Lady Tan's Circle of Women

Yunxian has been married seven months and knows that her mother-in-law disapproves that Yunxian is not yet pregnant. Yunxian misses the sense of purpose she felt working with her grandmother and longs to make use of her knowledge and skills. Meiling has not written, though Yunxian writes letters to them both. She wonders “what it would be like to be a man, moving with determination, going beyond the gate, when [she is] not permitted to peek through a crack in the wall” (101). Feeling ill and sad, Yunxian visits the Garden of Fragrant Delights, an extensive and beautifully-tended landscape set within the walls of the compound.

Being part of a family with fortune, Yunxian realizes, means being secluded. She spends her days in the inner chambers with the other women of the household, who scheme for power and position. Yunxian remembers her grandmother’s advice to “be a hidden dragon. Do not act” (104) and takes this to mean she should watch and bide her time until she has more freedom. She enjoys the time she spends with her husband and that she is able to please him, including with the shape of her bound feet.

Yunxian does not feel she fits in with any of the groups of women: the wives, the concubines, or her husband’s sisters. She spends time with a young girl, Yining. Yunxian determines the cause of Yining’s illness, which the family physician, Doctor Wong, does not seem to have addressed. When she is treating Yining with traditional remedies, Lady Kuo intervenes and orders Yunxian to stop practicing medicine, as Doctor Wong is the true authority. Lady Kuo has intercepted the letters Yunxian wrote to Meiling and insists that Yunxian cannot be friends with a midwife.

Yunxian listens to the concubines gossiping about events in the broader world. Miss Chen, one of Master Yang’s concubines, comments on how the Ming empire, replacing the Mongol Empire, has returned to the traditional Chinese ways of the Han dynasty and is fortifying the Great Wall to keep the Mongol armies out. Yining has recovered her health, and others have begun to approach Yunxian for remedies, though she is careful not to let Lady Kuo know. Yunxian confirms that Miss Chen is pregnant and goes with her to inform Lady Kuo. Yunxian announces at the same time that she, too, is pregnant. When Doctor Wong comes to confirm their pregnancies, Miss Chen asks him if he has helped her “become full with child” (124).

Spinster Aunt helps Yunxian through her pregnancy. Yunxian’s labor is difficult, and she discovers the baby is not in the correct position. Poppy fetches Midwife Shi and Meiling, who reposition the baby for delivery. The child is a girl. As Meiling visits during Yunxian’s month of postpartum seclusion, they repair the breach in their friendship. Then, Lady Kuo sends Meiling away and orders Spinster Aunt to help Yunxian finish “doing the month” (136), as the postpartum period is called.

Yunxian falls ill again after learning Miss Chen gave birth to a boy named Manzi. Spinster Aunt hints at a concern she has about the boy’s birth. The next morning, Yunxian takes an early walk in the garden and finds Spinster Aunt’s body. She has drowned with her face in a pool.

Her husband and father-in-law scold Yunxian for creating a scene about finding Spinster Aunt’s body, as now there will be an inquest. Yunxian attends and is called as a witness, though she is weak and bleeding. Midwife Shi examines the body, and Yunxian is confused when the magistrate’s findings do not match the marks on the body, including an injury on the head. The magistrate concludes that Spinster Aunt slipped on her bound feet and hit her head when she fell, and the drowning is ruled an accidental death.

Yunxian’s illness worsens, and Doctor Wong is baffled by her symptoms. Meiling comes to help and brings Grandmother Ru, along with Poppy and Miss Zhao. Yunxian feels reassured that “[a] circle of women surrounds [her] now” (152). Grandmother properly diagnoses Yunxian, explaining that her sadness and loneliness combined to make her ill. Grandmother gives Yunxian the appropriate remedies. Doctor Wong has put Midwife Shi out of work, so Meiling takes over her mother’s practice.

Maoren visits to say goodbye before he leaves for the capital to take the imperial exams. Grandfather Tan visits also, and Yunxian realizes how much he cares for her. Her grandfather arranges for Yunxian to see Meiling and to visit her grandparents once a month. Meiling and Yunxian grow close again. There are differences in their stations—Meiling is a working woman, Yunxian a lady—but Yunxian wants to preserve their precious balance, like yin and yang.