Liu Jin Sen (Father) Character Analysis in The Bonesetter’s Daughter

Liu Jin Sen is the eldest of the Liu sons. He is the man LuLing grows up referring to as Father, though Baby Uncle is her real father. Jin Sen is married to Mother, and they have GaoLing, a daughter together. Jin Sin runs the family’s ink shop in Peking.

Liu Jin Sen (Father) Character Timeline in The Bonesetter’s Daughter

The timeline below shows where the character Liu Jin Sen (Father) appears in The Bonesetter’s Daughter. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...good-luck words into the finished ink sticks. Because of this, her calligraphy becomes better than Father’s. The women claim that the black, sticky ink keeps their hair dark. Great-Granny jokes that... (full context)

Memory, Culture, and the Past Theme Icon

...Jin Sen is the oldest of Great-Granny’s four sons and is the man LuLing calls Father. LuLing calls her father’s brothers Big Uncle and Little Uncle. The fourth son, Baby Uncle,... (full context)

...she has that’s covered in strange writing. It probably comes from a turtle, and her father almost ground it down for medicine before noticing the scratches that ran along its sides.... (full context)

...at dinner, Precious Auntie tells LuLing a story about a woman who came to her father and asked him to unbind her feet. Forgetting that she and Precious Auntie aren’t alone,... (full context)

...still has a few bones from her trips to the Monkey’s Jaw. One night, her father comes to her in a dream and tells her the bones belong to an ancestor... (full context)

...she once had and promising to take him to the cave with Precious Auntie. When Father returns to pay Mr. Chang for the coffins, he appears pleased that someone as important... (full context)

...Widow Lau hurriedly finds some old clothing for LuLing to borrow, and they depart for Father’s ink shop. (full context)

...lots of jewelry. Old Widow Lau points out the success of the family business, and Father tells the woman they have her husband to thank, since they buy their wood from... (full context)

The adults decide that Father, Old Widow Lau, and LuLing will visit a house in Peking that belongs to Chang’s... (full context)

...to the ground. He explains to Mother how Precious Auntie’s ghost visited them last night. Father knocked over an oil lamp in his attempts to chase her away, and before they... (full context)

Father, Big Uncle, and their sons return the next day, looking haggard and sooty. Everyone is... (full context)

...for the Liu clan but says they need to demonstrate their “sincerity” first. Mother and Father give the priest silver ingots. Next, the priest asks for the girl whom the ghost... (full context)

...family. GaoLing insists that they include LuLing in one of the photos. A week later, Father calls for another banquet, for the magistrate has decided the Lius don’t owe any money.... (full context)

That winter, LuLing has a Chinese and an American wedding. She invites Mother and Father to the Chinese ceremony to be polite. She hopes they won’t come, but they do,... (full context)

GaoLing also catches LuLing up on things back home in China: Father was furious when he learned that Fu Nan lost the Peking ink business. Meanwhile, Chang... (full context)