Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Linda See

"We were at the mercy of powerful elements and could do to and could do nothing but follow our fates. This can be explained by yin and yang: There are women and men, dark and light, sorrow and happiness. These things create balance. You take a moment of supreme happiness like Snow Flower and I felt at the beginning of the Catching Cool Breezes Festival, then sweep it away in the cruelest way with Beautiful Moon's death. You take two happy people like Aunt and Uncle, then turn them in an instant into two end-of-the-liners with nothing to live for, who, when father died, would have to rely on older brothers kindness to care for them and not throw them out. You take a family like mine that is not so well off, then add the pressure of too many weddings in one household.... All these things disrupted the balance of the universe, so that God set things right by striking down a kindhearted girl. There is no life without death. This is the true meaning of Yang and yank.