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Lily is haunted by memories — of who she once was, and of a person, long gone, who defined her existence. She has nothing but time now, as she recounts the tale of Snow Flower, and asks the gods for forgiveness.
In nineteenth-century China, when wives and daughters were foot-bound and lived in almost total seclusion, the women in one remote Hunan county developed their own secret code for communication: nu shu ("women's writing"). Some girls were paired with laotongs, "old sames," in emotional matches that lasted throughout their lives. They painted letters on fans, embroidered messages on handkerchiefs, and composed stories, thereby reaching out of their isolation to share their hopes, dreams, and accomplishments.
With the arrival of a silk fan on which Snow Flower has composed for Lily a poem of introduction in nu shu, their friendship is sealed and they become "old sames" at the tender age of seven. As the years pass, through famine and rebellion, they reflect upon their arranged marriages, loneliness, and the joys and tragedies of motherhood. The two find solace, developing a bond that keeps their spirits alive. But when a misunderstanding arises, their lifelong friendship suddenly threatens to tear apart.
十九世紀的中國，女人必須裹足，生活與外界幾乎完全隔絕。在湖南省一個偏遠地區的婦女，發展出她們獨特的溝通密碼：女書。有些少女結盟為“女同”，如同精神上的婚配，情誼可延續一生。這些婦女在扇子及巾帕上繡寫女書，并編唱故事歌謠，藉以互通心跡，從封閉的世界中暫時走出，分享彼此的希望、夢想和成就。
百合和雪花的關系，起始于一把絲扇上的邀約。她們年僅七歲便結為老同。隨著時光轉移，經歷饑荒與叛亂，她們一同省思媒妁之言的婚姻、寂寞、以及為人母親的歡喜和悲傷。兩個女人在彼此身上找尋慰藉，延續成一種支持彼此生存的情感連結。然而一場誤解的產生，讓她們終生的友誼遭到崩解的威脅。
About Author
Lisa See is the author of Flower Net (an Edgar Award nominee), The Interior, and Dragon Bones, as well as the critically acclaimed memoir On Gold Mountain. The Organization of Chinese American Women named her the 2001 National Woman of the Year. She lives in Los Angeles.
馮麗莎出生于巴黎，在洛杉磯的華人街里長大。著作包括《花網》（Flower Net)、《本質》（The Interior）、《龍骨》（Dragon Bone)以為倍受贊譽的傳記《在金山》（On Gold Mountain)?！痘ňW》一書榮獲推理文學愛倫坡獎提名。華裔美國婦女聯盟推薦她為2001年全國杰出女性，并于2005年榮獲南加州書商協會最佳小說獎。馮麗莎目前定居洛杉磯。
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