Falling Leaves: The True Story Of An Unwanted Chinese Daughter Quotes
"At the age of three my grand aunt proclaimed her independence by categorically refusing to have her feet bound, resolutely tearing off the bandages as fast as they were applied."
"Shanghai began to be known as the Paris of the Orient, though Grand Aunt always claimed that Paris should be called the Shanghai of Europe."
"In a feudal society where the very idea of a woman being capable of simple everyday decisions, let alone important business negotiations, was scoffed at, Grand Aunt’s courage was extraordinary."
"Family ugliness should never be aired in public."
"I learned from this experience to rely on myself."
"Father’s austerity programme extended to every aspect of our daily existence."
"We, the stepchildren, never spoke at the dinner table, not even to each other."
"Austerity apparently ceased on the first floor."
"I could hardly bear to listen to her whiny voice, beseeching and badgering the wily Franklin for the ‘smallest little taste’ of goodies."
"Though my son is wounding my heart, I shall ensheath the pain and live through it."
"I knew that I was the least-loved child because I was a girl and because my mother had died giving birth to me."
"Sometimes, one of the ocean liners would emit a low-pitched hoot signalling its departure. How magical it was for me to listen to that evocative sound!"
"No matter what else people may steal from you, they will never be able to take away your knowledge."
"She must know her place and realize that her opinions and desires count for nothing."
"I fell in love with it at once and named it Precious Little Treasure, or PLT for short."
"I saw myself standing at the bow of the giant ship gliding through still, dark waters, carrying me on an entrancing journey to those fabulous lands."
"I saw myself suddenly skilled in wu-shu, judo and karate, jumping over rooftops with ease, avenging the wrongs dealt out to those without hope…"
"The completion of each assignment satisfied an emptiness within."
"You either come with us now or you can stay home with her."
"Every day her presence is like a thorn in their side: she annoys them by simply being around."
"The world is changing. You must make your own life outside this home."
"I had no choice but to go and greet my friends. As I crept slowly down the stairs behind the maid, I could hear the unsuppressed merriment of a dozen ten-year-old girls echoing through the whole house."
"I knew it was going to be terrible as soon as I entered."
"You can find about fifty of us in the same general category at the Sacred Heart."
"The thought suddenly struck me that here I was, yearning for my family to visit, day after day."
"I spent a lot of time in the library, flipping through books and magazines."
"My play was called Gone with the Locusts."
"Why should I force myself on my parents when there were loyal friends?"
"As we walked out of the temple, I was still sobbing, not realizing that my tears were increasingly irritating Niang."
"I do think Adeline is getting uglier and uglier as she grows older and taller."
"I clutched my report card studded with A grades, thinking of my future."
"No matter how bad it is in England, it can't be worse than this!"
"I realized that prejudice was inherent in human nature and was present in every society."
"I could never admit my failure to Father and Niang."
"How could they understand the exaltation I felt to be at last free of Niang’s looming shadow?"
"Marry a chicken, follow a chicken; marry a dog, follow a dog."
"The whole world of science was opening up to me."
"My heart began to beat wildly. ‘Father, please let me go to England to study. Please let me go to university.’"
"We were both overjoyed by the purchase of the house. It satisfied our yearning to put down roots in America."
"My opponent was the great ‘unknown’, about to be unmasked."
"It was comforting to feel needed by my patients even though my own world was crumbling."
"It was a gorgeous morning, sunny, breezy and smogless."
"You really should take that bulky sweater off before trying on these jackets."
"You see, ma'am, over here, the collar even hangs wrong."
"If you have no other rice to eat, then you must swallow this bitterness."
"Trust no one. People change and their feelings change also."
"I am glad you found a moment to write to us before your wedding."
"Life has been good to you. Why do you need to get embroiled with the likes of Lydia and Samuel?"
"I predict that nothing good will come of it. The more successful you are, the more jealous he will be."
"As campaign followed campaign, the situation at the Women’s Bank began to worsen."
"I’m warning you, if you associate with snakes you will be bitten."
"They started to cry, ‘Franklin was a sadistic monster and I’m glad he’s dead!'"
"You didn’t have to make such a scene, Susan."
"The sight of her handwriting filled me with nostalgia."
"But it never stopped him from accepting and smoking them."
"He smiled and said, ‘Yes, you’ve come to the right place. I’m Bob.’"
"In desperation, he finally blurted out, ‘Why is everything so difficult for me?'"
"Suddenly there they were! As our bus approached the centre of the former French concession, out of the cityscape arose a vision more powerful to me than any other on earth: two modest pillars guarding the entrance to the lane leading to my lao jia (old family home)."
"The more the pus exuded, the greater the beauty of her work. In the whole of China, there was nothing like it."
"Every day is already a gift. What is there to complain of?"
"The pendulum of history will swing from the ying ashes brought by the Cultural Revolution to the yang phoenix arising from its wreckage."
"I often think of life as a deposit of time. We are each allocated so many years, just like a fixed sum in a bank."
"This visit would be the last. Instinctively, I recoiled from the intolerable thought that Aunt Baba would soon be gone forever."
"It’s the one pleasure I have left since your father became ill."
"I am content with cu cha dan fan (coarse tea and plain rice)."
"Our entire family suffered when your Niang entered our home."
"It seemed as if the whole world was weeping."
"I realized how wise my mother had been to entrust me to the care of my remarkable aunt."