[.ca] Bound Feet & Western Dress: A Memoir (ISBN 0385479646)

From Amazon.com:
When Chang Yu-I was three her mother tried to bind her feet. But the child's cries so tormented her brother that he convinced their mother to stop. This break with convention foreshadowed the extraordinary life Yu-i was to lead. After following her husband, poet Hsu Chi-Mo, a noted philanderer, to Oxford, she made history by becoming the first Chinese woman to have a western-style divorce at age 22. Determined to make her own way, she moved to America and served in a series of prestigious positions, including president of a bank. Written by Yu-i's great niece, Pang-Mei Natasha Chang, Bound Feet and Western Dress chronicles the life of this exceptional woman.

An Intriguring Read:
In the late 1990s, the Chinese-American Pang-Mei Natasha Chang wrote her first book entitled "Bound Feet and Western Dress," which accounts the life story of the author's great aunt, Chang Yu-i. The author was the first generation of the Chang family to be born in the United States. She wrote the book about her own search of Chinese identity in the American world and the tale of her great aunt's hard and interesting life. The book is broken into fifteen chapters, which describe the early life of Yu-i, the history of the Chang family, the life of the author herself, the lifestyle of women in China, the marriage and the divorce of Yu-i and Hsu Chih-mo, and the last years of Yu-i's life. One can understand the influence of modernity on the Chinese society and the Chinese women as one look at the author's great aunt as a traditional girl and her strength as a woman, why Chih-mo marry her, and the significance of their divorce in this book. "Bound Feet and Western Dress" is intriguing work and an enjoyable read.

Why Am I Famous:
This woman Natasha is suffering from the WAIF (why am I famous) syndrome. She has accomplshed nothing beside a stupid degree from Harvard (her family is loaded obviously. Her grandfather and father, chinese, went to Japan after the war. Why? Where did their money come from? Any patriotic chinese would not go to Japan after the war. They must be special.) So, she dragged up this great aunt who had been married to a poet for a few years. This great aunt has done nothing except what most good chinese women of her generation would do----swallowed bitterness, did her duty etc--- I was a child in Hong Kong when I heard about the letter Yu-I's son wrote about her proposed re-marriage. Everybody said her son was brilliant and a loving son. Yu-I herself never complained. I left Hong Kong after she emigrated so I know. This Natasha went on endlessly about her 'suffering.' Poor thing, if chinese waiter speak to her in chinese , she would have a fit. Likewise the other way round. She did not have the grace to talk properly to a chinese ex-change student thousands of miles away from home (chinese people are not a novelty to her, she said.) She complained about chinese people with bad teeth and bad English, unlikely her posh family. Well, from what I can see from the photo, her whole family is preety ugly. What is more, they are self-centred, full of self-importance, selfish, and stupid. What with her father talking about producing 'pure chinese children.' Of course, Natasha herself will never marry a chinese. This is the real her. Trying to glamorize herself by some digging of past 'romance and glory.' She does not give two figs about the suffering of the chinese people in China like the aids village or millions of child workers working in desperate condition. She is so stupid that she mentioned Yu-I's war profiteering (buying dye used for army uniform and holding it back until the price had increased a hundred fold.) I am so sick I can puke.

I recommend the Chinese version of this book:
I read the Chinese version of this book and I strongly recommend it. I was really moved by this book (based on the Chinese version, translated by Tan Jiayu, published in Taiwan, ISBN 957-9553-66-3). I could feel the struggling of all its characters. The struggling between cultures, humanity and changes. I could feel the helpless and weakness of mankind. I haven't had a chance to read the English version but I believe it won't be too bad. Still, I recommend the Chinese version (if you can read Chinese). I think it is well-translated and what's more, you can read the beautiful and touching original letters and poems written by Hsü Chih-mo and the others. You can feel the deep sadness, and, confusion.

Get a Life:
This woman Natasha is the most irritating thing I have come across in a long time. Her own life is so stupid and boring, but she insists us to know how a million years ago she was called chinky and whatnot. She brags about her family (evidently a family ritual) endlessly. From what I can see, her family is stupid, selfish (war profiteering by Yu-Yi if you ask me), boring. Yu Yi has accomplished nothing neither. She went through what most chinese women went through in terms of humuliation, abuse, etc. But she had enough to eat and did nothing to help poor people. I am chinese myself. I am just sick of Natasha's story. To give credit to Yu Yi , she never whined before this was dragged out of her.

A good book, because it is a true story.:
I enjoyed the auuthor's simple writing style. The story is about a woman who decides whether or not to make her own life, or allow it to be decided for her. The best thing about this book, is that it is a true story. The book was fast reading, and very inspirational. I would reccommend it.