See’s novel features female physician Tan Yunxian in 15th century China

by Carolyn Ray

Over the past four years, our book club has featured stories about women who have challenged convention, embraced the unknown and broken ‘the rules’. Our November 2023 Book of the Month, Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by New York Times bestselling author Lisa See, continues that theme. This book shares the captivating true-life story of  Tan Yunxian and her quest to become a physician, and is set during the Ming Dynasty in 15^th century China, at a time it was believed that “an educated woman is a worthless woman.” (Confucius)

Inspired by the real story of Yunxian. Lady Tan’s Circle of Women is not only the story of women helping women, but also a triumphant reimagining of a remarkable and inspirational woman. This story begins in 1469, when the main character, Tan Yunxian, is eight years old, in the fifth year of the Chenghua emperor’s reign. When her mother passes away unexpectedly, she goes to live with her grandparents in the city of Wuxi, in southern Jiangsu province, northwest of Shanghai. Her grandmother is one of only a handful of female doctors in China, and she teaches Yunxian the pillars of Chinese medicine, the Four Examinations—looking, listening, touching, and asking—something a man can never do with a female patient. Yunxian—born into an elite family, yet haunted by death, separations, and loneliness—is being raised by her grandparents to be of use. Befriended by a young midwife, Meiling, she learns how to break free of traditions and lead a life of importance, creating a circle of women supporting each other in a society that emphasized tradition and rules above all else.

Tan Yunxian was a real woman who went on to become a “ming yi” — famous doctor — and published a compendium of 31 cases in the work “Miscellaneous Records of a Female Doctor” in 1511. In it, she records her treatments for “women’s complaints,” such as menstrual irregularities, repeated miscarriages, barrenness, and postpartum fatigue. Yunxian married at age 15, raised four children, and practiced medicine on women, passing away at age 93.

 “We tend to learn history in terms of wars, dates, and the generals, kings and presidents who made the “big” decisions. But if you take one step away from the front line of history, you see women, children, and the elderly. All of those people are participating in history too, only their stories are often ignored as “unimportant.” I feel very honored and privileged that I get to tell those stories. They are important to me as a woman, wife, mother, and now grandmother.” – Lisa See

Set during the Ming Dynasty

During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), China became a prosperous and influential empire, and a major cultural power in Asia, with deeply rooted cultural traditions of fine literature, pottery, and near-global exploration. Confucianism was, and still is, a belief system that prioritizes social status and respect over pursuits of enlightenment or heaven. Confucius wrote heavily on the concepts of piety, or cultural and spiritual dedication, which he considered to come in a number of forms, including reverence towards one’s parents and elders and reverence of husbands by their wives.

This was a time of modesty, when a wealthy woman could not see a male doctor without having a male relative such as her father, husband, or son present. The male doctor questioned the husband, not the woman herself. He might not be allowed to see her face. He needed to ask for permission to feel her pulse. Therefore, because Tan was a woman, she was allowed by her female patients to do things that a male doctor could not, and this intimacy in turn led to a better diagnosis of the patient’s problems.

As See notes in her introduction, Colombus didn’t lay sight on the Americas until 31 years after Yunxian’s birth, and most western medicines were created out of alcohol or herbs. Another practice prevalent through the story is that of foot binding, the Chinese custom of breaking and tightly binding the feet of young girls in order to change their shape and size.

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