GaoLing Young Character Analysis in The Bonesetter’s Daughter

GaoLing is married to Ruth’s uncle, Edmund Young, so Ruth knows her as Auntie Gal. GaoLing and LuLing are roughly the same age and grew up thinking they were sisters, though they’re technically cousins. After Precious Auntie’s death, they discover they’re not biological sisters. Despite this shocking revelation, GaoLing continues to treat LuLing as a sister, and they support each other during the war and after they emigrate to America. Growing up, LuLing is often jealous of the attention and praise GaoLing receives from Mother, and she envies GaoLing’s good fortune as the girls enter adulthood. GaoLing’s life is objectively easier than LuLing’s: she is not as haunted by her past, and her husband Edmund’s prosperous career enables her to live a comfortable, stable life. While GaoLing had to endure an unhappy marriage to Fu Nan, Chang’s fourth son, she manages to escape her husband and start fresh in America with minimal emotional baggage. Still, like LuLing, GaoLing keeps some aspects of her past a secret from those closest to her. LuLing is the only person in GaoLing’s life who knows that she was married in China before she emigrated to the U.S. and married Edmund. In turn, GaoLing is also the only person in LuLing’s life who knows the truth about Precious Auntie. Despite their occasional squabbles, the sisters’ lifelong commitment to keeping each other’s secrets and looking out for each other shows how the traumatic experiences they endured in their youth renders their bond indestructible. Lastly, it is GaoLing who eventually remembers Precious Auntie’s name and passes down this information to Ruth, enabling Ruth and LuLing to find closure and reclaim their lineage.

GaoLing Young Quotes in The Bonesetter’s Daughter

The The Bonesetter’s Daughter quotes below are all either spoken by GaoLing Young or refer to GaoLing Young. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Why can’t I see it now? I’ve pushed a hundred family names through my mouth, and none comes back with the belch of memory. Was the name uncommon? Did I lose it because I kept it a secret too long? Maybe I lost it the same way I lost all my favorite things—the jacket GaoLing gave me when I left for the orphan school, the dress my second husband said made me look like a movie star, the first baby dress that Luyi outgrew. Each time I loved something with a special ache, I put it in my trunk of best things. I hid those things for so long I almost forgot I had them.

Related Characters: LuLing Liu Young (speaker), Precious Auntie, Ruth Young, Pan Kai Jing, GaoLing Young

Page Number and Citation: 5

Explanation and Analysis:

This was the crazy woman who had cared for her mother since birth, who had smothered LuLing with fears and superstitious notions. LuLing had told her that when she was fourteen, this nursemaid killed herself in a gruesome way that was “too bad to say.” Whatever means the nursemaid used, she also made LuLing believe it was her fault. Precious Auntie was the reason her mother was convinced she could never be happy, why she always had to expect the worst, fretting until she found it.

Related Characters: Ruth Young, LuLing Liu Young, GaoLing Young, Precious Auntie, Mother (Liu)

Page Number and Citation: 95

Explanation and Analysis:

I searched for her until dusk. By then, my eyes were swollen with dust and tears. I never found her. And as I climbed back up, I was a girl who had lost part of herself in the End of the World.

Related Characters: LuLing Liu Young (speaker), Precious Auntie, GaoLing Young, Mother (Liu)

Related Symbols: Bones

Page Number and Citation: 222-223

Explanation and Analysis:

I sailed for America, a land without curses or ghosts. By the time I landed, I was five years younger. Yet I felt so old.

Related Characters: LuLing Liu Young (speaker), GaoLing Young, Ruth Young

Page Number and Citation: 307

Explanation and Analysis:

Ruth began to cry. Her grandmother had a name. Gu Liu Xin. She had existed. She still existed. Precious Auntie belonged to a family. LuLing belonged to that same family, and Ruth belonged to them both. The family name had been there all along, like a bone stuck in the crevices of a gorge. LuLing had divined it while looking at an oracle in the museum. And the given name had flashed before her as well for the briefest of moments, a shooting star that entered the earth’s atmosphere, etching itself indelibly in Ruth’s mind.

Related Characters: Ruth Young, LuLing Liu Young, GaoLing Young, Precious Auntie

Related Symbols: Bones

Page Number and Citation: 364-365

Explanation and Analysis:

GaoLing Young Character Timeline in The Bonesetter’s Daughter

The timeline below shows where the character GaoLing Young appears in The Bonesetter’s Daughter. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Memory, Culture, and the Past Theme Icon

...thinks about all the special things she’s lost over the years: the jacket her sister GaoLing gave her when LuLing left to live at the orphan school, or a baby dress... (full context)

...her that LuLing hasn’t been able to improve her English, since she and her sister, GaoLing, emigrated around the same time, and GaoLing’s English is excellent. In contrast, LuLing can’t even... (full context)

...gets off the phone, LuLing tells another concerning story about losing her purse. She accuses GaoLing of stealing her purse out of jealousy. (full context)

LuLing and GaoLing have always had a contentious relationship. They came to the U.S. around the same time... (full context)

...her mother desperately asks her what she can cook to make Ruth feel better. Auntie GaoLing, Uncle Edmund, and their children, Sally and Billy, come over with gifts for Ruth. Still,... (full context)

...followed by Gideon, who is immaculately dressed and carrying a bouquet of expensive flowers. LuLing, GaoLing, and Uncle Edmund arrive next. As LuLing beams at Ruth from across the restaurant, Ruth... (full context)

...horrified at the disarray. Ruth calls Art in Hawaii but gets no answer. She calls GaoLing, who refuses to believe the Alzheimer’s diagnosis, insisting that LuLing will get better if she... (full context)

...the baby as a Liu, and for Precious Auntie to assume the role of nursemaid. GaoLing, Mother’s actual child, is born in 1916, but the family keeps the birth a secret... (full context)

Meanwhile, LuLing grows increasingly jealous of GaoLing, who repeatedly receives more attention and praise than she. At this point, LuLing still doesn’t... (full context)

...family. She imagines Precious Auntie’s displeasure but can’t hold back her excitement, imagining how jealous GaoLing will be to hear that LuLing will marry into such a wealthy, important family. (full context)

...sudden desire to see Precious Auntie. She runs inside the ink studio where Mother and GaoLing are working, but Mother hardly greets her, not bothering to stop her work when she... (full context)

...she angrily turns away from Precious Auntie, insisting that she has to help Mother and GaoLing in the ink studio. (full context)

...LuLing’s birth. Mother orders LuLing to join the Changs before the Moon Festival. She and GaoLing cry tears of happiness for LuLing. In contrast, LuLing’s relationship with Precious Auntie remains strained.... (full context)

...but she grows concerned when Precious Auntie isn’t at breakfast, either. Later, when the aunts, GaoLing, Mother, and LuLing enter the ink studio to work, the room is in shambles, and... (full context)

The next time LuLing wakes up, GaoLing is sitting at the edge of her bed. She has tears in her eyes and... (full context)

After GaoLing leaves, LuLing finishes reading Precious Auntie’s story and discovers, too late, its final words: “I... (full context)

...Changs revoke the marriage contract, and Mother stops pretending the LuLing is her daughter. Only GaoLing continues to treat LuLing with kindness. (full context)

...uncertain of the future: will they lose the house? Will they have to run away? GaoLing and LuLing cry together and promise to look after each other as sisters, no matter... (full context)

...day, everyone goes to the market to buy the nicest fruits, sweets, and finest meats. GaoLing and LuLing make their way through the market. They eventually find themselves at Beggars Lane,... (full context)

...has much of an appetite. Mother hires a man to take photographs of the family. GaoLing insists that they include LuLing in one of the photos. A week later, Father calls... (full context)

...LuLing returns to her room to pack her small bundle of possessions. Before she leaves, GaoLing secretly gives LuLing her favorite jacket. She cries as she promises LuLing that she’ll come... (full context)

...LuLing has been at the orphanage for two years, Miss Grutoff hands her a letter—from GaoLing. In the letter, GaoLing reveals that she married the fourth Chang son after the Changs... (full context)

...in the doorway and asks for LuLing. It takes LuLing a moment before she recognizes GaoLing. The sisters embrace and dance with joy. LuLing realizes she hasn’t heard from her sister... (full context)

GaoLing continues, explaining how she managed to find her way to the orphanage. Fu Nan, who... (full context)

Sister Yu initially objects to GaoLing staying there. She says that her own sister was married to an opium addict who... (full context)

Later, LuLing returns to her room to find GaoLing and Sister Yu in the midst of what appears to be a fiery argument. Eventually,... (full context)

A few days later, LuLing walks in on GaoLing and Sister Yu hunched over a letter from the “Japanese Provisional Military Police,” addressed to... (full context)

GaoLing visits home next week. When she returns to the orphanage a month later to begin... (full context)

After the Japanese attack the Mouth of the Mountain, GaoLing and LuLing climb to the hilltop when they hear gunfire to see from which direction... (full context)

...is no word about Kai Jing and his men. LuLing grows thin and frail, and GaoLing has to force her to eat. She becomes convinced that Precious Auntie’s curse enabled the... (full context)

...her. Kai Jing, Dong, and Chau turn themselves in. A few days later, LuLing encounters GaoLing weeping in the main hall. GaoLing explains that the Japanese questioned the men around the... (full context)

GaoLing tells LuLing the Japanese will come for all of them any day now, so she... (full context)

Eventually, LuLing and the girls arrive in Peking, where they reunite with GaoLing. The girls settle in with former students. Over the next few years, some marry. GaoLing... (full context)

The war ends in 1945. GaoLing consults with a fortune-teller to determine if her husband has died in the war but... (full context)

...that Miss Grutoff has been released from the prisoner-of-war camp but is very sick. LuLing, GaoLing, Sister Yu, and Teacher Pan visit Miss Grutoff, who is extremely weak and recovering at... (full context)

In the end, they decide that GaoLing will go first to escape her evil husband. She vows to sponsor LuLing’s emigration as... (full context)

LuLing waits in Hong Kong for GaoLing to secure her a visa. The rooming house she lives in is located near a... (full context)

A month after GaoLing leaves for the U.S., she sends LuLing a letter containing bad news. Miss Grutoff died... (full context)

GaoLing also catches LuLing up on things back home in China: Father was furious when he... (full context)

...to Peking. She resolves to pawn her valuables but realizes everything she has—Kai Jing’s notebook, GaoLing’s jacket, and Precious Auntie’s story and photograph—are valuable only to herself. Then, she remembers the... (full context)

...her own skills. LuLing remains with the Flowerses for two years. She receives letters from GaoLing every month. GaoLing writes about how hard life in San Francisco is. The church that... (full context)

The following month, GaoLing writes with better news: she’s found two bachelors, brothers, who are willing to marry both... (full context)

...eyes are discolored, and he’s missing an entire hand. Fu Nan demands to know where GaoLing is. LuLing tells him the truth about GaoLing emigrating to the U.S. Fu Nan threatens... (full context)

LuLing writes GaoLing that night and informs her of Fu Nan’s threat, wanting her that he might try... (full context)

...Fu Nan stops appearing. LuLing wonders if he has died. The following week, LuLing receives GaoLing’s response to her earlier letter. This time, she has excellent news: her fiancé’s family, the... (full context)

...to the flat to prepare dinner, Art draws near to hear and suggests she get GaoLing to watch LuLing while they retreat to the bedroom for a “conjugal visit.” Ruth feels... (full context)

...mental state have actually been right all along. Furthermore, they prove to her the loyalty GaoLing and LuLing have for each other, despite not being full sisters. Still, many things about... (full context)

The Youngs are celebrating GaoLing’s 77th birthday (really her 82nd) at her and Edmund’s home in Saratoga. Everyone is gathered... (full context)

Finally, Ruth reaches the subject she’s been wanting to discuss with GaoLing: Mira Mar Manor. GaoLing instantly rejects the idea of assisted living, and Ruth feel ashamed... (full context)

Dejected, Ruth changes the subject to ask GaoLing if she knows what became of the Changs. GaoLing scowls at the thought of her... (full context)

During their conversation, GaoLing mentions LuLing’s Charles Schwab account in passing, which catches Ruth off guard. Ruth inquires further,... (full context)

Ruth asks GaoLing how the stocks performed, and GaoLing declares LuLing to be an investing genius. Suddenly, Ruth... (full context)

Dory interrupts Ruth and GaoLing’s conversation when she rushes inside to inform them that LuLing fell in the pool and... (full context)

Ruth leaves LuLing at GaoLing’s while she returns to her mother’s apartment to pack the things she’ll need for her... (full context)

Sometime later, Ruth speaks with GaoLing, who calls Ruth with the exciting news that she’s finally discovered the name of Ruth’s... (full context)

GaoLing Young Character Analysis

GaoLing Young Quotes in The Bonesetter’s Daughter

Truth Quotes

Part One: Chapter Four Quotes

Part Two: Ghost Quotes

Part Two: Fragrance Quotes

Part Three: Chapter Three Quotes

GaoLing Young Character Timeline in The Bonesetter’s Daughter