What a coincidence

Lady Tan's Circle of Women ~ by Lisa See, fiction, 2023, fiction, 368 pages

According to Confucius, “an educated woman is a worthless woman,” but Tan Yunxian — born into an elite family, yet haunted by death, separations, and loneliness — is being raised by her grandparents to be of use.  Her grandmother is one of only a handful of female doctors in China, and she teaches Yunxian the pillars of Chinese medicine, the Four Examinations — looking, listening, touching, and asking — something a man can never do with a female patient.

From a young age, Yunxian learns about women’s illnesses, many of which relate to childbearing, alongside a young midwife-in-training, Meiling.  The two girls find fast friendship and a mutual purpose — despite the prohibition that a doctor should never touch blood while a midwife comes in frequent contact with it — and they vow to be forever friends, sharing in each other’s joys and struggles.  No mud, no lotus, they tell themselves: from adversity beauty can bloom.

But when Yunxian is sent into an arranged marriage, her mother-in-law forbids her from seeing Meiling and from helping the women and girls in the household.  Yunxian is to act like a proper wife — embroider bound-foot slippers, recite poetry, give birth to sons, and stay forever within the walls of the family compound, the Garden of Fragrant Delights.

How might a woman like Yunxian break free of these traditions and lead a life of such importance that many of her remedies are still used five centuries later?  How might the power of friendship support or complicate these efforts?  A captivating story of women helping each other, Lady Tan’s Circle of Women is a triumphant reimagining of the life of one person who was remarkable in the Ming dynasty and would be considered remarkable today.

What a coincidence!

Ginny texted me "Happy spring!" from a different time zone and woke me up; I texted right back at 8:07 a.m.  That afternoon I exchanged phone numbers with a woman who had been sitting near me in our newest exercise class, so we could arrange to have lunch together soon.  Since Ginny woke me earlier than I'd planned to get up (having read my book in bed until I fell asleep in the wee hours), I dozed off in the evening with the same book in my hand.  Sandra, that new friend I'd met earlier in the day, called to set a date to meet me for lunch.  When we hung up, I looked at the time she had called:  8:07 p.m.  Wow!  Exactly twelve hours later, to the minute.  What are the odds of two people waking me up at the same minute on the same day, but twelve hours apart?

On another note

I forget who mentioned root beer the other day, but Sue said we have it in the snack machine in her building.  I said I'd have to remember to go get one when I leave the Café.  The next thing I know, there's Sue handing me a can of A&W Root Beer that she got from the snack machine for me.  Thanks, Sue!  It was delicious!

Deb at Readerbuzz hosts the Sunday Salon