Читать книгу Her Unexpected Affair - Shea McMaster - Страница 7

In part, the idea for this story came from the book Fifth Chinese Daughter. It seems this book has always been part of my life, or rather, the title has. I didn’t actually read the book until starting this one.

Jade Snow Wong is a graduate of Mills College. At the time her book was first published, my mother was a student at Mills College. She has a signed copy of the first edition. I also graduated from Mills College, but more than forty years after Ms. Wong.

I was born the fifth child. My parents consulted with some Chinese-American friends who did some research and came back with the word Wu as the translation for Five or Fifth. So growing up, I was often called (Shea) Wu, fifth Chinese Daughter. A nickname that sometimes pops up today.

While it may have seemed odd to call a redheaded child Chinese Daughter, it generally brought some chuckles. However, although my roots are in no way Chinese, my family has ties to China/Asia. My mother spent six years during the 1930s living in the Philippines. Her father was an Army officer and when asked why he wanted a third tour of duty there replied, “It’s the only place in the world I can live as a gentleman on my salary.”

We also have, what I fear is badly damaged by now, film of my mother with her parents and brother in China somewhere around 1938. Those years, and later living near San Francisco, influenced my mother’s taste greatly and we grew up with furnishings and art that reflected this. My house today has several elements of Asian design. We also enjoyed a period of time when Mother developed an interest in Chinese cooking.

I’m no expert in China or her history, but I do find myself drawn to elements of her society. It is my great hope that I have done justice with my limited knowledge in the portrayal of my heroine, Meilin Wu. If there are mistakes, the blame belongs to my own imagination and ignorance.