Paying tribute to the unsung heroines

Chinese women who left the mainland faced untold suffering

The nineteenth and early twentieth century Chinese immigrants to Singapore deserve more than a few books for their remarkable tales of survival. Among them, there are two special groups whose experiences, although little known outside of Singapore, best embody the courage and grit of their generation.

One group is known as "mah-jie" in Cantonese, the dialect of the Chinese province of Guangdong (Canton).