Adeline Yen Mah - Chinese Cinderella

Chinese Cinderella is the true story of my childhood up to the age of fourteen. It was difficult and painful to write, but I felt compelled to do so. My family considered me bad luck because my mother died giving birth to me. They discriminated against me and made me feel unwanted all my life.

Though mine is a simple, personal tale of the journey of one unloved little Chinese girl growing up in Shanghai and Hong Kong, please do not underestimate the power of such stories. In one way or another, every one of us has been shaped by the stories we have read and absorbed in the past. All stories, including fairy tales, present elemental truths, which can sometimes permeate your inner life and become part of you.

The fact that this story is true may hold special appeal. Today the world is very different from the place it was when I was a child. Though many Chinese parents still prefer sons, daughters are not so much despised. But the essential things have not changed. It is still important to be truthful and loyal, to do the best you can, to make the most of your talents, to be happy with the simple things in life, and to believe deep down that you will ultimately triumph if you try hard enough to prove your worth.

For those who were neglected and unloved as children, I have a particular message. In spite of what your abusers would have had you believe, please be convinced that each of you has within you something precious and unique. Chinese Cinderella is dedicated to you with the fervent wish that you will persist in trying to do your best in the face of hopelessness; to have faith in the end your spirit will prevail; to transcend your abuse and transform it into a source of courage, creativity and compassion.

Although Chinese Cinderella was written when I was in my late fifties, inside I am still the same little five-year-old yearning for the love of my parents.

Mother Teresa once said, Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted are the greatest poverty. To this I will add: Please believe that one single positive dream is more important than a thousand negative realities.

NAMES

In Chinese families, a child is called by many names.

1. My fathers surname is Yen (). My siblings and I inherited his surname. Chinese surnames come at the beginning of a persons name.

2. At birth, a baby is given a name by his or her parents. My given name is Jun-ling. Since my surname comes first, my Chinese name is Yen Junling. ()

3. At home, a child is called by a name dependent on the order of his or her birth. The oldest daughter is called Big Sister, the second daughter Second Sister and so on. There are separate Chinese words for older sister (jie,) and younger sister (mei,); older brother (ge,) and younger brother (di,). Since I was the fifth child in my family, my name at home was Fifth Younger Sister (Wu Mei, ). However, my younger siblings called me Wu Jie (