The Painted Fan - Hardcover

Singer, Marilyn

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0688117430 ISBN 13: 9780688117436

Publisher: William Morrow & Co, 1994

Synopsis

When a brave maiden subdues a demon using a fan that had been given to her by her mother, she brings about the downfall of the tyrannical Lord Shang and reunites the imperial houses of Li and Chen

About this title

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-3-Somewhere in mythical Cathay, the Land of the Seven Caves is conquered by a tyrannical usurper, Shang. When a soothsayer prophesies that a painted fan will be his undoing, Lord Shang burns every fan in his realm-except one, passed down in secret from mother to daughter, and now the most precious possession of Bright Willow, a beautiful peasant girl. Catching a glimpse of her, Lord Shang is smitten and demands that she marry him. While waiting for the wedding, Bright Willow falls in love with a handsome groom from the palace stables. The jealous Lord threatens them both with dire punishment, until the girl offers to fetch him a precious pearl hidden deep within a cave and guarded by a ferocious demon. Confronting the demon, Bright Willow discovers that her fan has unexpected powers. Watercolor illustrations, authentic in detail and dramatic in gesture and expression, satisfactorily mix Chinese evocation with Western representation, adding character and color to a rather improbable plot. Two picture-book adaptations of Chinese traditional literature depict a girl outwitting a bully-Molly Bang's Tye May and the Magic Brush (Mulberry, 1992), with its sturdy young heroine, and Doreen Rappaport's The Journey of Meng (Dial, 1991), depicting the trials of a faithful widow. Use these two to introduce readers to Chinese culture, and let them enjoy Singer's book as an entertaining romance, told in smooth text and appealing art.
Margaret A. Chang, North Adams State College, MA
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Ages 5-9. Set in ancient China, this tale tells of cruel Lord Shang, who conquers a land long fought over by two imperial houses, the Li and the Chen. Shang oppresses the people and soon has everything he wants except the heart of Bright Willow, a goat girl who takes his fancy. Seahorse, a stable boy, also loves Bright Willow, and when Shang learns of their friendship, he sentences them to death. To save her life and that of her friend, Bright Willow agrees to brave a demon and bring the enormous pearl it guards to Shang. Shang's greed and cruelty prove his undoing, and in the end, the houses of Li and Chen are reunited with the marriage of the goat girl and the stable lad. Told with simplicity and dignity, the story builds to a crescendo as the heroine takes control of the demon and uses him to conquer her arrogant oppressor. The text usually appears on the left-hand page within a framework of open-worked borders, while on the facing pages and on some two-page spreads, the illustrations dramatize the action. A Chinese artist now living in the U.S., Wenhai Ma offers in his first picture book a series of sensitive pencil sketches tinted with delicate watercolor washes. A satisfying fairy tale well suited to classroom or bedtime reading. Carolyn Phelan

About this edition

• Publisher: William Morrow & Co
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0688117430
• ISBN 13: 9780688117436
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 1
• Illustrator: Ma Wenhai