The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane

“During the long hours, A-ma’s disappointment in me continues to radiate from her body like a low fire. Perhaps she could have overlooked my lapses as part of my learning, but my purposefully trying to stop Ci-do from his duty may be a miscarriage of Akha Law from which I’ll never recover. I hate myself for failing A-ma, but I hate myself even more for not stopping Ci-do.” 

Li-yan is deeply traumatized after witnessing what happened to Deh-ja and Ci-do and their twins. Although she hates disappointing her mother, she regrets not being brave enough to stop Ci-do from killing his newborn children. This foregrounds Li-yan’s kindness and her refusal to blindly obey Akha Law. 

“But the birth of the twins and what happened to them, although traditional, has transformed me as irreversibly as soaking cloth in a vat of dye. I cannot accept what I witnessed, but while my soul has changed, my flesh and bones must still follow the course laid out for me, which means also returning to school.” 

This quote highlights how the birth of the twins becomes a turning point that determines the course of Li-yan’s life. She no longer feels like she belongs in the Akha culture, and so she decides to explore the outside world, hoping that she could build a life beyond the confines of her village. 

“‘Because where you live is unimportant. No one knows you’re here.’” 

These words, spoken by Teacher Zhang, demonstrate how bitter he is about the Chinese government forcing him to live in a distant mountain village. This also highlight his attitude towards the Akha people, whom he sees as inferior. 

“I wonder what it would be like to be so proud and then have your belongings, reputation, and status taken from you.” 

When Li-yan observes her friend Ci-teh after her brother is exiled and her family loses its wealth, she realizes how different she and Ci-teh are. While Li-yan, who has always lived in a poor family, has never known what it’s like to consider herself superior to everyone else, Ci-teh finds it very difficult to deal with public humiliation and always yearns to maintain her sense of pride. This excerpt also foreshadows that Ci-teh will essentially strip Li-yan of her belongings, reputation, and status when Ci-teh ruins Li-yan’s tea shop, Midnight Blossom.

“I’m not sure this fabrication is a good idea or that the false label will change the essence of who he is, but I consent to his plan. He will one day be my husband, and I will be his wife. I must learn to obey, if we are to be happy.” 

When the Akha people consider San-pa and Li-yan incompatible due to their days of birth, San-pa decides to lie about his birthday. Although Li-yan doesn’t support this decision, she is so sure that she needs to be an obedient wife that she blindly follows San-pa’s lead. Her obedience in this instance foreshadows the future sacrifices Li-yan makes to appease her husband, whom she eventually must leave.

“‘We are as jungle vines,’ she says, even though I’ve hurt her. ‘Our roots will forever be entwined in friendship.’” 

These words, spoken by Ci-teh, foreground a strong bond that the two girls used to have. Despite their differences, they remain best friends and support each other at all times, until Ci-teh’s betrayal. 

“In the end, I’m only a girl, and my heart’s yearnings for the future triumph over my Akha morals.” 

When Mr. Huang asks Li-yan to sell him tea leaves from her grove, she initially refuses because she knows that her A-ma has prohibited her to sell them to anyone. But her desire to earn some money so that she can reunite with San-pa is too strong, and so she picks leaves for Mr. Huang. This highlights how desperately Li-yan wanted to be with San-pa, and how reckless she was in her love for him. 

“His touch makes me feel as though a bad spirit has entered me. It’s a sensation of disease and dis-ease. I cannot go to the ruma for ceremonial cleansing nor can I go to A-ma for one of her potions. To do so would be to admit I did something completely unforgivable. To do so would also mean that there’s something dirty and fermenting inside me that wants what the foreigner has … Or my version of what he has, which is money to be with San-pa so we can follow our dreams together.” 

This quote foregrounds Li-yan’s determination to reunite with San-pa. Although she feels pangs of consciousness about what she’s done, she justifies her actions by her desire to be with San-pa. This suggests that during this period of her life, her fear of disappointing her mother was not as strong as her yearning to marry San-pa. 

“‘You are not the kind of person who gives up,’ he tells me. ‘You are brave and tough and smart.’ His encouraging words give me strength.” 

When Li-yan realizes that she lost her chance to continue her education, she is very disappointed and upset. But Teacher Zhang supports her and encourages her not to give up, and his words help Li-yan not to lose hope. 

“I resolve to stay positive—good will come.” 

This quote foregrounds Li-yan optimism and resilience. Even at a point in her life when everything seems to be going not as planned, she doesn’t give in to despair and believes in a better future.  

“‘Look around you,’ she coos to the baby. ‘This is the mother tree. These are the sister trees. You may never see this place again, but it is yours by right. Our blood is in this earth. It has nourished these trees. You are a part of them, and they are a part of you.’” 

These are the words that A-ma tells Li-yan’s daughter right after she is born. By pronouncing them, she connects Yan-yeh with her Akha heritage and creates a link between her and the tea grove. This spiritual connection persists throughout the novel and draws Haley (Yan-yeh) back to her homeland. 

“An image of [Mother] gazing out over the mountains before she handed me the knife comes to me. The way she set her jaw … Anguish. Courage. Sacrifice. This is mother love.” 

When Li-yan takes her baby to the orphanage, she is very tired and in pain. In the moments of despair, when she feels like she can’t take another step, she thinks of her mother, and A-ma’s example gives Li-yan the strength to carry on. 

“Later, we stand together as I feed my marriage leggings, tunic, and skirt to the fire. All I have left if my headdress. San-pa’s mother hands me a pair of embroidery scissors, which I use to clip off the silver balls and embroidery. This is my final act of dismantling my husband from my life. I tuck the silver pieces in my pocket and drop the now worthless headdress into the flames. My dreams—and that’s all they were—of happiness are soon ashes.” 

The moment when Li-yan burns her wedding clothes marks the end of her old life: Although she loved San-pa deeply, her dreams of a happy marriage shattered. Nevertheless, this moment also becomes the start of a new chapter of her life, and the fire symbolizes Li-yan’s cleansing from the wounds and sins of the past. 

“A-ma said, ‘Always follow Akha Law,’ but all my errors have stemmed from ignoring the very principles that make me who I am. I’ve learned and been scarred by the inevitability of pain and defeat. Now that I’m totally alone, I feel the blessings of my culture feeding me strength.” 

Li-yan realizes her connection to her family, her village, and her heritage only when she is forced to physically distance herself from them. While just recently she didn’t feel like she belonged among the Akha people, now her culture gives her a sense of identity and direction. 

“Tonight, it was hard because Haley kept repeating, ‘My mother is sending me a message.’ I’m her mother. Oh, Mom, it hurts so much, but I ache even more for Haley. I mean, what if I didn’t have you in my life? You made me the woman, wife, and mother I am.” 

This quote highlights how much Constance longs to make Haley feel like she is a part of their family. It also shows that Constance’s mother plays a central role in her life, and that perhaps Constance dreams of a similar bond with Haley. 

“The color of the brew is rich and dark with mystery. The first flavor is peppery, but that fades to divine sweetness. The history of my people shimmers in my bones. With every sip, it’s as if I’m wordlessly reciting the lineage. I’m at once merged with my ancestors and with those who’ll come after me. I grew up believing that rice was to nourish and that tea was to heal. Now I understand that tea is also to connect and to dream. That seduction is deeper and more profound that could happen with any man.” 

After not being at home for many years, Li-yan feels distanced from her culture. Yet when she tries a few sips of the tea from Spring Well, she immediately feels a transcendental connection with her heritage. 

“Hearing Mr. Huang’s laughter transports me back many years. The skin on my arms react, contracting beyond my control, as though I’ve stepped on a bamboo pit viper. He’s a physical manifestation of all my mistakes, even if he wasn’t at fault for everything I associate with him.” 

When Mr. Huang visits Li-yan in her tea shop, seeing him brings back many painful memories. Li-yan realizes that he personally has not caused any of her sufferings, but she still can’t forgive herself for breaking her promise to A-ma and selling him tea leaves from her tea grove. 

“She walks us to the door, takes my hand, and transfers something into it. A-ma’s dragon bracelet. ‘You have a big and generous heart,’ the director says. ‘I’m sorry for your sorrows and for whatever part I may have had in them, but we’re required by the government to do our jobs.’ The weight of the silver on my wrist soothes my spirit, as though I’m setting things right.” 

When Li-yan goes to the Social Welfare Institute in search for her baby years prior, she gives away her most valuable possession, her A-ma’s dragon bracelet, in exchange for information. Now, the return of the bracelet symbolizes that Li-yan is on the right path, and that after all these years, she can still rectify the mistakes of the past. 

“‘Lucky. People say I’m lucky to have been adopted. People tell my parents they’re lucky they got me. But am I lucky to have lost my birth parents and my birth culture? Yes, I’m fortunate to have been adopted by nice people, but was that luck?’” 

This quotation foregrounds Haley’s feelings about her adoption. She realizes that she got lucky because she grew up in a loving home, but at the same time, she grieves the loss of her birth parents. She also considers what could have been if her birth parents hadn’t given her away. 

“Is there something wrong with me, and that’s why I look different from the other babies given out that day, different from the other girls in Families with Children from China, different from my friends at school?” 

Haley’s struggle with a sense of belonging stems from her realization that she’s different from her family and from other adoptees from China. Since she feels like an outsider, she can’t find her place among family or friends. No matter how much Haley’s parents try to convince her that she is a part of their family, something deep inside her makes her feel as though she needs to reconcile her own identity. 

“‘From the first moment I saw you all the way to today and for as long as I live, I know that you are the daughter who was meant for me. I can never be a replacement for your birth mother, but I’ve done—and will continue to do—everything I can to complete what should have been her journey. I love you, and I will always love you.’” 

This quote brings to the fore how painful the adoption process has been for Constance and how she still struggles with making Haley feel like she belongs in their family. Even though Constance loves Haley and wishes to have a strong bond with her, she realizes that Haley will always feel more connected to her birth mother. 

“It’s said that great sorrow is no more than a reflection of one’s capacity for great joy. I see it from the opposite direction. I’m happy, but there’s an empty space inside me that will never stop suffering from the loss of Yan-yeh. After all these years, it’s a companion rather like the friend-living-with-child. It’s nourished me and forced me to breathe when it would have been so easy to give up. Suffering has brought clarity into my life.” 

Li-yan’s example demonstrates that no matter how much time has passed, a mother can’t forget about losing her daughter. At the happiest of times, as well as at the hardest of times, Li-yan is aching for her daughter, and this pain gives her strength to continue her fight. 

“‘Do you see yourself as Chinese or American?’ ‘One hundred percent American and one hundred percent Chinese,’ I answer. ‘I’m not half and half. I’m fully both. I’ll forever wear my Chinese-ness on my face, but these days when I look in the mirror I don’t see how mismatched I am in my birth family or that I don’t feel Chinese enough. I just see me.’” 

When Haley arrives in the Yunnan province and begins looking for her tea cake’s place of origin, she finally recovers her sense of belonging. She comes to terms with the fact that she is both completely American and completely Chinese, and this combination makes her unique, not an outsider.