Chinese Cinderella: The Secret Story of an Unwanted Daughter (1999) is the autobiography of Adeline Yen Mah and covers her experience growing up in an abusive household during a politically tumultuous era in Chinese history (1937-1952). Yen Mah, who now lives in the United States, made the decision to fulfill her childhood dreams of writing professionally after practicing medicine for several decades according to her father’s wishes. Chinese Cinderella is an abridged version of her 1997 autobiography, Falling Leaves, adjusted for a younger audience, according to the idea that Yen Mah’s triumphs in the face of extreme adversity during her childhood might serve as inspiration for young readers.

This guide refers to the 2020 illustrated paperback edition of Chinese Cinderella, released by Ember.

Content Warning: The source text for this guide deals heavily with child neglect and abuse, includes a graphic instance of animal abuse, briefly mentions human trafficking, and describes historical cultural practices that constitute female mutilation.

Summary

In the earliest stages of her childhood, Adeline lives in Tianjin with her father, stepmother (Niang), aunt (Baba), grandparents (Ye Ye and Nai Nai), four older siblings, and two younger stepsiblings. Her mother died due to complications with childbirth after delivering Adeline, and as a result, the family has deemed Adeline “bad luck” (according to traditional Chinese beliefs). Adeline is shunned and bullied by most members of the family except for Aunt Baba and her grandparents. The events of the book begin in the autumn of 1941, when Adeline comes home from her first week of kindergarten having won an award for leading the class. Aunt Baba cherishes the certificate, storing it in her safe-deposit box, and at dinner that night, her father expresses his pride over her achievement. Though her siblings seem resentful of her award, this is the first time that Adeline feels approval from her father, and she begins to understand that school might be a place where she can excel and make her family proud.

During this time, Adeline is fascinated by her grandmother Nai Nai’s bound feet. Nai Nai explains that her feet were broken and bound as a child to adhere to beauty standards. She experiences constant pain because of this and envies Adeline’s ability to walk and run comfortably, telling her that she should remember how lucky she is. One evening, after witnessing Nai Nai soak her feet in warm water to manage the pain, Adeline learns that Nai Nai suffered a severe stroke shortly afterward and died.

During the winter of 1942, Adeline’s father begins to receive unwanted attention from Japanese authorities (then in control of Manchuria) who have taken an interest in his lucrative business. To escape this colonial interference, he flees south to Shanghai, taking both Niang and their youngest son with him. This is one of the earliest signs of familial hierarchy based on race throughout the book; Niang is half French (Yen Mah uses the anachronistic term “Eurasian” to describe her biracial identity), and Father consistently favors his wife and their children together because of their European ancestry and appearance. Adeline enjoys the year that she and her older siblings spend apart from their parents because they enjoy freedom from their oppressive neglect.

Eventually, Adeline’s father returns to Tianjin to collect the children and move them into the family’s new home in Shanghai. When the family is reunited, Adeline’s young stepsister no longer recognizes Niang and displays an aversion to her mother. In frustration, Niang begins slapping her daughter, and Adeline jumps to her defense, telling Niang to stop. Niang’s response is livid, and she tells Adeline that she will “never forgive” her for challenging her parental authority. This is one of many instances that reinforce Adeline’s low status in the family hierarchy: Nobody bothers to escort her to or from her new elementary school, her parents refuse to pay her tram fare (thereby forcing her to walk miles every day), and all the children from Father’s first marriage are relegated to the home’s third floor and restricted from visiting the second floor where Niang and her children live.

The children from Father’s previous marriage are all aware of the system of neglect that has been imposed on them and begin making plans to rebel. When Niang overhears them, she halts their efforts by abruptly favoring Big Sister, who is offered a room on the second floor. The brothers and Adeline feel betrayed; without Big Sister’s leadership, they cannot successfully fight the injustices within their household. Shortly afterward. Adeline’s pet duckling, PLT, is killed by Father’s German shepherd when he uses the duckling as bait for a training exercise. Adeline mourns PLT with Third Brother, holding a funeral for her in the back yard.

At school in Shanghai, Adeline becomes a talented writer and makes a close friend for the first time: Wu Chun-mei, an athletic girl in her class who was born in the United States. American forces begin exerting cultural influence over China after the end of World War II, and these geopolitical shifts are reflected in the girls’ school curriculum. A democratic election is held to determine the class president, and Wu Chun-mei nominates Adeline. Around the same time, Wu Chun-mei eagerly invites Adeline to her birthday party, unaware that Adeline is not allowed to visit friends or have them over because Adeline has not shared details about her home life. Adeline decides to go to the birthday party, using a surprise day off from school to disguise her absence from her parents.

At the birthday party, Adeline realizes that she is expected home for lunch and hurriedly returns home, promising to be back by the time the other girls are eating cake. When she does not make it back to the party on time, Wu Chun-mei calls Adeline’s house and Niang discovers her secret attendance of the birthday party. Furious, Niang forbids Adeline from returning to the party and grounds her in her room. When Father arrives home from work, he whips Adeline and announces that she can no longer share a room with Aunt Baba. Later, Adeline wins the class election, and when her friends show up to the house to throw her a party, Father and Niang decide that she will be sent to an orphanage as punishment.

Niang and Father take Adeline back to Tianjin to board at her Catholic former elementary school. Because the communist army is closing in on Tianjin and are known to persecute Christian institutions, most students begin leaving at the same time that Adeline arrives. Eventually, she is the only student left, and the nuns are unsure how to handle her education. Niang’s sister Reine arrives one day to rescue Adeline, informing her that she will be reunited with the rest of the family in Hong Kong. Reine is blissfully unaware that Adeline is despised by Niang and thinks that the reunion will be a happy one. On the voyage to Hong Kong, Adeline dreads their imminent arrival even as she makes friends with Reine’s children.

In Hong Kong, Adeline is relieved to find that she can stay with Ye Ye in the family’s house. Niang continues to exclude her, but both Ye Ye and Reine’s son, Victor, demonstrate their support by spending time with Adeline instead of going on family outings. When Reine’s family leaves, Niang and Father quickly transfer Adeline to another boarding school in Hong Kong. Adeline continues to excel at writing here but begins to doubt herself. On a rare visit, Ye Ye admonishes her for her lack of confidence and tells her that she can use her academic talents to forge a life for herself. Adeline promises to work harder for him.

When she comes across an international student playwriting competition, Adeline enters and dedicates her submission to Ye Ye. Shortly afterward, she learns that Ye Ye has died and must attend the funeral. At the funeral, Niang calls Adeline ugly and asserts that Adeline will have to begin paying for her own education if she would like to continue. Afraid that her only joy in life, learning, will soon be taken away from her, Adeline waits for the results of the competition. One day, she is summoned to her father’s office, where he shows her a newspaper article announcing that she has won and brought honor to Hong Kong. Adeline capitalizes on her victory and convinces her father to let her study in England like her brothers. The last chapter is a letter from Aunt Baba congratulating Adeline on her good turn of fortune and comparing Adeline’s life to the traditional Chinese tale Ye Xian (“Chinese Cinderella”).