"This version of the Cinderella story is set in China during the reign (1368-1398) of the Emperor Hung Wu, the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Xing Xing's father dies and she is bound in servitude to her stepmother and to her stepsister, who is undergoing the painful process of foot binding in order to make her more marriageable. While hiding the bones of a pet fish killed by her stepmother, Xing Xing discovers a green silk gown and golden slippers that belonged to her mother. Dressed in this fine clothing, Xing Xing goes to the festival where she loses a slipper. As in the Cinderella story, Xing Xing meets her prince and the story ends with happily ever after. Xing Xing's story makes it clear that in traditional Chinese life, women were not valued and daughters were considered a liability."--Ministry of Education website. .

English language arts grade 9 (2009).