Setting of Ties the Break, Ties that Bind

This story was most likely set in the past, during the revolutionary, when times were changing in China. The story is about a girl named Ailin, who was a daughter in the wealthy Tao family in Nanjing, China. The main character is a girl named Ailin, who lives withing the aristocratic Tao family. The mood of the story starts out as lively and happy in the view of Ailin, who was mischeivous and loved to run. The story gets more serious as I found at that girls in Ailin's time had to follow an ancient tradition of foot-binding, which at the same time was pure agony and reduced their feet to pitiful three-inch stumps. Ailin's early life is mostly in her large home, with her running and hiding in the lush gardens.