Madam Lin née Zheng

◎Earnestly recommended by Joan Chen, Ho Sok Fong, Li Zi Shu, and Ah Yi ◎The first non-fiction work by Lim Xuet Hong, a rising Malaysian Chinese author and winner of the Hua Zong Literary Award for Fiction "Look how much you're like her. You are, after all, your mother's child, whether you like it or not." A poignant story of an unnamed woman, a familiar tale of endurance and resilience A complex love-hate relationship between me and my mother, and a deeply painful self-interrogation —————————— "The Zheng Clan of the Lim Family" is a non-fiction work by Lim Xuet Hong, a rising Malaysian Chinese author. In this work, which took six years to write, Lim Xuet Hong, from a daughter's perspective, traces the life of her mother, Zheng Jin, a life of quiet endurance and resilience, acutely capturing the subtle and complex emotional entanglements between Chinese mothers and daughters. She conveys profound and sincere emotions with restrained language, mourning her deceased mother while also undertaking a deeply painful self-analysis and acceptance. "The Zheng Clan of the Lim Family" is a quiet whisper between two generations of women, and even more, a courageous examination of the female condition. ▶ A mother's life story written from a daughter's perspective: For the mothers who couldn't leave and the decisions that were never made Born into a large Chinese family in Malaysia, as the eldest daughter, she was deprived of educational opportunities early on. She went to Singapore alone to learn tailoring, and after returning, she poured all her efforts into running a small tailor shop; she was determined to establish a women's clothing school, hoping that more women would acquire a skill; she married early, and her small family, far from changing her fate, led her down an even harsher path. She was the unloved daughter, the mother of five children, the wife of a gambling-addicted husband, and the sole breadwinner of the family. She was Zheng Jin, an unnamed woman referred to only as "the Zheng Clan of the Lim Family" at her funeral. Her tailor shop, her dreams, her struggles, are a microcosm of the destinies of countless silent women. ▶ The subtle and complex emotional entanglements between Chinese mothers and daughters: "Look how much you're like her. You are, after all, your mother's child, whether you like it or not." ▷ "I deeply realized that I couldn't completely escape my mother, even though I had been away from Ula Port for so long, so far." Lim Xuet Hong once struggled to break free from the whirlpool of her mother's fate; she went to Tianjin and Beijing to study, constantly writing and working. However, after her mother's death, she fatefully discovered the similarities between mother and daughter: "Ironically, I had unknowingly inherited my mother's detestable personality." ▷ "She had always been a woman who longed to maintain dignity, and I inherited that side of her." Even while single-handedly bearing the heavy burden of supporting a family of seven, her mother never abandoned her adherence to dignity. "When she walked through the streets and alleys of Yayie Town, she always wore dresses she had sewn herself, adorned with a gold necklace and jade bracelet, sometimes carrying a parasol or handbag, and wearing a pair of black leather shoes." She also tried her best to ensure her children lived a dignified life — when her father wanted his daughters to work in factories to earn money, her mother never thought that way; she hoped her children could live lives commensurate with their talents. ▷ "Did my aversion cause her death?" Lim Xuet Hong was once annoyed by her mother's complaints and sighs, but at some point, she realized that she herself was also a burden on her mother. In the mourning mixed with aversion and guilt, facing and accepting her mother is also a way of understanding and accepting a more complete self. How a new generation of independent women confronts and handles intergenerational conflict seems to have found new possibilities at this moment. ▶ "Mourning Zheng Jin, for us" A courageous examination of the contemporary female condition through personal writing As I became more and more immersed in mourning her, I sank deeper and deeper into poverty and the whirlpool of my primary family. I wanted to break free from these constraints, or at least bravely examine it all. This tragic woman is no longer just "my mother." There is also a perpetually suffering "me" in the book, which is also the plight of many mothers and daughters; these combined represent the broader "us." ▶ Entering mid-life, facing death becomes a compulsory course From her grandmother's death to her mother's cancer diagnosis, Lim Xuet Hong, in her middle age, was suddenly pushed before death. Examinations, hospitalization, chemotherapy... she accompanied her mother through the last journey of her life, but regrettably missed their final farewell. She spent six years writing "The Zheng Clan of the Lim Family," as if only through writing could she prove that her mother had truly, tangibly existed. —————————— ◎Jung once wrote that a mother's love is a destined tragic fate, because her loved children are unable to fully reciprocate. From birth, children's steps constantly move forward, exploring, crossing boundaries, and even never looking back. They cannot repay, and if not written down, it will fade into a blank. Writing is like an inventory of debts, endless. Even if it's humble and mundane, it is so striking: "The Zheng Clan of the Lim Family" ironically states the fact that the patriarchal system cannot give women a home. Society turns a blind eye to the plight of mothers, collectively silent. Only a daughter's writing about her mother can rescue it. — Ho Sok Fong ◎A great work of Chinese literature. The best writing about family I have read to date. It doesn't romanticize or gloss over subjective elements, nor is it entirely objective like a news report. What I want to say is that it reveals inner truth at every turn. — Ah Yi

2025-08-01

上海人民出版社

Century Wenjing

272

9787208195530