Historical fiction writers need to serve two masters. The first is a strict adherence to facts, location, and real-life characters. The other is effective world-building through relatable characters. Eve J. Chung’s new novel Daughters of Shandong is a confident, gripping, heart pounding epic that perfectly balances those priorities.
Chuang, a women’s civil rights lawyer said “Chinese people have a saying ‘Zhong nan qing nu,’ …’Value men, belittle women.’ Sexism was, and still is, so ingrained in our culture that many women consider it part of fate.” Daughters of Shandong is a thrilling debut from a writer adept at mixing unforgiving brutality with the tenderness of a family focused not just on surviving but persevering. Sampan spoke with Chung about her inspiration, process, and hopes for what this story from the past can teach readers of today and tomorrow. What follows is an edited transcription of her emailed responses.
SAMPAN: You’ve noted that this is a work of both passion and grief. Readers will notice immediately the careful balancing act you’ve walked in this fictionalized story of your grandmother and her journey. How would you describe that mission from writing a family history for your children to creating a compelling narrative?
CHUNG: The shift from family history to a fictional narrative was actually easier than I thought it would be, in part because my grandmother’s life had so many amazing details packed into it, but also because there were many real stories from that period to draw from. I ended up borrowing true elements from other members of my family, and also doing research to see what refugees went through at the camp that my grandmother was at. The biggest fictional challenge for me was human relationships. I didn’t know my grandmother’s second sister well at all, nor did I remember my great-grandmother much, so I had to invent the dynamics between them. Though I do not have a sister, I used inspiration from my relationship with my own mom, and my own feelings as a mother to write my characters’ interactions. In the end, I tried to empathize with each character, which helped me understand their motivations and imagine how they might respond to the challenges that they faced.
SAMPAN: The women of the landowning Ang family find themselves stranded in the Chinese countryside of Shandong. One of the big recurring themes of your novel isn’t just about female empowerment, but also the marginalization of women. As a woman’s human rights lawyer, your focus has been combatting slavery, torture, sexual and gender-based violence. Do you feel more compelled now than ever for readers to understand the entrenched sexism of Chinese culture? Is it institutionalized in 2024, or do you see hope for change?
CHUNG: Though I didn’t write this book with any lessons in mind, the reason I became a women’s human rights lawyer is because of the injustices that I observed growing up. I would say now, having written the book, that I hope it helps draw attention to the entrenched sexism that women face in many cultures around the world. Regarding Chinese culture specifically, I have seen that in my generation, there have already been many changes, but challenges still remain. All over the world, there is backlash against women’s rights, which is chipping away at hard-earned progress for gender equality—this is true as well in the country that I live in, the United States. That is both scary and disheartening to me, and I hope that we remember how far we have come in terms of moving away from harmful traditions and practices, and that we continue to push forward. It is imperative for us all to examine our own biases, and counter beliefs that make any person inferior to another on the basis of their sex.
SAMPAN: You make an effort to let us know that while the events of Daughters of Shandong take place in China and Taiwan, the challenges detailed are common in many places. What are the contemporary parallels between your story and others happening in 2024?
CHUNG: Today, there are still many laws, in many countries, that do not give women the same rights as men. Even without laws, there are still practices that discriminate against women. For example, there are still families that will prioritize boy children over girl children, because boy children pass on the family name. As a result, girls are still less likely to go to school, and they are more likely to be married off as children. In terms of laws, there are still governments in which women do not have the same nationality rights, marriage/divorce rights, employment rights, and inheritance/property rights as men do. What saddens me most is that there are still many women and girls who are refugees and/or suffer as a result of armed conflict, just like my grandmother and her family.
SAMPAN: The mother in your novel is valiant, indomitable, and certainly does seem to be the catalyst to potentially break the chain of events holding women down. The family makes it to Taiwan stronger, wiser, but certainly imbued with enormous grief and suppressed rage. How do you think that’s manifested in this family, yours, and others?
CHUNG: This book was also the product of grief and anger that I’ve held inside me about how women and girls are treated in the culture that I grew up in. My great-grandmother—who the mother in my book is based on—suffered from decades of domestic abuse, and her financial dependence on her husband was one of the reasons that she stayed. Her experience affected all of the women in my family, profoundly. From a young age, my mother emphasized that I needed to have my own job, so that if I was ever in an abusive situation, at least I’d have money that would allow me to leave. In the end, I feel like tradition binds a lot of people, more than money does, and I tried to reflect that in my book too—the stigma of being a single mom, and the fear that it might affect her children’s future, was what kept the mother in my book tied to the family that treated her so poorly. Like Hai, I love the women in my family, but also have been disappointed by the extent to which they adhere to traditions which are harmful to them.
SAMPAN: While Daughters of Shandong is certainly a work of historical fiction, its reality is undeniable and conflict seems to have been at a frozen impasse for the past seventy-six years. Would the grandchildren of your characters have been involved in the Sunflower Movement in Taiwan, or are there other ways they’d have gotten themselves involved?
CHUNG: It’s hard to say. Even within families, people can have very different political views. For example, on my father’s side, there were brothers who ended up joining different sides of the Chinese Civil War. In this case, I think I can only speak for myself, as the grandchild of my grandmother, and say that I want to be as involved in human rights as I can be. This is why I chose the career that I did, even though my parents were worried about me being in this field. Both of my parents grew up under Taiwan’s martial law period, and as a result they are more cautious than I am about protesting against any government authority. Though there are risks in any field, I am lucky to live in a place where there is, generally speaking, freedom of assembly and expression. There are many human rights activists in our world who continue to be incarcerated, hurt, or killed as a result of their work. I try to do what I can to contribute, and hope that others do the same.
SAMPAN: Who do you want to most reach with this novel? It’s at times harrowing, unbearable, but always compelling. Fans of historical fiction will connect with it, while many will find the explicit violence revelatory. Again, the balance you strike is commendable.
CHUNG: Thank you! I hope this book helps people learn about a difficult time period, but primarily, I wanted to give voice to women—not just women from my culture, but any women who have grown up feeling like they were worth less because of their sex. It is a form of discrimination that is so ingrained that many women don’t consider it to be unfair, and might perpetuate similar practices. I hope that in this new generation, there are fewer girls who experience this type of pain. For myself, and other women in my family, it is a complex issue because we love our relatives, and are often unsure of what to do, or how to react when they disappoint us—especially when they might not understand that they’ve done anything wrong because they were raised with sexist beliefs. I hope readers understand that I am not trying to attack my culture, or my ancestors—I am very proud of both, but I want to emphasize that we can still have respect for our roots while adjusting our behaviors and practices to conform with established human rights standards.
SAMPAN: Daughters of Shandong is equal parts tender, heartbreaking, brutal, and sweet. In the right hands, this story would be perfect for a Netflix limited series or feature film. It’s extremely cinematic in its scope. How would you feel about that as the next manifestation of the Ang family?
CHUNG: I would absolutely love to see this book adapted to a film or a series, as that could help it reach a larger audience! I do have a film agent, so hopefully there will be something TV or movie related in the future.
