Lord has recreated the feeling of the traditional Chinese novel through her understated style, by her use of poetic titles for each section, and by her incorporation of clan tales and passages from Chinese history or poetry as introductions to the chapters. Spanning eight decades and five generations of the House of Chang, the novel is built on the framework of Spring Moon's life from her pampered girlhood to her anonymous and impoverished old age.

Another technique that imbues the novel with its strongly Chinese ambiance is Lord's use of symbols to tie together the multiple strands of her narrative. One example — the game of chess — should illustrate. The Chang chess set, bestowed on the founding ancestor by a grateful emperor, first appears as Bold Talent is packing his possessions to leave Yale and return to China to succeed his dead father as clan patriarch. As...