Book One, Pages 1-38 Summary and Analysis

The prologue, titled "The City," includes detailed descriptions of the area of P'englai where Lao was born and lived most of her life. The region includes the Water City, where Lao and her family lives near the North Gate. "Book One. The Family," begins with a chapter titled, "Childhood, 1867-1870." Lao says that her father was an only child, his own parents dying when he was young and leaving him to be raised by his uncle who saw to it that her father was schooled. The family had once been wealthy but had squandered most of the family's inheritance by the time she was born. When Lao is born, her father is away working. He doesn't see Lao until she is a year old. Her mother lived a sheltered life as a youngster and has...