Mei-Ling
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Mei-Ling arrived in the City of Elua with the Hanzu envoy.
Contents |
Background
However, born the seventh daughther, with only one living male heir, her
father refused to acknowledge his offspring. Instead, he threatened to have
her drowned. Her mother, the Lady Yi Min, begged and pleaded with her husband
to let this girl-child live, as he had drowned all of the other female
children. Luckily, their son, Jin Li, also appealed to his father, citing the
child's remarkable beauty. The Baron relented, acknowledging that this girl
would grow up to be used as a valuable marriage commodity.
She grew up as all other noble girls of the empire did. She was pamapered and
never had to work at all. Her lessons consisted of learning the brush strokes
and song and dance. It was always a given that one day she would eventually be
married off to a wealthy aristocrat, higher than them in social class and
standing. She was raised to defer to her elders, especially her male elders,
and was always quiet and respectful, for such is a woman's place in society.
When she did speak, it was only when spoken to and very softly at that, her
eyes always averted.
When she was fourteen years old, however, the Baron died, leaving her brother,
Jin Li, the head of the family. While Jin Li is most protective of his little
sister and not as harsh or overbearing as their father, he has made it clear
that her duty in life is to bring her family honour by marrying the man chosen
for her. She does not argue, for she is a loyal sister and knows her place
very well. She is proper and will do anything to bring honor to her family.
Even travelling with Jin Li to Terre D'Ange, as he has been sent there as a
diplomat. His plan is to secure an alliance with a noble D'Angeline family by
marrying her out.
Personality
Mei-Ling is quiet and soft-spoken. She is very proper and mindful of her place as a female.
Family, Friends, & Enemies
Family
Allies
Coming Soon
Others
Coming Soon
Trivia
Foot Binding
When Mei-Ling was four years old, her mother decided it was time to start the process of bidning the child's feet. Small feet were highly sought after in the Hanzu Dynasty and the women with the tinyest feet were prized above all others. On the twenty-fourth day of the eighth lunar month, which was the birthday of the obscure goddess Little-footed Miss, Yi Min placed Mei-Ling's feet in hot water to soften the girl's skin. Her feet were then scrubbed and massaged and her toenails clipped. Then she took her daughter's toes and bent the four smallest toward the sole of the foot, wrapping dark blue bandages around her toes, holding them against the sole. Each heel was brought towards the front of each foot, breaking the bones in the arch. Then the bandages were sewn tightly closed to keep from unravelling. Tiny red silk shoes were placed upon the child's feet and she was forced to walk through her pain. Every two days, the bindings were undone and rewrapped even tighter. Thus it went on for ten years, until Mei-Ling was sixteen years of age and her feet were dubbed the coveted 'Golden Lily', only three inches long. She is known for her graceful walk, the 'lotus gate', in which her movements are tiny steps, making
her appear willowy and her body to sway.
Links
Soundtrack
Beauty Song Composed by Shigeru Umebayashi
An extraordinary beauty in the North...
The most beautiful being of the world
From her first glance the city bows before her
From her second glance the empire falls into ruins
But there aren't such an empire or a city
what we can laud more than this beauty.
