k'ang

I didn't know how I came to be in my room, lying on the k'ang.

The Bonesetter's Daughter TAN, Amy 2001

And I remember this: Often, when I lay on my k'ang, she came to me and called me Big Sister.

The Bonesetter's Daughter TAN, Amy 2001

Then they laid her on Baby Uncle's k'ang, where she wiggled and twisted like a butterfly stuck in its cocoon until Great-Granny forced her to drink a bowl of medicine that made her body grow limp.

The Bonesetter's Daughter TAN, Amy 2001

Everything was in its usual place, the quilt folded just so at the bottom of the k'ang.

The Bonesetter's Daughter TAN, Amy 2001

I lay in the lonely k'ang and felt only the air leaving my chest.

The Bonesetter's Daughter TAN, Amy 2001

For two days and nights, she dreamed she was with Baby Uncle, lying on the k'ang as his bride.

The Bonesetter's Daughter TAN, Amy 2001

Yet GaoLing always had the honor of sitting next to Mother, of sleeping in her k'ang, while I had Precious Auntie.

The Bonesetter's Daughter TAN, Amy 2001

I was sleepy, still lying on the brick k'ang bed I shared with Precious Auntie.

The Bonesetter's Daughter TAN, Amy 2001

A month later, Great-Granny fell and hit her head on the brick edge of her k'ang.

The Bonesetter's Daughter TAN, Amy 2001

She let him into her k'ang and he eagerly began the nuptials.

The Bonesetter's Daughter TAN, Amy 2001