• Lady of Ch'iao Kuo: Warrior of the South, China 531 A.D.
By Lawrence Yep (Scholastic 2001)
• An Ocean Apart: The Gold Mountain Diary of Chin Mei-ling
By Gillian Chan (Scholastic Canada 2004)
• Ma Yan's Diary: The Daily Life of a Chinese Schoolgirl
By Ma Yan (Published in French as Le Journal de Ma Yan by Hachette Editions, France 2003)
Diaries are a popular means with which to tell a story these days; witness the success of the fictional likes of Adrian Mole and Bridget Jones, and, of course The Princess. Diaries can be used to not only to entertain, but to educate as well, and talented authors are now inventing fictional diaries of actual historical figures as a way of giving readers a history lesson. But non-fiction personal accounts in diary form are as popular as ever — who has not heard of the Diary of Anne Frank? These diaries of three young Chinese girls — both fiction and non-fiction — each bring to light, in dramatically different ways, part of the Chinese experience through the ages.
Lady of Ch'iao Kuo: Warrior of the South, China 531 A.D.
Well-known and much loved author Lawrence Yep, a third-generation Chinese American, has recreated the life of a Chinese heroine, Princess Red Bird of the Hsien people, in 6th century Southern China. Her diary covers four critical months of her life, when her father, the king of the Hsien people, is killed by the neighbouring enemy, called the Dog Heads. Princess Red Bird, only 16 years old, discovers she has a talent for diplomacy, and skillfully leads her people to success.
The author said that the most difficult thing about writing the story was the amount of research it took to authentically illustrate China at the time, and the life of a royal girl. In doing so, he developed a character that is feisty and brave — and although this kind of girl may be someone we are more familiar with in this day and age, it was not the norm in a time and place that told girls and women to stay silent. Princess Red Bird stepped up when she was needed, and is a deserving role model.
An Ocean Apart: The Gold Mountain Diary of Chin Mei-ling
This is the diary of Chin Mei-ling, a young girl, new immigrated to Canada and living with her father. She lives in Vancouver’s Chinatown district, and the time is 1922, when Chinese people were often discriminated against not only by neighbours, but by official Canadian government policies. Mei-ling is a hard worker, and much of her hard work is in response to her difficult and confusing life. She and her father both work in order to earn enough money to bring her mother and little brother to Canada. Not only must they try to earn the cost of passage, but they are worried about an impending act of parliament, a ‘head tax’ on Chinese immigrants which was meant to discourage Chinese immigration to Canada, and which threatens to split the family in two.
In her diary, Mei-Ling reveals all her feelings about the racism and the bullying at school, while at the same time trying to fit in a place that is between two cultures; that of her traditional Chinese family, and that of her new country, Canada. She must also deal with the fears and anxieties that her father holds, stemming from the disappointments and difficulties he, and all the other Chinese immigrants, have had to face in Canada. Mei-Ling tries to understand his suspicions of Miss MacDonald, from the local church, who wishes to help Mei-ling with tutoring and gifts of used clothing. As for herself, Mei-ling is simply grateful for her neighbour’s generosity. In the end, Mei-ling writes of her hopes for the future, and for the arrival of her mother and brother. But the conclusion of Mei-ling and her family’s story is not clear. Do her mother and brother come to Canada. Are the family reunited? Read it and see.
Ma Yan's Diary: The Daily Life of a Chinese Schoolgirl
This is the true diary of Ma Yan, a young girl living in a remote village called Zhang Jia Shu in Ningxia province in China. Ma Yam wrote in her diary how distraught she was because her parents did not have enough money to keep her in school. That was three years ago, when Ma Yan was 13 years old. She wrote the diary because it was a school assignment at the boarding school in Yuwang where she studied. In May of 2001, a group of visitors came to the school, and someone gave her diary to the visitors to read, along with a letter Ma Yan had written to her mother, pleading to stay in school.
Pierre Haski, Beijing correspondent for the French publication Liration read it, and wanted to help. He gave the Ma family a small gift of money and thought that would be the end of it. But after he wrote about their plight in Liration in January of 2002, people began to send money. Then Ma Yan’s diary was translated and published in France, to wide acclaim. This diary was originally published in French and has sold over 50,000 copies. After taking the Paris Book Fair by storm, it was soon translated into Italian Swedish, Dutch, Japanese, Greek, Spanish and Portuguese. It was also published in Taiwan. It will soon be published in England by Virago Press.
Because of the publication of her diary, Ma Yan and her family now have enough money for her schooling and many other necessities of life that they could not afford before. Ma Yan and Haski, who edited the book, have given 25% of their royalties to the Association for the Children of Ningxia, which was set up to assist the children of Ma Yan’s home province continue their education.
