Filial Piety

Book excerpt: In a time of tense Chinese American relations, Filial Piety: Memoir of a Good Daughter relates a uniquely honest experience of a Chinese immigrant. Readers will be enchanted by Chinese traditions and swept into an eyewitness account of the White Terror, the Communist takeover of China, the Chinese American protests, and the obstacles of assimilating into American society. Yet even more powerful than the historical events is the strength of family love. The narrators dedication to her family perseveres through communist, feminist, and technological revolutions; through her stress and guilt as a working mother; and through the tragedy and deathbed triumph of her parents marriage. In one magnificent breath, Filial Piety takes in two cultures, two belief systems, and two marriages to show how this important valuefilial pietyendures.