Bound Feet and Western Dress was authored by Pang-Mei Natasha Chang. The book centers on Chang Yu-i, a woman brought up by an affluent and respected Chinese family. Yu-I is a victim of the conflict between Chinese customs and Western philosophies. She continually defied the traditions of her culture and the expectations of her family. Yu-I grew up in a hazardous time between the Communist Revolution and the fall of the last emperor. Her life is full of rebellions such as her refusal for foot-binding when young, her appalling divorce, and her rise to become the first female Vice President of China’s bank. Although her parents never insisted on binding her feet, they believed that a woman was a submissive servant of her man, children, and relatives.
Yu-I accepted the arranged marriage between herself and Hsu Chi-mo dutifully. Chi-mo was a poet who was much influenced by western culture. He was often absent and uncaring. Chi-mo used to subject Yu-I to persecution. As a result, Yu-I felt uneducated and restless. Their marriage deteriorated until she was reluctantly divorced. However, these challenges made her strong emerged as a determined woman. When her second son died, she returned to China. She combined her Western knowledge and traditional background to defy odds and become the first female vice president of a bank in China. Pang-Mei wanted to underscore how independent women struggled before emerging from centuries of traditions and burden. Yu-I struggled with her search for belonging and identity.
