Ai-Ling LouieBesprekingen

This may be the original "Cinderella" story, dating back from about 900 CE. Before reading, we discussed what students remembered about Cinderella. After reading we were able to discuss similiarities and differences between the books.

Role of fairy god mother filled by enchanted fish bones. Step mother and step sisters meet a terrible fate. Includes history of this version of the Cinderella tale.

As much as I enjoy the fact that the Cinderella story is one which is retold in almost every culture around the world, this rendition leaves much wanting. The story itself is wonderful, due to Louie's clear and concise prose, but the illustrations did not mesh well with the narrative. Clearly the designer of the book was trying to emulate Chinese aesthetics, but Young's illustrations were placed oddly in relation to the text and rarely seemd to actually illuminate the story. This overall dissonance was further enhanced by the fact that there was so much white space on the pages, both in relation to the illustrated portions and the text boxes, which really acted as a detriment to the overall aesthetics than to act as a balance to the interactions of the illustrations and text.

Yeh-Shen is mistreated by her cruel stepmother in this Chinese Cinderella story, taken from the 9th-century collection, The Miscellaneous Record of You Yang. Made to do all of the work and dressed in rags, Yeh-Shen's only comfort is the magical fish she befriends. When this too is taken by her stepmother, she is in despair, until she discovers that the bones of her fish can still speak to her, and can grant her wishes. Using this magic to attend a festival, she leaves behind one of her golden slippers, and when this footwear finds its way into the hands of a king, her life is transformed...

Originally published in 1982, Yeh-Shen: A Cinderella Story from China was a tale handed down in author Ai-Ling Louie's family, and is one she was surprised to discover predated the European variant of the story (which first saw print in 1634 AD) by some centuries. She makes this point in her brief note, and includes a reproduction of the original Chinese text of her tale. It's interesting to note that Louie speculates that this tale-type might have traveled from Asia to Europe, given the difference of recorded dates between the two versions. I'm not sure what the state of research into the subject was, back in the 80s, but I think this idea is called into question by the existence of the Egyptian Cinderella story of Rhodopis, which was recorded in the late first century BC by the Greek geographer Strabo, and then in the work of the Roman author Aelian (ca. 175–235 AD). Of course, it is still possible that the story originated in Asia, and simply traveled west far earlier than Louie posited. But when it comes to the written record, the Egyptian variant of this story is certainly the earliest recorded, that we know of.

Leaving all of that aside, this was an engaging story, one with many familiar elements - the cruel stepfamily, the magical aid to the heroine, the dainty slipper which inspires a king to seek out its owner - and some others that were quite different from the version with which many western readers will be familiar. I was struck by the fact that the king in question becomes enchanted with Yeh-Shen simply by looking at her slipper, without ever having seen her in person. This was quite similar to the scenario in The Golden Sandal: A Middle Eastern Cinderella Story, which relates an Iraqi version of the tale. It's clear that part of what enchanted the king here is the smallness of the slipper, making me wonder about the relationship of this idea - the desirability of small and dainty feet on women - to the Chinese practice of foot-binding. That is something I would have been interested to see explored, in the author's note, although sadly Louie does not mention it. The accompanying artwork from Ed Young, done in pastel and watercolor, has a delicate beauty that is well-suited to the tale, and add a sense of mystery and enchantment to the reading experience. Recommended to young folk and fairy-tale lovers, and to readers interested in Cinderella stories.

The tale of Yeh-Shen had been told in her family for three generations when, to her surprise, a research trail led Ms. Louie to the Cinderella of her grandmother’s story as recorded in an ancient Chinese manuscript, which is reproduced in this book. Further research confirmed that the story had been told in China since the days of the T’ang dynasty (618-907 A.D.), whereas the earliest known European version is an Italian tale dating from 1634.

I love the story of Cinderella. This is a great cultural twist on it. I was so engaged throughout the semester.

Cinderella is known in all types of cultures. Join Yeh-Shen as she transforms from a poor woman to a beautiful princess with the help of her fish bones.

Yeh-Shen lived with her father, mother, and stepmother. The father married two wives, and both bore children. Yeh-Shen's father and mother both passed away, and she was left to live with her step-mother and half-sister. The stepmother disliked Yeh-Shen because of her beauty and decided to make her life miserable. The story takes a turn for Yeh-Shen when the king begins his quest to find his queen because of a beautiful slipper that was sold to him. I really disliked this part of the story, because it seems to be very chauvinistic. The king seeks out the person who owns the slipper because it is a small slipper. He's never laid eyes on the owner of the slipper, he knows that the owner will be his wife because of the small size. He relates beauty to size. The story ends where the mother and sister die in a cave by fallen rocks. The story seems detached in so many ways, as if I was reading three different stories that were forced together. The story still received two stars only for the purpose of the introduction. The beginning of the story was very good, it just began to fall apart at the seems once the quest for the queen began.

This Cinderella Story from China is quite similar to the fairy tale familiar to Americans today. Yeh-Shen is an orphan living with her mean-spirited step-mother and step-sister. She finds solace in her pet fish, but it is soon killed by her step-mother. At the advice of an old man, Yeh-Shen prays to the fish bones and receives a beautiful gown, cloak, and slippers so that she may attend the spring festival. The illustrations are wispy and ethereal, with the illustrator unafraid of using a lot of white space. The red-bordered panels are identical to Lon Po Po, also illustrated by Ed Young. The text often runs on into subsequent panels; this may be reminiscent of the Chinese writing system.

The book was okay...It was not as exciting i thought it would be, but i still love a good old cinderella stories especially from different countries. Yes its another cinderella story where there is a mean stepmom and sister but no fairy godmother but fish bones that would grant her wishes . The illustrations were different from what i have seen in other cinderella stories.
It is a good read aloud book to read to students/children. Ask the kids questions about the book and compare this book to another cinderella story.

I had mixed feelings about this book after reading it. I liked the book because of the familiarity of the story, but I did not like the ending of the book. I realize that this is a retelling of an ancient Chinese tale, but I feel as though the writing could have been organized in a better way, because the flow of the story was a bit slow. I did enjoy how the language of the book was descriptive, but there were some parts that were very convoluted, such as the stepsister not really playing any role in the story. The characters were believable, but they were not well developed with the exception of the main character. The point of view was third person with no dialogue throughout the story. The plot was somewhat organized, the pace is slow, and there are elements of suspense and conflict, such as the stepmother killing the Yeh-Shen's only friend, a fish. The illustrations are appropriate to the mood of the story because they are bland and stereotypical, such as slanted eyes. Overall, I found the story hard to follow, and I think the ending was a bit dark or morbid for young children.

I would use this book in grades K-3rd grade. In Kindergarten and 1st grade I would use this book as a read aloud because young child find fairytales to be interesting and the content is a little hard for these grades to read by them self. In 2nd and 3rd the book could be used as a independent read for students who like fairytales.

Yeh-Shen is forced to live with her stepmother after he father dies. Her only friend is a fish, which once her stepmother finds out about the fish, she tricks it and cooks it for dinner. Yeh-Shen saves the bones, which are magic, and they help her get a dress for a festival. When she loses her slipper after a fast exit, the king finds her and falls in love with her. This is retold from one of the oldest Cinderella stories. A source note includes the story as it appears in Chinese script from the ninth century.

A different spin on the classic Cinderella tale that we know of. This is a Chinese version of this story.

I love the illustrations in this book, and if you are interested in learning about diverse cultures it is a treat to read. However, I would not recommend this for very young students (K-2) because of the violence. It is almost like a brother's Grimm fairy tale because it is very traditional and not sugar coated.

3rd-8th
This story may be particularly interesting for girls in this age range. It is about a young girl who dresses up and then finds love. Also, students who are Chinese may relate well to the story and the morals represented.
This is the Chinese version of Cinderella. It could be very useful for comparing and contrasting texts. Students will read each. They will find as many similarities and differences as possible and summarize their findings.

This is one of the oldest versions of the story Cinderella. I really like how I can tell the similarities between the two stories. For example, "Her stepmother was jealous of all this beauty and goodness, for her own daughter was not pretty at all. So in her displeasure, she gave poor Yeh-Shen the heaviest and most unpleasant chores," which you automatically know relates back to the Cinderella we all know familiarly. I really like the illustrations in this story. They are very simplistic and there are rare times, where there is much detail added to the characters. For example, once Yeh-Shen puts on both of the gold slippers she transformed into her feathered cloak and azure gown, and on the next page is a portrait of her, her face is very detailed and so is the top part of her dress. I also loved that in each of the illustrations of Yeh-Shen, there was a subtle image of her fish friend. The illustrations make it seem like he was always with her because of the subtle overlap of the fish.

The big message in this book is karma and the saying, "what goes around, comes around," is very relevant. Yeh-Shen's stepmother and stepsisters were very rude to her and treated her like dirt. So they "got what was coming to them," when Yeh-Shen went off to marry the prince at the end. The story ends at, "they remained in their cave home, where one day, it is said, they were crushed to death in a shower of flying stones." Also, when the book says, "Since they had been unkind to his beloved, the king would not permit Yeh-Shen to bring them to his palace." This also shows the meaning of, "what goes around, comes around."

I thought that this book was good for 3 reasons. I liked that is was the original Cinderella Story, and I can see where the other adaptations have come from. Second, I also liked that the illustrations matched the Chinese culture of water painting and using frames on the pages to divide the pictures and texts. Finally, I liked that even though the author used a different grammar format, it was still really easy to understand the message being conveyed.

Genre: fiction/fairy tale

Ages: 6-10

Connections to other books: Cinderella & The Golden Sandal: A Middle Eastern Cinderella

Class activities: Compare it to the other Cinderella stories

Young girl loses her father and is raised by her cruel stepmother. Her only friend is a talking fish who her stepmother kills. The bones of the fish are magical and makes her wishes come true.

This story is a great way to show students a different take on the classic fairy tale. Students will be able to understand that different cultures may interpret the classic story in their own way.

SUMMARY
After Yeh-Shen's father dies, she is forced to live with her stepmother and stepsisters. Her only friend was a fish. When he stepmother learned of the fish, she tricked it into jumping onto the bank of the pond, killed it, and cooked it for dinner. As Yeh-Shen wept for her fish, a spirit appeared that told her to wish upon the magical bones of the fish. One day she wished to have clothes to go to the festival. The bones granted her a beautiful outfit. When she was at the festival, she feared her stepmother recognized her so she ran away, losing her shoe in the process. The king was sold the shoe and desired to discover who it belonged to. He returned it to where it was found, hoping the original owner would retrieve it. When Yeh-Shen came back for it, the king asked her to try on the shoe and fell in love with her.

REVIEW
I enjoyed this spin on the Cinderella tale. I thought the use of the fish bones as the classic fairy godmother was very interesting, but also very appropriate for the culture. I do feel like some parts, like the part where she attends the party, were rushed. Yeh-Shen walked into the party and then almost immediately left once she thought she heard her name. It just made it harder for me to understand why the king would search for the girl who could wear the shoe. The illustrations were very subtle and had a nice airiness about them.

Yeh-Shen is a Cinderella story set in a Chinese village. The plot is very much the same as the Disney version, except there are cultural differences. It's relatable story because we have all heard it. It's an easy way to show a young reader that not every culture values what their culture does.

This tells the tale of Cinderella from the Chinese perspective. Students will notice that the story includes many differences from the version that they are used to. It includes Chinese culture and the illustrations reflect that.

The first thing that caught my eye about this book was that the author put a twist on the original cinderella story. The author made the book about "a Cinderella story from China". Therefore, she changed the original story around to allow readers to get a different cultural perspective on the traditional story. I really enjoyed reading this book because I was able to compare it to the original Cinderella story that i've known since I was a child. The central message is to not give up on finding happiness.

Summary: Yeh-Shen grew up as an orphan after her mother died. She was forced to live with her stepmother. Since Yeh-Shen was so pretty, her stepmother was jealous because her child was not as pretty. Therefore, Yeh-Shen was forced to do heavy and unpleasant chores. The only friend she had was a pet fish that lived in a nearby pond. When the stepmother heard about Yeh-Shen's fish friend, she went to the pond and killed it, expecting to make it for dinner that night. When Yeh-Shen went to the pond later that day to visit her friend, she was devastated to find that the fish went missing. As she sat there crying, an old man walked up to her and told her that her stepmother caused her misery. He also advised Yeh-Shen to collect any remaining bones of her fish friend and to pray to them whenever she needed to. Yen-Shen took advantage of his advice and prayed to the fish bones whenever she needed comfort. A festival was in town. Yen-Shen really wanted to go! However, her stepmother did not want anyone to see how beautiful Yeh-Shen was, and therefore made her stay at home. Yen-Shen prayed to the fish bones for beautiful clothes to wear as she snuck to the festival. She suddenly found herself in a gown and slippers! She turned many heads as she arrived at the festival, people wanted to know who she was. However, she overheard her stepsister telling her mother that she resembled Yeh-Shen. Yen-Shen then raced back home. While doing this, she lost one of her golden slippers. All of her fine clothes also turned back to rags. Only one golden shoe remained with Yeh-Shen. Someone had found the golden slipper and gave it to the king. The king was determined to find the owner of the slipper. Women from all over came to try the shoe on. However, it did not fit any of them. Yen-Shen decided to sneak out in the middle of the night to see the golden slipper that the king had. When the king first saw her, he didn't believe that she could own a golden slipper. However, all of this changed when he realized how beautiful she was. The king allowed her to take the golden slipper back home. Yeh-Shen was very excited! After she arrived back home, there was a loud bang at her door. The king had come to her house. He asked her to try on the golden slipper. As she did, her rags were transformed into a feathered cloak and a beautiful gown. The king knew he had finally found his true love. They soon married and Yeh-Shen was able to live in the castle with the king.

I enjoyed both the story and illustrations in this book. A twist on the traditional Cinderella story we have always heard, but excellent for Chinese students. Since the fish was such a significant piece of the story being her only friend and then the bones being magic, on every page an illustration of a fish was apparent which I liked because it tied it all together on the main focus. I like how it kept certain Chinese traits as well, like small feet being something admired, because the king wanted to find whoever owned the very tiny shoe. The author who retold this story used an excellent voice for the young readers. The main message in this story was about not wasting wants on selfish desires but of true desires of the heart. Also I like how it showed through hard work and persevering kindness one can have a happy ending after all. One thing I did not like about this book is the gruesome ending it had for the step mother and step sister dying in the cave. While many could consider this a happy ending because they "got what they deserved" I do not believe that that type of ending should be viewed as positive to children. Overall, excellent book and apparently the first true story of Cinderella made it extra intriguing relating it to what most other people think is the traditional story.