Lisa See
© patricia williams

Women’s work

A 15th century Chinese physician breaks boundaries, builds relationships

by HOPE KATZ GIBBS

According to Confucius, “An educated woman is a worthless woman,” explains bestselling author Lisa See in her newest historical novel, Lady Tan’s Circle of Women.

“Let’s just say Confucius didn’t have a lot of love or respect for women, and also famously said a woman should never go more than three steps outside her front door,” See tells the Connection from her home in Los Angeles. “And yet, many women in China broke through those ideas and carved out exceptional lives for themselves.”

The protagonist of See’s latest book, Tan Yunxian, a woman physician in 15th century China who was born into an elite family, is a case in point. See discovered her in 2020 when she was in lockdown and couldn’t travel to do research. “I was moping around at home like many of us were during lockdown, feeling totally at loose ends because I couldn’t do what I love to do. I was walking by the bookshelves in my office when the spine of one of the books jumped out at me.”

The book was about pregnancy and childbirth in the Ming dynasty. On page 19, See found a mention of Tan Yunxian, who had written her own book, Miscellaneous Records of a Female Doctor. See ordered it immediately, and soon after, her imagination went to work, conjuring up a historical novel based on Yunxian’s life, which includes the fact that Yunxian is sent to live with her grandmother, one of only a handful of female doctors in China. There, she learns the pillars of Chinese medicine, including the Four Examinations: looking, listening, touching and asking.

“This is something a male doctor could never do with a female patient,” says See, who unfurls a thrilling adventure about what women can accomplish when they work together. “Yunxian breaks free of many traditions, including coping with an arranged marriage at 15 and going on to lead a life of importance. Many of her medical remedies are still used five centuries later.”

Born in Paris, See grew up in Los Angeles with her mother, Carolyn See, who was also a writer, and spent a lot of time with her father’s family in Chinatown.

“My great-great-grandfather came here to work on the building of the railroad, and my great-grandfather came and stayed and became the godfather patriarch of Los Angeles Chinatown,” says See, noting he had four wives, one of whom was white. “When I was a girl, I had about 400 relatives. Maybe a dozen looked like me. When I looked around, I saw Chinese faces, and what I experienced was Chinese culture, Chinese tradition, Chinese language and Chinese food. And that’s why I write the kinds of books that I do.”

Lady Tan’s Circle of Women is See’s 12th book. Other titles, some award-winning, include The Island of Sea Women, The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane and Dreams of Joy.

Those bestsellers have garnered honors for See, who was named National Woman of the Year by the Organization of Chinese American Women in 2001. Among many other accolades, in 2017, she received a Golden Spike Award from the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California.

Like See herself, Yunxian has formed a broad circle of women she cares for, and who care for her. See says, “I think it’s a universal truth that women rely on other women for emotional support when things are difficult. We also want female friends whom we can laugh with and just have fun. That was true in 15th century China, as it is today in America. We simply find ways to help each other persist and endure. It’s the power of being a woman.”

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