Chang Character Analysis in The Bonesetter’s Daughter

Change is a wealthy, dishonest, and cruel coffin maker who lives in the same village as the Lius. Precious Auntie humiliates him when she accepts Baby Uncle’s marriage proposal over Chang’s. To retaliate, Chang disguises himself as a bandit and ambushes Precious Auntie, Baby Uncle, and the Bonesetter as they transport Precious Auntie’s belongings and dowry to Baby Uncle’s village. Chang steals the valuable “dragon bones” the Bonesetter assembled for Precious Auntie’s dowry, eventually becoming rich when Western archaeologists offer to purchase such artifacts for enormous sums of money. Chang’s attack ends up killing both the Bonesetter and Baby Uncle, and Precious Auntie this as evidence of her family’s curse. She attempts to die by suicide after the attack, and this is how she gets her facial scarring. Precious Auntie is the only member of the Liu family to believe that Chang is responsible for what has happened. Even if the others suspect Chang’s involvement, his important status in the village motivates them to keep quiet and look the other way. To procure the remaining dragon bones and add to his wealth, Chang later extends a marriage proposal to LuLing, offering to marry her to his fourth son, Fu Nan. Precious Auntie ultimately kills herself to dissuade the Changs from going through with the wedding, threatening to haunt them if they accept LuLing as a daughter-in-law. The Changs call off the engagement, and Fu Nan marries GaoLing instead. Marrying into the Chang family shows GaoLing that the family is not as wealthy as they claim to be, and several family members—including Fu Nan—use their fortune to finance their opium addictions.

Chang Character Timeline in The Bonesetter’s Daughter

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

...One is a crying baby, and the other is Baby Uncle. The baby belongs to Chang, a rich coffin-maker who earns his fortune by selling overpriced, poorly made coffins. Chang’s wife,... (full context)

Baby Uncle limps into the shop after Changs leave. He explains how his horse got spooked on a journey from Peking to Immortal... (full context)

Later that week, Chang and Baby Uncle go to separate fortune-tellers to see how their birthdates line up with... (full context)

Chang proposes to Precious Auntie first. The fortune-teller arrives at the bonesetter’s shop to laud the... (full context)

After Precious Auntie’s marriage is announced, Chang confronts her at the Mouth of the Mountain and vows to punish her for insulting... (full context)

...himself to be “the famous Mongol Bandit,” but Precious Auntie immediately recognizes his voice as Chang’s. (full context)

...her household fear that the men’s ghosts might come back to haunt Precious Auntie. When Chang arrives with coffins for the men, Precious Auntie tries to hit him with a fire... (full context)

One day, sometime before Spring Festival, Old Cook comes by the compound and announces that Chang would soon be rich from the bones he sold to the scientists, who had verified... (full context)

...the studio and realizes who they’re talking about, she flails about and tells LuLing about Chang’s evil deeds. However, LuLing thinks Precious Auntie is lying. Precious Auntie tries to make LuLing... (full context)

The following month, Great-Granny hits her head and dies. When Mr. Chang delivers the coffin, Precious Auntie curses him from her room. LuLing looks at the seemingly... (full context)

...him. At that moment, LuLing realizes her family has arranged for her to marry into Chang’s family. She imagines Precious Auntie’s displeasure but can’t hold back her excitement, imagining how jealous... (full context)

...Father, Old Widow Lau, and LuLing will visit a house in Peking that belongs to Chang’s cousin. LuLing knows this means the Changs are seriously considering her as a prospect. Two... (full context)

...hardly greets her, not bothering to stop her work when she informs LuLing that the Changs will likely accept her as a daughter-in-law. LuLing finds Precious Auntie working in the root... (full context)

When LuLing tells Precious Auntie about her engagement to Chang’s son, Precious Auntie makes a sound like she is dying. She forbids LuLing from going... (full context)

The Changs accept LuLing as their daughter-in-law and agree to recognize her as family even before the... (full context)

A few days before LuLing is scheduled to go to the Changs, Precious Auntie wakes LuLing, presenting her with a bag that contains the bound pages she’d... (full context)

...this day, LuLing can still remember her exact response to Precious Auntie: even if the Changs were all murderers, she’d still marry into her family to get away from Precious Auntie.... (full context)

...At the bottom of the ravine, LuLing realizes that she has perpetuated the family curse: Chang had only wanted her to marry his son so he could have the dragon bones... (full context)

...tells her she is doomed to stay unhappy for the rest of her life. The Changs revoke the marriage contract, and Mother stops pretending the LuLing is her daughter. Only GaoLing... (full context)

...hands her a letter—from GaoLing. In the letter, GaoLing reveals that she married the fourth Chang son after the Changs called off the wedding between the son and LuLing. After marrying... (full context)

...and Fu Nan, her husband, have been living in Peking. They have no children. The Changs now own the ink business. First Brother received orders to fight with the Nationalists, and... (full context)

...and Sister Yu hunched over a letter from the “Japanese Provisional Military Police,” addressed to Chang Fu Nan, informing him of his wife’s arrest. The letter claims that GaoLing confessed to... (full context)

...of the old ink shop, and Teacher Pan and Sister Yu eventually join them. Meanwhile, Chang—the man LuLing now knows killed her father and grandfather—owns the shop and orders them to... (full context)

...escape, but she ultimately feels happy that GaoLing will be able to escape Fu Nan Chang. She decides to accept whatever her New Destiny has in store for her. Three days... (full context)

...Father was furious when he learned that Fu Nan lost the Peking ink business. Meanwhile, Chang refuses to criticize his son’s actions, reasoning that Fu Nan is a war hero and... (full context)

...in town to buy a new bird cage for Cuckoo, she runs into Fu Nan Chang, who looks horrible: his eyes are discolored, and he’s missing an entire hand. Fu Nan... (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 former in-laws and recalls that Fu Nan had... (full context)