Strange Kindness

When Mabel (Chu, Cho-Shin) Tow (1914-1999), one of the first Chinese women to practice medicine in China and the United States, shares her story with us, we may experience ＂the tender gravity of kindness＂ (the generative transmission of her lineage). That lineage becomes Tow’s blend of Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism, and Christianity. Mabel Tow was a boundary-crosser by being a Christian in China and a Chinese woman in America.

In this reflective work, eight authors share their unique author-reader relationships with Strange Kindness as they dramatize further how Tow crossed the boundaries of gender, culture, religion, language, tradition, and medical practices. They vividly illustrate Tow’s lineage-in-transmission, moving all into ＂tikkum olam,＂ the poetic act of repairing the world.

Melissa Ann (Mei An) Reed teaches English literature and theatre arts for the International Baccalaureate Program at KDU Smart School in Malaysia. She received her Ph.D. in theatre arts from the University of Minnesota.