Native American Heritage Month

Ask the Author: Lisa See

“Ask me a question.” Lisa See

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Have you heard of Hazel Ah Ying Lee? She was a Chinese-American female pilot in WWII. My friend just gave me a book about her written by Kay Gott.
Lisa See I haven't heard of Hazel. Have you heard of Katherine Cheung, the first Chinese American woman to become a pilot? Isn't it amazing how many wonderful stories of women there are out there? They inspire me every day.
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I left a question here about the novel Lady Tan's Circle of Women. I tried to find it to delete it because I think I figured it out. But it doesn't look like it's shown to the world unless you reply. If you happen to see this and my previous question, can you disregard please? Thanks!
Lisa See Ha! I just answered that question. No worries! You inspired me to pull out the book and take a look...
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I just read your answer to a different question, and it seems that in Mandarin, "wife" is represented as a woman with a broom. Is that correct? That would be rather...funny. Which makes me wonder about the symbol of a witch in Western cultures: woman on a broom. I wonder where that comes from? And do you know how a witch is depicted in Chinese?
Lisa See What a great -- and fun! -- question. I don't know the answer, but here's what I found on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wu_(sha...
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Dear Lisa See, First of all, I want you to know how much I love and appreciate your talent and hard work! I want to start writing my first book, I already have the plot and some scenes written in my laptop, but I cannot actually start writing because I can't find the best names for my characters. Do you have any tips for me? How do you name your characters? Thank you!
Lisa See I don't know why I'm not seeing this question until now. But here I am at last. I'm hoping you came up with your character names a long, long time ago, and the writing is going smoothly. In case you haven't, there are so many variables when creating names. Is a name appropriate to the culture and the time period in which the story takes place? Sometimes names can have a theme -- flowers, semi-precious stones, places. Sometimes a name just come to me...
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Can you explain the meaning of the AP review on the back of a hardcover of Lady Tan' Circle of Women that I read? "takes readers on a journey spanning generations, in this case 1938 to 2008". I could not find a reference to these years and this novel takes place in the 15th century. I loved this story! Thank you.
Lisa See That's because those quotes are all for THE ISLAND OF SEA WOMEN. I just had to check, and it says that at the top of the jacket.
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Dear Lisa See, I studied Chinese history in college and I love how your books bring to life what I learned so many years ago. Your characters are so rich and nuanced - like like we are. How much research does it take to set the mood and the scene of your books? P.S. I learned so many things from your books that I never learned in either High School or University, so thank your that! Barbara Franklin
Lisa See Dear Barbara,

I'm sorry it's taken me four months to respond. Eeek! Somehow this slipped through the cracks. Each book takes me about two years. The research is by far the longest part of the process. It's also my favorite part of the process. It's like a big treasure hunt. I never know what I'm going to find.
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Do you know if any of your books will have a show or presented on tv (specifically Lady Tan's Circle of Women)?
Lisa See Differnt novels have been optioned over the years to be made into a film or TV show. Only one was made: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. Right now two books are in development. We'll see what happens...
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Dear Lisa, are you writing any new books? After reading Lady Tan's Circle of Women it made me fall in love with historical fiction and I am yet to read Island of Sea Women next.
Lisa See I'm sorry, but I didn't see your questions until just this morning. Yes, I'm working on a new novel write. I'm very close to completely the first draft, which is why I've been ignoring other responsibilities...like checking Goodreads.
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I'm reading Lady Tan, and I'd assumed the characters were using Mandarin. The main character indicates that she uses "he" to refer to a baby in the womb and this subtlety wasn't lost on her listner. However, in spoken Mandarin there is no difference in "he" and "she"; they are both "ta." The difference is only in the written character. I'm curious: is this is an oversight/mistake? And if not, how did she say "he"?
Lisa See Such as astute question, but I think you've answered it yourself. In conversation the word would be "ta," as you point out. That's what I was thinking when I wrote that scene. However, you're right in the sense that this distinction isn't conveyed in English in the text. While I didn't explain this in this book, I know that I have in a couple of my other novels. Sometimes I don't want to slow the reader down with too much detail. Interestingly, in the novel I'm writing now, just yesterday I had a scene in which I was comparing written characters about men and women. Wife -- woman with a broom, and so on.
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I saw an interview with you on YouTube a few months ago. The interview was during the pandemic, maybe 2020-2022. You had mentioned that you were researching an ancestor of yours who were in the American west. Their story seemed interesting. I think it was a prospective book. Is this possible? If you ever write a book about them, I would love to read it. I have enjoyed reading every book of yours so far.
Lisa See I did all the research about my great-grandmother, who was born in South Dakota. But in the end I put that novel aside to write Lady Tan's Circle of Women. Maybe I'll return to Jessie's story one of these days...
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Hi Lisa See!! I'm just about to start Lady Tan's Circle of Women and am fascinated by how you were able to discover the protagonist's story! Is there a specific way that you like to find these characters? Or do you wait for the characters to become apparent to you through other works? Thank you so much!!
Lisa See Tan Yunxian was a real person. I discovered her when I was reading a book about women's reproduction in the Ming Dynasty. Then I found her book. The more I read about her, the more intrigued I became.
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Admiration note/Question I have read and loved your books some I have reread because they were written with such passion and your explanation of the Chinese life has been so informative (I even keep a note book of Chinese facts I have learned) one book has eluded me Forbidden City USA waiting for library exchange to find. The documentary of Tyrus Wong was superb will you ever write an entire book about his life?
Lisa See I don't plan to write an entire book about Tyrus. I have a chapter about him in On Gold Mountain. There's now a children's book about him and also a forthcoming biography written by Karen Fang.
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Are you Chinese American?
Lisa See I am one-eighth Chinese. I grew up in a very large Chinese American family.
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This question contains spoilers... (view spoiler)
Lisa See She was an elite woman in the highest, most educated class. If she wanted her daughters to marry into good families, then of course she would have bound her daughters' feet. If she hadn't, then her daughters would have needed to become servants or work in the fields.
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Just finished "Lady Tan" and really enjoyed it. I didn't know anything about this time in Chinese history before, but this book has really piqued my interest and fascination. Also, a friend who practices traditional Chinese medicine miraculously cured my sciatica a few years ago with acupuncture. I'm wondering what interesting things you may have learned about it in your studies or if it's in your other books? Thx!
Lisa See The history of Chinese medicine is old and very deep. There are far too many things that are interesting to fit into this little box, that's for sure. I've had a lot of acupuncture in my life, including for sciatica. It was a miraculous cure for that as it was for you too.

Thank you for your kind words about the book. You made my day!
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My new daughter-in-law is from Indonesia. Her parents are Indonesian and Chinese. She has told us about "coining" and in her case it has permanently scarred her back. I'm curious if you have ever written about it? Also wondering if you have written any books that includes any history of the migration of Chinese to Indonesia?
Lisa See I haven't written about coining, but I know what it is. I haven't written about Indonesia either. Maybe one of these days.
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Oh My Gosh! I didn't realize I could write to you on this platform. No questions.... just you're my favorite author. Please... never stop writing!!! I have recommended you to so many friends?
Lisa See This makes me so, so, so happy!
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Lady Tan's Circle of Women was a joy to read! Obviously, traditional Chinese medicine requires a much different approach than what we know in the West. During your journey of researching and writing, did you find your own views of health and medicine evolving? Are there any assumptions you held that you started to question? Have you reconciled both approaches to medicine in a way that makes sense?
Lisa See I've been going to Chinese medicine doctors since I was nineteen. I've integrated both systems into my life for such a long time that I don't even think about it. Different approaches work for different ailments. I'd never do solely one at the neglect of the other.
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How about a book signing/talk at Vroman's or All Saints/Pasadena?
Lisa See Not any time soon. I'm working on the new book, though. I'll for sure do something at Vroman's when it comes out.
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Just finished Lady Tan. Can't even pretend to understand the research required. I have read all your books and love them along with Brooks, Quindlen and Proulx. I have lived for a year on Taiwan in the '60's and have traveled twice to the mainland, so I know how authentic your writing is. I can taste it, see it, hear it, smell it. I can only aspire to do the same with my poetry. Coming to LA any time soon?
Lisa See First, thank you for your very kind words about my books. I actually live in Los Angeles.
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Lisa See
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