31/10/2023

Chinese cinderella Adeline Yen Mah

In 1941, Adeline went home from school with a silver medal with a certificate with it for being first at her
class for the week. Her Aunt Baba was proud of her and stored her certificate inside the box as if it were
“some precious jewel impossible to replace”. As Aunt Baba closed the box, Adeline saw an old photograph
of her grandparents’ wedding and asked for a photograph of her dead mother. But Aunt Baba was hesitating
and changed the topic. Aunt Baba said that her mom died from fever, after giving birth to herAdeline also
said that her Big Sister had blamed her for causing the death of their mother because of giving birth to her.
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Chinese cinderella Adeline Yen Mah

A year after the death of Adeline’s mother, her father married seventeen years old woman, who is
half-French and half-Chinese.Soon after, they had two children, so in the total, there are 7
children. Adeline has one sister, Big Sister, who is six and a-half years older than her. She also
has three brothers who are five, four, and three years older than her. She is the youngest. Niang
had treated her own children and the stepchildren differently in a negative way which caused
Adeline’s four siblings to blame her for causing the death of their mother, they said that they will
never forgive her and bullied her. This makes Adeline difficult to advance her place within the
family.
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Chinese cinderella Adeline Yen Mah

Adeline had being curious about her Nai Nai’s bounded feet of the reason why it is so small and why
they needed to be bounded.Aunt Nai Nai told her. Later, she recollected a story of his Big Brother’s
mischief until her Third Brother congratulates her for the silver medal. But her Second Brother had
punished her for showing off her medal and called her “ugly little squirt”. The dinner had started but
everyone had ignored Adeline but her father had surprised everyone when he commenting on her
silver medal, ” ‘Is this medal for leading your class?’ he asked.” This is the first time the Father had
ever talk to Adeline from everyone’s memory. The siblings stole Adeline’s dessert after dinner because
of their jealousy.
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Chinese cinderella Adeline Yen Mah

A few months later, Adeline was attending the same missionary school as her Big Sister.
Because of the constant complaints from her Big Sister about walking to school, they’d been
taken to school everyday by the rickshaw pulled by Ah-Mao, the rickshaw puller. Everyday after
school, Adeline and Ah-Mao were forced to wait for the Big Sister who was proud of having
Adeline and Ah-Mao to wait for her. When Big Sister talks, she always quizzes Adeline questions
about the topics she hasn’t learn from the school and scolds and slaps Adeline for unable to
answer her questions and screaming about she doesn’t deserve the medal she has been
wearing week after week.
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Chinese cinderella Adeline Yen Mah

At this time, Tianjin was under the control of Japanese occupation, everyone had been
frightened about this. When the soldier approach to Father with business proposal, the Father
had chose the best time to escape Tianjin and brought Niang and Fourth Brother with him,
leaving the others with blissful freedom. But their paradise hasn’t last very long, cause Aunt Nai
Nai died.
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Chinese cinderella Adeline Yen Mah

Instead of going for a short outing with Ye Ye as expected, Adeline, her Big Sister, Big Brother, and
Second Brother had been taken away by their Father on a train to Shanghai with no time to say good-
bye to Tianjin and others still at the house of Tianjin. Ye Ye and Aunt Baba had stayed behind to observe
the hundred day mourning period of Nai Nai while taking care of young Little Sister and sickly Third
Brother. Four of them arrived to Shanghai with their Father, still living under the French concession in a
three-story French mansion. Their blissful freedom was over, their Niang declared that her stepchildren
were “not to invite any of friend home, or visit them in their houses” and they were only allowed to be on
the third floor. Now, they are ceased to be individuals and “have become one single unit known as all of
you.”
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Chinese cinderella Adeline Yen Mah

Even though Adeline was excited to return to school, this time was attending the Sacred Heart
Missionary School, but she was almost late for school because her family had once again forgot about
her. She had made to school just in time when she’s able to catch a ride from the reluctant cook. After
school, she was still left there lonely without anyone taking her home, she struggled to find her way
home in a new surrounding. Late in the evening, she is totally lost in the new surrounding when a
shopkeeper noticed the lost Adeline, she invited her in the restaurant until Adeline could phone her
Father to come to pick her up. Her family had truly forgotten the existence of her and the only advice
her Father gave her was to learn how to read a map.
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Chinese cinderella Adeline Yen Mah

Last Sunday of October. Ye Ye, Aunt Baba, Third Brother and Little Sister arrive in
Shanghai. Little Sister hadn’t seen her mother for one and a half years so she doesn’t
remember her. When Little Sister threw a tantrum and wouldn’t go to her mother, Niang
started beating her deliberately and viciously. Adeline finally speaks out (to stop beating
her) when none of the other adults did so. After that, the children realized that because
Nai Nai was dead, Niang was now the one in charge.
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Chinese cinderella Adeline Yen Mah