Abstract: This dissertation is an attempt to link Taiwanese advocacy for women's rights in the Japanese colonial era (1895-1945) with its counterpart in the post-World War II period. As a case study of intellectual production derived from the interaction between an East Asian sociopolitical milieu and various strains of Western feminism, this dissertation contributes to cross-cultural feminist scholarship and to East Asian studies.

An epic, heart-wrenching story of a mother and daughter's journey to their destiny. Lotus Feet. He would give his daughter the dainty feet of a courtesan. This would enhance her beauty and her price, making her future shine like a new coin. He smiled to himself, pouring fresh tea. And it would stop her from running away... When the young concubine of an old farmer in rural China gives birth to a daughter called Li-Xia, or "Beautiful One," the child seems destined to become a concubine herself. Li refuses to submit to her fate, outwitting her father's orders to bind her feet and escaping the silk farm with an English sea captain. Li takes her first steps toward fulfilling her mother's dreams of becoming a scholar—but her final triumph must be left to her daughter, Su Sing, "Little Star," in a journey that will take her from remote mountain refuges to the perils of Hong Kong on the eve of World War II.

The Concubine's Daughter is a snapshot of a bygone era, depicting life in the British colony of Hong Kong in the fifties and sixties. It is the story Elizabeth Lee, beautiful, intelligent, and liberated, from the time she is a wide-eyed eighteen year-old studying English Literature at the University of Hong Kong, sharing girlish secrets with her two best friends, to her becoming an academic at the University, to just after her thirtieth birthday, when she leaves Hong Kong with her husband and young son for the US, frightened in part by the riots inspired by the Cultural Revolution taking place across the border in mainland China. After twenty years in the US she returns to Hong Kong in 1986, just ten years before China is to regain sovereignty over the colony. Educated in English Elizabeth is keenly aware of the conflict within herself between her love of certain aspects of Western culture and her Chinese heritage. Living in that period of the colony's history, and largely divorced from the cultural life of the Chinese mainland, she is conscious of a sense of isolation. Discriminatory attitudes and actions, whether based on gender, race, or language, are very much a fact of life in Hong Kong during this period. The subject matter is original. The narrative style is witty, mildly sarcastic, and humorous in places. The vivid depiction of social customs and manners and memorable characters from different strata of society contribute to make The Concubine's Daughter a book well worth reading.

This powerful, touching memoir vividly recounts how Leslie Li's grandmother's traditional Chinese cuisine helped the author bridge the cultural divide in an America in which she is a minority. Interspersed throughout this poignant memoir are the author's personal recipes, most from her grandmother's kitchen.

This is the story of a brilliant woman who struggled to understand Christianity in the midst of war, loss, and depression.

A beautiful, sweeping, multigenerational narrative that spans from nineteenth century south China to modern day Singapore. I would learn that when families tell stories, what they leave out re-defines what they keep in. With my family, these were not secrets intentionally withheld. Just truths too painful to confront. In the last years of her life, Teresa Lim's mother, Violet Chang, had copies of a cherished family photograph made for those in the portrait who were still alive. The photo is mounted on cream card with the name of the studio stamped at the bottom in Chinese characters. The place and date on the back: Hong Kong, 1935. Teresa would often look at this photograph, enticed by the fierceness and beauty of her great-aunt Fanny looking back at her. But Fanny never seemed to feature in the family stories that were always being told and retold. Why? she wondered. This photograph set Teresa on a journey to uncover her family's remarkable history. Through detective work, serendipity, and the kindness of strangers, she was guided to the fascinating, ordinary, yet extraordinary life of her great-aunt and her world of sworn spinsters, ghost husbands and the working-class feminists of nineteenth century south China. But to recover her great-aunt's past, we first must get to know Fanny's family, the times and circumstances in which they lived, and the momentous yet forgotten conflicts that would lead to war in Singapore and, ultimately, a long-buried family tragedy. The Interpreter's Daughter is a beautifully moving record of an extraordinary family history. For fans of Wild Swans, The Hare With Amber Eyes, and Falling Leaves, The Interpreter's Daughter is a classic in the making.