Yeh-Shen, A Cinderella Story from China

retold by Ai-Ling Louie; illustrated by Ed Young

Book reviews Story Characters Use of Magic Country of origin & printable map Related Books

From Publishers Weekly
Misty, jewel-like illustrations evoke the mythic past in this Chinese Cinderella story.

Ingram
Over 1,000 years before the first European Cinderella story appeared, the tale of Yeh-Shen was part of China’s storytelling tradition. “Executed with chromatic splendor--a unique combination of brilliance and restraint.”--The Horn Book. Full-color illustrations

Long ago a man named Wu was a cave chief of southern China. As per the custom, he had two wives. Both wives gave him a daughter. One of the wives got sick and died. Shortly after the wife’s death, Wu died.

Her stepmother, who was jealous of Yeh-Shen’s beauty, raised Yeh-Shen. Her own daughter was not pretty at all. The stepmother made sure that Yeh-Shen always did the heaviest and most unpleasant chores.

The only friend Yeh-Shen had was a fish. Everyday it would wait for her to come down to the pond and feed it. Yeh-Shen barely had enough food for herself but always managed to have a few bites for her fish. The fish grew to an enormous size.

When the stepmother heard about Yeh-Shen’s fish, she was angry. She sent Yeh-Shen to get some firewood. She put on Yeh-Shen’s old coat, and tricked the fish. When the fish came out of the pond, she stabbed it, wrapped it in the garment, and took it home for dinner.

When Yeh-Shen went to the pond that night and discovered her fish missing, she was overcome with grief and collapsed on the ground. Her tears fell into the pond.

Suddenly, an old man appeared. He told her about the magical powers her fish has. She explained tearfully that her friend was gone. The old man explained how her stepmother had killed her fish. He told her that her fish’s bones were filled with a powerful spirit. Whenever she is in need, all she needs to do is kneel before the bones and let them know what she needs. She was warned not to waste the gifts.

She wanted to ask the old man more questions but he rose to the sky. She went to the trash and pulled out the bones. Whenever she was lonely, she would talk to the bones.

Whenever she was hungry, which was quite often, she would ask the bones for food. She did not do it too often because she did not want her stepmother to find out.

Festival time was approaching. At the festival young men and young women from the village hoped to meet and to choose whom they would marry. Yeh-Shen would have loved to go, but her stepmother had other plans. She wanted her own daughter to find someone, and she did not want Yeh-Shen’s beauty to interfere.

The stepmother and her daughter left for the festival dressed in their finest. The stepmother warned Yeh-Shen to watch the fruit trees and let no one steal the fruit.

After they left, Yeh-Shen told the bones how she wanted to attend the festival, but all she had to wear was rags. The fish bones gave her an azure blue dress with a cloak of kingfisher feathers. On her feet were the most beautiful golden shoes she had ever seen. The fish bones warned Yeh-Shen not to lose her slippers. She said she would be very careful and went to the festival.

When she arrived at the festival, she turned a lot of heads. Yeh-Shen overheard her stepsister ask her stepmother if the beautiful girl resembled Yeh-Shen. Because she didn’t want to be recognized, Yeh-Shen ran down the mountainside. As she ran she lost one of her golden slippers. As soon as she lost the slipper, she was back in her rags. All she had left was the one golden slipper. She hurried to give the other golden slipper to the bones promising to find the other, but the bones remained silent. She hid the shoe in her bedstraw and went outside and cried herself to sleep.

The stepmother left to check on Yeh-Shen. When she arrived home, she found her asleep with her arms wrapped around a fruit tree. Thinking no more about it, she returned to the festival.

Meanwhile, a villager found the golden shoe and thought it was valuable. He sold it to a merchant. The merchant gave it to the king of the island kingdom T’O Han.

The king was glad to get the slipper. He found it fascinating. The more he marveled at its beauty, the more determined he was to find its owner.

He ordered a search of all the ladies in the kingdom, but none fit into the slipper. When this did not work, he ordered a search to include the cave women from the countryside. Since this search would take forever, the king decided to put it on display and tell the women that they wanted to give it back to the owner. The king and his men hid and waited.

By day’s end, many women including Yeh-Shen’s stepmother and stepsister tried on the slipper, but it did not fit any of them. Wearily, the king kept watch into the night.

In the darkest part of the night, Yeh-Shen finally arrived. She examined the shoe to make sure that it was the right shoe. She wanted to be able to return the shoe to the fish bones.

When Yeh-Shen picked up the shoe and went to leave, the king thought of throwing her in jail. When he saw the sweetness in her face, it did not go with her rags. Then, he noticed that she had the tiniest feet he had ever seen.

When Yeh-Shen arrived home with the shoe, she hoped to return both shoes to the fish bones. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. It was the king. In a kind way, he asked Yeh-Shen to try on the shoe. When she slid into the shoe, her rags turned into the azure blue dress. She was beautiful. The king fell in love with her. Not long after this, she married the king. Because of the stepmother and stepsister’s treatment of Yeh-Shen, the king forbid them to come to the palace. It is said that they stayed in their cave home where one day they were crushed to death by flying stones.

Wu - He was Yeh-Shen’s father. He had two wives and two daughters. He died.

Yeh-Shen’s mother - She got sick and died.

Yeh-Shen - She was an orphan who lived with her stepmother and stepsister. She was bright and lovely. She had to work hard. She had a fish for a friend. She found out that the fish bones were magical. She thought her stepsister recognized her when she was at the festival; so, she ran away. When she ran, she lost one of her golden slippers. The king tried the golden slipper on her, and it fit. She married the king.

Stepmother - She had a daughter. She was jealous of Yeh-Shen’s beauty. She gave Yeh-Shen the heaviest and most unpleasant chores. She killed Yeh-Shen’s fish. She went to the festival. She ended up being crushed by flying rocks.

Stepsister - She was not very pretty. She went to the festival and thought she recognized Yeh-Shen. She ended up being crushed by flying rocks.

King - He was happy to receive the golden slipper from the merchant. He had to find the girl who owned the slipper. He found Yeh-Shen and fell in love with her. He married Yeh-Shen. He forbids her stepmother and stepsister to come to the palace.

Old Man - He was a very old man. He wore the coarsest clothes. His hair was down over his shoulder. He told Yeh-Shen how her fish had died. He told her about the magical fish bones.

Merchant - He gave the golden slipper to the King.

The first act of magic was when the old man appears to Yeh-Shen at the pond. He tells Yeh-Shen how her fish died, and how the fish bones were magical. When Yeh-Shen wants to ask the old man more questions, he flows up into the sky.

Next, when Yeh-Shen was hungry, she would ask the fish bones for food. This how she survived day by day. The fish bones were magical.

Next, when she wants to go to the festival, she tells the fish that all she has to wear is her rags. The fish bones gave her a gown of azure blue, with a cloak of kingfisher feathers. To go with this outfit, she was given golden shoes.

The next feat of magic is when she loses a shoe. Her clothes turned back into rags.

Then at the end when Yeh-Shen tries on the slipper for the king, the shoe fits. Her rags immediately turned into the azure blue dress again. The king immediately fell in love with her and married her.

According to Jonathan Clements, children were expected to work from a very young age (21). Since the death of Yeh-Shen’s parents, she was made to do the heaviest and the most unpleasant chores. Nowhere in the book does it say that her stepsister didn’t have to do any chores. Evidentially all children had chores to do.

“People in China were expected to put their family above everything” (Clements 18). In a way, that is what the stepmother did in the story with her own daughter. She did not allow Yeh-Shen to go to the festival, because she did not her beauty to interfere with her daughter getting someone to marry. When it came to work, she gave Yeh-Shen the heaviest and the most unpleasant jobs. She did not give them to her daughter. She took her daughter over Yeh-Shen.

Ancient Chinese were ruled by an emperor according to Jonathan Clements (2). In this story, there is a king who rules the people. He is the one that finds Yeh-Shen and falls in love with her. He eventually marries her.

While the king is searching for the girl who fits the golden slipper, he notices that Yeh-Shen has the tiniest feet he had ever seen. “Small feet were considered a sign of beauty” (Clements 13). When the king first saw Yeh-Shen, he noticed her beauty, but the book points out that her small feet is what he really noticed.

Clements, Jonathan. Chinese Life . Barron, 2000.