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PENGUIN READERS
Teacher Support Programme
Teacher’s notes
LEVEL 4
Falling Leaves
Adeline Yen Mah
of Adeline’s father’s will. Niang has left him penniless.
She has taken all of his money and property. When Niang
dies, she leaves nothing to Adeline. The relationship
between Adeline and Niang is painful and shocking, but
the Chinese tradition of obedience makes it impossible
for Adeline to be anything other than dutiful towards this
woman.
Chapters 1–2:
Jun-ling was born in 1937 in China.
Her mother died shortly after her birth, so Jun-ling is
an unwanted child. Jun-ling’s father remarries and Niang,
changes the children’s names.
Chapters 3 – 4:
Adeline’s ( Jun-ling’s) childhood was
unhappy. She was badly treated especially after she stopped
her stepmother, Niang, from beating her daughter Susan.
Her Aunt Baba was kind to her but it was a difficult time
as Niang controlled everyone’s money.
Chapters 5–7:
Adeline’s friends come to see her and
she is whipped as a result. She is sent away to school and
becomes ill and nearly dies. Her father visits her once.
The family escape to Hong Kong when the communists
take over.
Chapters 8–12:
Adeline wins a writing competition and
goes to England to study medicine. When she returns to
Hong Kong, her father organizes her career. She moves to
America, where she marries Byron and has a son. Byron
is violent and the marriage fails. Susan, Adeline’s sister is
disowned by the family.
Chapters 13–16:
Aunt Baba, who stayed in China, has
suffered a lot under communism. Adeline goes to visit her.
Adeline’s father dies and the family finds out that he has
left them nothing. Everything has been put into Niang’s
name. Later Niang develops cancer and dies. Afterwards
Adeline goes back to visit Aunt Baba who is dying too.
Adeline realizes that Aunt Baba loved her and was like a
mother to her. Both women are peaceful at the end of the
book.
About the author
Adeline Yen Mah was born in 1937. In August 1952
she left her family in Hong Kong and went to England
to study. At University College in London, she studied
medicine and became a doctor. She has written two other
books:
Chinese Cinderella
and
Watching the Tree
. She lives
with her husband in California and has two children.
Summary
Falling Leaves
is the true story of Adeline Yen Mah, who
was born in north-east China in 1937 – her parents’ fifth
child. Her mother died as a result of her birth, which left
her father a sad man feeling in need of a new life. Adeline’s
father seemed never to fully forgive her for his wife’s
death. He married again soon after and Adeline’s new
stepmother, a beautiful young woman they called Niang
(a Chinese word meaning mother), strongly disliked
her. Father and Niang had two other children together:
Franklin (who Niang loved) and Susan (who Niang did
not love). Adeline and her brothers and sisters suffered
emotionally and physically from their cruel stepmother’s
words and actions – but Adeline suffered more than the
others. Her story is full of the pain and heartbreak of a
young girl always hoping that her father will be proud of
her. But it is also a story of hope. Adeline works very hard
in school and wins prizes. When she wins a play-writing
competition, her life changes. She goes to England and
studies medicine and becomes a doctor. After a failed
marriage, in which she has a child, she finds real happiness
with her second husband. The lives of all the members
of her family, as seen through the troubles of twentieth
century China, make this an unforgettable and very
interesting story, which begins and ends with the reading
Background and themes
Social and political upheaval:
Throughout the
nineteenth century China suffered from rebellion,
war and foreign take-overs. By the end of the century,
the world powers controlled areas in most large cities and
these areas were not considered Chinese. In this story,
Adeline’s father and stepmother move the family to the
French area of Tianjin.
c Pearson Education Limited 2008
Falling Leaves
- Teacher’s notes
of 3
PENGUIN READERS
Teacher Support Programme
Teacher’s notes
LEVEL 4
Falling Leaves
The government at that time was weak and dishonest.
It did, however, try to make some improvements but in
1911 there was a revolution led by Sun Yat Sen, which
saw the start of a republic in South China. In 1912 the
Empress died and Manchu rule ended. This was a time
of great social change and political upheaval. As modern
and democratic ideas spread, young men cut off their long
hair, and women refused to have their feet bound. These
were very daring, and even dangerous things to do.
Communism:
In 1921 the Chinese communist party
was formed, and for some time worked together with the
nationalist Kuomintang. Sun Yat Sen even invited advisers
from the Soviet Union to help with the changes. But
after he died in 1925 anticommunists in the Kuomintang
formed a nationalist government under Chiang Kai-Shek
and they began fighting against each other.
War:
The Japanese had taken a large area of North China
as a result of the First World War. They soon began to
fight for more land, including Shanghai, which was
heavily bombed in 1937. After the Second World War all
foreign countries gave up their areas in China, but fighting
between the communists and nationalists continued
until the communists drove out the Kuomintang. They
formed the government in Peking (Beijing) in 1949. The
nationalists escaped to the island of Formosa, now Taiwan,
where they claimed to be the real government of China.
The only part of China that remained under foreign
rule was Hong Kong, which had been leased to Great
Britain for ninety-nine years. The communist government
changed many traditional things in China, and not all of
these changes were popular.
Mao Zedong and the Cultural Revolution:
In 1956,
to make the government more popular and to make
people feel they could express views and opinions on the
government, Mao Zedong began the Hundred Flowers
Campaign (sometimes called the Double Hundred
Campaign). This was followed by the ‘Great Leap
Forward’, which aimed to encourage speedy economic
development. There were arguments about both
campaigns in the Communist Party, and Mao himself
was criticized. In 1966, to regain control, Mao began the
Cultural Revolution. He encouraged young students and
workers to form the Red Guards, whose job was to stop all
protest or complaint about the communists. At this time
millions of people, many of them educated intellectuals
and party officials who didn’t support Mao, were sent
to work camps or even killed. The Cultural Revolution
finally ended when Mao died in 1976.
Discussion activities
Before reading
1
Research:
Have the students do some research on
China around the beginning of the twentieth century.
Ask them to use books or the Internet and find out
what type of life ordinary people had.
Where did
ordinary people live, in cities or in the country? How
did they make their living? What differences were there
between men and women? How were women treated at
this time? What can you find out about the practice of
foot binding?
This could form
an ongoing project on
China that could be done while reading the book.
2
Discuss:
Put students into small groups and have
them discuss the title of the book and the front cover.
What does the cover make you think of ? What do you
think the picture suggests? Have you any idea what the
book might be about?
Chapter 1
Before reading
3
Predict:
Have students work in pairs and predict
what they think Chapter 1,
Changing Iron into Gold,
is about.
Do you think this is about changing a metal
into gold, or does this title mean something else? Write
down your ideas.
While reading
4
Write:
Have students work in pairs and write notes
on what they have learned about the family.
Where
does the family meet? Who has died? Why do you think
the family has not been together for forty years?
5
Pair work:
Have students work in pairs and talk
about the writer’s grandaunt.
What do we find out
about her aunt in this chapter?
After reading
6
Discuss:
Have students work in small groups and
discuss what they have found out about the treatment
of women in China through reading this chapter.
What do you think about the treatment of women you
have read about here? Are they treated fairly?
7
Discuss:
Have students work in small groups and
discuss the following:
Do you agree with arranged
marriages? Do you think it is a good idea not to meet the
person you are to marry before the wedding? Do arranged
marriages happen in your country? Do you think they
can work?
8
Discuss:
Put students into small groups and have
them discuss the practice of foot binding.
Why did
people in China bind their daughter’s feet? How do
you think this affected the child? What do you think
happened to a girl who did not have small feet in this
society? Do you think traditions are more important than
health?
9
Pair work:
Ask students to look at their predictions
about Chapter 1.
Were you right about your predictions?
Having read the chapter, what is the real meaning of this
title?
c Pearson Education Limited 2008
Falling Leaves
- Teacher’s notes
2 of 3
PENGUIN READERS
Teacher Support Programme
Teacher’s notes
LEVEL 4
Falling Leaves
18 Discuss:
Ask students to discuss the following.
Father
and Niang take Adeline to Tianjin to go to school. At
this time everyone was leaving the area because of the
fighting. What sort of family would leave their daughter
in a place like this? Why do you think they treated
Adeline so badly?
Chapter 2
Before reading
10 Research:
Have students do some background
research on the relationship between China and
Japan, during the First World War. What happened
during this time?
How did the Japanese treat the
Chinese? How do you think the Chinese felt towards
the Japanese?
Chapter 7
Before reading
19 Predict:
Ask students to predict what this chapter
(
Dreaming of Magic Lands
) is about.
Why would
Adeline be dreaming of magic lands? Is she planning to
escape or to travel?
20 Discuss:
Put students into small groups and ask them
to discuss what Ye Ye says: ‘We all want to live … but
some things are worse than dying: being lonely or
bored, suffering pain.’
Do you agree with Ye Ye? Why
do you think he feels like this?
While reading
11 Artwork:
Have students read the descriptions of
Shanghai at the beginning of this chapter. Have
students draw what they think Shanghai looked like.
Then, have them find photographs or pictures of
modern Shanghai and compare the two. Discuss this
in class together.
How does old Shanghai compare to
modern Shanghai? What type of city is it now? What type
of buildings does it have?
These pictures could form a
display.
Chapter 8
Before reading
21 Predict:
Ask students to predict what this chapter
is about?
Is Adeline’s life going to improve in any way?
Write down your predictions.
After reading
12 Pair work:
Have the students answer the following
questions.
Who do we find out is the author of the story?
When was she born? What happens to her mother?
13 Discuss:
Put the students into small groups and have
them discuss the following.
Niang gives all the children
European names? How do you think the children felt
about this? How would you feel if someone suddenly
changed your name?
After reading
22 Discuss:
Put students into small groups and have
them discuss the following.
Adeline experiences racial
prejudice in England. Why do you think this is? Have
you ever experienced this? What can be done to stop
people experiencing racism?
Chapter 3
After reading
14 Discuss:
Put the students into small groups and
ask them to discuss the behaviour and treatment of
the children.
Do you think there is a reason why the
children are so unkind to each other? Do you think
Niang has influenced them or is there another reason?
Do you think it is a good idea to split the family house
into different floors?
Chapter 10
After reading
23 Pair work:
Ask students to discuss the following.
Adeline marries someone after only being alone with
them for ten hours. Why does she do this? Do you this
might be because of all the rejection she has suffered?
Chapter 12
After reading
24 Research:
Have students do research into the Cultural
Revolution by using books or the Internet. Have
them discuss how this affects Chinese society and
what evidence of this can be seen in the book. This
can form part of a project on China.
Chapter 4
While reading
15 Write:
Ask students to make notes on how Niang
gains control of the family home. What methods does
she use to gain more and more control? Discuss this
together after reading the chapter.
Chapter 14
After reading
25 Discuss:
Put students into small groups and ask
them to discuss Adeline’s attitude towards Niang.
Why do you think Adeline still offers to help Niang after
everything Niang has done to her? Would you do the
same? Would you help a parent who had treated you so
badly?
After reading
16 Write:
Read again what Adeline says about her life on
page 19. Imagine you are Adeline and you are writing
a page of your diary. Write about school, your success,
your unhappiness and your loneliness. Write how you
feel about everything.
17 Discuss:
Put students into small groups and ask them
to discuss the following.
Do you think it was right for
Father to whip Adeline? Why was she whipped? Is there
a difference between whipping and hitting a child?
Is it normal for children to be hit in your society?
Vocabulary activities
For the Word List and vocabulary activities, go to
www.penguinreaders.com.
c Pearson Education Limited 2008
Falling Leaves
- Teacher’s notes
3 of 3
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