Daughter of Han is a first-hand portrayal of a woman’s life and experiences in a nation captivated by tradition and undergoing social and political change. Ning Lao T’ai-t’ai lived during a time period in China that proved to be unpredictable. However, every thing that happened to Ning was a product of the life already decided for her. By staying committed to her traditional ideals and morals, Ning was able to keep herself and her family together throughout rapid development and drastic change in China. Before Ning was born her life had already been determined. “From the time I was conceived, the fortunes of the family went down. The destiny determined for me by Heaven was not a good one.” (Pruitt, A Daughter of Han, pg. 12) Ning was born in P’englai, an extremely traditional town in Shangdong during the Qing dynasty. P’englai, the “birthplace of Confucius”, was conservative and provincial, women in this place were better never seen or heard. Ning’s parents were no different than any other traditional Chinese parents. Her mother was a kind woman, she cooked for the family and was a good role model for what Ning should be as a woman in society. She beat Ning, but she loved Ning. Ning’s father was a strict man; Ning repeatedly describes her father in this way. He provided income for the family, he taught manners and taught, “what is seemingly for a woman to do and what is not seemingly.” (Pruitt 14) Although Ning accepted her role as a female in traditional Chinese society she still thought about opportunities she was not given and how they may have impacted her life. “If I had been allowed to go to school how different my life would have been. I might have been somebody in the world.” (Pruitt 25) From an early age, Ning was exposed to the restrictions and responsibilities of women. Women, among other things, were expected to stand in the gateways at night, forced to bind their feet in order to become more beautiful and desirable, and were obligated to accept an arranged marriage. Ning’s father married her at the age of fifteen. Ning’s childhood and upbringing followed Confucian tradition very closely as gender roles and relationships were extremely important and valued heavily throughout Chinese society. The chinese, “validated the sense of hierarchy and order,” reenforcing that these beliefs are, “so crucial in the Confucian worldview.” (Schoppa, Revolution and it’s Past: Identities and Change in Modern Chinese History, pg. 32) Like her sister before her, and like every woman in traditional China, Ning was arranged to be married when she was fifteen years old. Ning was still a child and was forced to live in a foreign village with an opium-addicted man who did not bring in money. She returned to her mother for half of every month and did everything she could to hold back her tears when she had to go back to her husband. This is the first time Ning seeks some independence and doesn’t exactly follow the traditional norm of spending only a week away from her husband. However, Ning did try to believe that her parents, because they are her family, did what was best for her in her marriage. She understood her fate, “Now I know that one’s destiny is one’s destiny. It was so decided for me