Jenny Tinghui Zhang is the author of Four Treasures of the Sky. The book, an international bestseller and New York Times Editor’s Choice, is Zhang’s debut novel set against the backdrop of the Chinese Exclusion Act. It is about a Chinese girl fighting to claim her place in the 1880s American West, including Idaho.
Daiyu never wanted to be like the tragic heroine for whom she was named, revered for her beauty and cursed with heartbreak. But when she is kidnapped and smuggled across an ocean from China to America, Daiyu must relinquish the home and future she imagined for herself. Over the years that follow, she is forced to keep reinventing herself to survive.
From a calligraphy school, to a San Francisco brothel, to a shop tucked into the Idaho mountains, Four Treasures of the Sky follows Daiyu on a desperate quest to outrun the tragedy that chases her. As anti-Chinese sentiment sweeps across the country in a wave of unimaginable violence, Daiyu must draw on each of the selves she has been—including the ones she most wants to leave behind—in order to finally claim her own name and story.
Ms. Zhang visited boise for a City Club of Boise forum as part of their Hidden Histories series and was joined by Idaho State Historian HannaLore Hein, for historical context to this story. Sponsors include CapEd, The Osher Center for Lifelong Learning. The Idaho State Historical Society provided grant funding to support Ms. Zhang's visit.