In the following essay, Ling discusses Sui Sin Far's fiction and her primacy in representing the concerns of Asian-American women at the turn of the century.

The personal story of what life was like for the Chinese and Eurasians in America at the turn of the century is Sui Sin Far's special contribution to American letters, for she was the first person of any Chinese ancestry to take up this subject. And she took up the subject as a woman warrior takes up her sword: to right/write wrongs and to uplift the downtrodden. Her major purpose in writing was to right wrongs done the Chinese in America, but her minor themes were to give credit due to working class women and to acknowledge the strength of the bond between women.

Sui Sin Far, translated literally, is "water fragrant flower," or narcissus; also called Chinese lily. A...