KweiLi's Golden Lilies Author:Kwei-Li, Eileen Goudge, Zhang Qing (Illustrator) A collection of letters written by the wife of a high Chinese official to her husband at the end of the 19th century when he accompanied his master, Prince Chung, around the world, and 25 years later to her mother-in-law when her husband had become Governor of Shanghai. — From Library Journal First edited and translated by American missionary Eli... more »zabeth Cooper in 1914, and issued as My Lady of the Chinese Courtyard, this two-part collection of letters has been adapted by best-selling author Goudge ( Garden of Lies, LJ 4/1/89). The first letters, written in the 1880s, are from a young wife to her new husband, who is traveling. They provide details of aristocratic family life within the strict confines of a traditional Chinese courtyard home. The second set, written 25 years later, are from the wife to her mother-in-law and record the early-20th-century transition to modern China. Unfortunately, the editorial additions (made in the original translation by Elizabeth Cooper) today result in a lack of authenticity. Kwei-Li could have had no reason to explain certain aspects of traditional Chinese culture to either her husband or her mother-in-law. The illustrations, by Zhang Ging, are delightful. Consider for lay readers interested in Chinese social history.« less
These letters paint an intimate portrait of Chinese life nearly 100 years ago as seen through the eyes of a noblewoman named Kwei-li. Adapted for modern readers, they retain their original charm & are accompanied by Chinese pen-and-ink drawings.