the life of a woman who was remarkable in the Ming dynasty and would be considered remarkable today.
Content notes include pregnancy, miscarriage, injury detail, feet bounding, violence, death, epidemic, depression, postpartum depression.
Lady Tan’s Circle of Women – Review
Lady Tan’s Circle of Women is set in 1469 China and follows Yunxian Tan in her life from the age of eight years old to early thirties. The book does a fantastic job of portraying the culture, societal expectations, rituals and traditions of 15th century China. Yunxian is born into an affluent family. The father, grandfather and their predecessors have held important positions in the Chinese court. Yunxian’s grandmother’s family were doctors and hence, respected around the country.
Part 1
Lady Tan’s Circle of Women begins with Yunxian taking lessons with her mother. Her mother has been giving her lessons in etiquettes, roles and responsibilities of a woman but their lessons are left unfinished when Yunxian’s mother passes away due to an infection. Through her child’s mind, Yunxian observes the doctor’s diagnosis and treatment of her mother. She thinks that being a son might have let her help her mother more.
The first chapter sets a solid world, giving insight into Chinese traditions around the binding of women’s feet, their household, education of young children and gendered roles. There is also reference to past sorrow, to loss of children due to smallpox, something Yunxian survived. She seems like a curious girl, who is still too young to question the world, but one with a shrewd sense of the societal structure due to the strict education by her mother.
After her mother’s death, Yunxian, her brother and Miss Zhao, his father’s concubine, move to Yunxian’s grandparents’ home. The grandparents both take to Yunxian and decide to educate her in medical practice. Though her grandfather has learned from books and is called a ‘medical scholar’, it is her grandmother who has the practical knowledge. The two lovingly disagree on the treatment of illnesses that women face. I loved the grandparent-granddaughter relationship portrayed in this book. She may marry but they will always look out for her.
Yunxian is ravenous to learn. There are still some years before she will be married off. She wants to use that time to learn. Pregnancy and childbirth are integral to everything that happens in Lady Tan’s Circle of Women and it is at her grandparents house that Yunxian gains the skills to be a good doctor.
It is also here that she meets Meiling, the daughter of a midwife. Their lives are forever intertwined by an agreement between Grandma Ru and Midwife Shi. The older women see their girls needing someone to look out for them. Being the same age, they bond quickly and their friendship becomes a cornerstone for both as they grow older.
Part 2
Lady Tan’s Circle of Women depicts a time when arranged marriages were the norm. The second part is about the early years of Yunxian’s marriage, in the time leading up to her having her first child. I loved the rituals related to her wedding and leaving home. I was reminded of Indian weddings and it was easy to connect with Yunxian emotionally.
Miss Zhao was the first person to advise Yunxian about the circle of women, offering her support and companionship as they settle into a new life at the grandparents. Yunxian does not understand the gravity of this circle until later in life when she gets married and moved into her mother-in-law’s household. There are three circles of women that exist in this household – the wives, the sisters and the concubines. Yunxian doesn’t feel part of any of them. She desperately wants to practice medicine and has a confidante in Meiling but her mother-in-law, Lady Kuo, does not allow her to associate with a midwife, nor does she want her to practice medicine.
Part 3
Taking place fourteen years after the events of Part 2, this is where Yunxian’s skills as a doctor and her ability to endure as a woman are repeatedly tested. Her husband speaks highly of her to his colleagues and she gets invited to diagnose women of high status.
The writing of this section is immersive and ruthless – a lot of unexpected things happened in this part which I had not predicted. There is an underlying mystery in Lady Tan’s Circle of Women and that comes to be revealed in this part really well.
In all her life, Yunxian has been confined to the house of her parents, then grandparents and finally her in-laws. When she does get out to see the world, she is astonished and awe-struck. She has never been considered a ‘working woman’ but as a practising doctor, she is forced to manage her personal needs with a demanding career.
The Society
While written from the perspective of Yunxian, ultimately Lady Tan’s Circle of Women is the story of two girls, doctor and midwife, and how their lives were intertwined with fortune and misfortune. Through Yunxian’s experiences and those of women she has met, there is an opportunity to think about the position of women in society and Lisa See does this masterfully. The women in Yunxian’s life often remind her of the privilege of her birth, the choices she can make with her knowledge and position that they can’t. With her grandmother and Miss Zhao’s help Yunxian comes to understand her mother and Meiling.
Concubines were an accepted part of the household in 15th century China. Throughout the story, an intricate web of relationships is portrayed between the wife, the concubine and their children. It is an understatement to say that there is pressure to get pregnant and produce a child. Yunxian, in her inability to give birth to a son in the early days of her marriage, is threatened by her husband taking a concubine to give him a son. Though this son would become her ‘ritual son’, something her mother and mother-in-law both have, Yunxian wants a child of her own. It is one of her deepest desires.
Overall, I loved this book. I haven’t read anything like it before and it gave me lots of things to think about. In a Q&A on Goodreads, the author said, “I’m doing what I can to help others learn about China not in an academic essay but through stories. It’s through fiction that we connect to real people and by extension to the shared human condition.” Lisa indeed brings alive China in this book and I adored it. Through the author’s note at the end of the book, I was happy to learn about all the things and places she researched. I am looking forward to reading more of her works.
There is so much to love in this book! Read if you want
✨ Loving grandparent-granddaughter relationships
✨ A protagonist who wants to be more than the gendered roles assigned to her
✨ A friendship that defies class
✨ A support system of women
✨ A subtle suspense plot
Will you pick up this book? Add it on Goodreads.
Many thanks to the publisher for sending me a review copy of this book for an honest review.
Be First to Comment