If you read Good Chinese Wife, you might remember the quirky quotes I list throughout the book. They’re from Ban Zhao, the first female historian in China, and her book, Instructions for Chinese Women and Girls.
Things like:
When walking, look straight, turn not your head;
Talking, restrain your voice within your teeth;
When pleased, laugh not aloud;
If angry, still make no noise.
Now Instructions has been re-released by the good people at Camphor Press and they asked me to write the introduction!
The book is now out as an e-book for the special, introductory price of 99 cents US. Get it while it’s this cheap–this price won’t last for long! It’s available from the publisher, Kindle, or iTunes.
It was so much fun to write the introduction and to learn about the translator, Esther Jerman Baldwin, an American missionary who lived in China for 18 years at the turn of the century more than 100 years ago. I write as much about Esther Baldwin as I do Ban Zhao, along with a little anecdote about how I came across Instructions for Chinese Women and Girls in the first place.
Happy reading!
I’m so excited for you! It really is an honor and it’ll be great publicity for you as well.
I can’t wait to read your intro as well as the book! It sounds intriguing. The very idea of those rules being enforced and adhered to is appalling! It’s so hard to believe that was not very long ago and I’m sure there are still remnants of it in some families.
Congratulations on the honor of writing a book introduction! They chose perfectly and I’m so excited for you!