Reference
Reviewed by Kachina Martin, Studio Art & Art History instructor at Muhlenberg High School; grades 10-12
The previous reviewers both offer an excellent synopsis of the novel. To avoid redundancy, my review focuses on how I have utilized the text in a studio setting as well as in a team-taught course of which I am a part called Global Studies. In Global, students study works of art from various cultures versus creating works of art. Because of the nature of both the courses in which I have included this text, I was unable to have students read the entire text, but instead, focused on descriptive passages that suited the aims of the courses.
For my Multicultural Art course, which is studio based, I used small sections of the text that spoke about the beautiful embroidery created by Lily and Snow Flower and showed images representative of the objects and style of embroidery from this time period. I used this as a way to introduce a unit on embroidery as well as integrate reading into my course. Students were ultimately able to work in a more contemporary manner with their projects, but this was a valuable way to show the universality of women and the needle arts. Significantly, NuShu is derived from Chinese script, but was simplified and adapted for ornamental uses, like embroidery (Marine Cahalane, “NuShu: The Poetic Diary of a Subdued Sex,” 2012). Studio instructors could also reference author Lisa See’s many poetic descriptions of writing and use this as an innovative way to introduce the study of calligraphy to students.
My Global students read sections of the text that illustrated the hardships of women’s lives in rural China in the 19th century to complement our study of the art of China. While the students were interested in this topic overall, especially the idea of a “hidden” language, I think it especially spoke to female students as the story centers on the lives of women. A number of female students asked to borrow the text; some purchased it on their own. One student commented to me about how little things have changed in terms of the complex nature of female friendship.
This text is best suited to mature high school students given its tone and subject.
