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Lady Tan's Circle of Women
- Narrated by: Jennifer Lim, Justin Chien
- Length: 13 hrs and 1 min
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Lady Tan's Circle of Women
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Summary
In 15th-century China two women are born under the same sign, the Metal Snake. But life will take the friends on very different paths.
According to Confucius, ‘an educated woman is a worthless woman’, but Tan Yunxian – born into an elite family, yet haunted by death, separation and loneliness – is being raised by her grandparents to be of use. She begins her training in medicine with her grandmother and, as she navigates the male world of medicine, requiring tact and diplomacy, she struggles against the confining world of her class.
From a young age, Yunxian learns about women’s illnesses, many of which relate to childbearing, alongside a young midwife-in-training, Meiling. The two girls find fast friendship and a mutual purpose – despite the prohibition that a doctor should never touch blood while a midwife comes in frequent contact with it – and they vow to be forever friends, sharing in each other’s joys and struggles. No mud, no lotus, they tell themselves: from adversity beauty can bloom.
How might a woman like Yunxian break free of tradition, go on to treat women and girls from every level of society, and lead a life of such importance that many of her remedies are still used five centuries later? How might the power of friendship support or complicate these efforts? Lady Tan’s Circle of Women is a captivating story of women helping other women. It is also a triumphant reimagining of the life of a woman who was remarkable in the Ming dynasty and would be considered remarkable today.
What listeners say about Lady Tan's Circle of Women
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Marina
- 21-04-24
Great story!
I loved this book! Great story about female life, hardship, friendship...Naration was perfect too.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- SWA
- 29-05-24
Informative Read
Knew little of Chinese culture but learned a lot from reading this novel. Didn’t feel any affinity with any of the characters but the story’s knowledge base kept my interest to the end.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 08-06-24
Wonderful, moving story.
Loved every bit of this story. It was so well narrated that I just couldn’t put it down. My device went every where with me so I could continue to listen. It really made me think about how badly women have been treated through the centuries and how lucky we are today. Will definitely try more from this author and narrator.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mrs. S. G. Hart-jones
- 21-01-24
Sisterhood & beauty & humanitarianism
This book is transportative …. I got lost in lady tan’s world which was so credible and beautifully scribed. I highly recommend it to men and women as it focuses on the trials and tribulations of just being alive! But it is written with such compassion & human understanding. A must read or listen. Narration was perfect also!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Dione
- 22-05-24
Thoroughly absorbing and gripping.
I learned so much about traditional Chinese society from this well researched and absorbing story.The description of women's foot binding is shocking and yet the story was fascinating and I listened to the entire book over 2 days. It was expertly narrated.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sigrin
- 27-05-24
Imperial China
I felt so immersed in this book, living the lives and emotions of the women within this story, Lisa See is a fabulous author and the narration is without flaw.
Lisa See’s writing is so detailed but never is it tedious. The lives of these Chinese women from the fifteenth century is quite remarkable. The descriptions of their foot binding, along with the intricacy of hair pinning, despite the former being so barbaric was beautifully explained
This is my second Lisa See book and I can highly recommend The island of sea women if you like this.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 11-07-24
Loved it!!
Beautifully narrated, filled with fascinating history alongside an all round interesting story. I have learnt so much from this book about a culture I know very little about as well as the ancient Chinese approach to medicine and the human body, with particular focus on women. Fascinating!!
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- AB
- 06-01-24
Interesting
Very interesting and intriguing, filled with a wealth of historical details.
The narrator's voice and deliberate pace of reading were incredibly calming.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Anna
- 09-07-24
Great story, great writing
Easily one of the best books I have read/listened to. Amazing story. Highly recommend :)
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 12-12-23
fascinating and unbearable
it is fascinating to get a glimpse into the world of women in 15th century China. At the same time it was a very hard read and I nearly gave up a few times. The cruelty of the foot binding was hard to comprehend, women who were made cripples for the sake of beauty, unbearable. Then the stories of the eunuchs and the concubines... what a horrendous time to have lived in. the story was interesting but I was angry and sad during the whole book.
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2 people found this helpful