The Teller of Small Fortunes

The jade ji, or hairpin, that Tao wears throughout the novel is a symbol of her fractured cultural identity and complicated relationship with her mother. It embodies the tension between heritage and displacement that is central to Tao’s character. Tao receives the ji not through the traditional coming-of-age ceremony she desired, but in a painfully abrupt exchange with her mother. When she asked her mother about having the ji ceremony when she turned 15, her mother refused, saying, “We are Eshterans now. We do not wear ji” (157). Afterward, her mother hands her own ji to Tao hastily, cautioning her not to “wear it where Desmond can see [her], or he will take it from [her]” (158). This truncated ritual reflects the severed connection between mother and daughter, while simultaneously representing Tao’s desperate attempt to preserve her Shinn identity within Margrave’s hostile environment.

The ji acquires additional symbolic weight because it belonged to Tao’s mother, making it both a physical connection to her Shinn heritage and a constant reminder of her mother’s emotional withdrawal. During Tao’s escape from Margrave, “she’d made sure she wore it in her hair” (158). In this moment, the ji becomes an emblem of defiance and self-definition—Tao claims both her heritage and independence by choosing to wear it as she runs away.

Throughout the novel, Tao becomes especially aware of the ji at moments when her identity is in flux. When fleeing from danger, she protects it instinctively, demonstrating how deeply her sense of self is bound to this cultural artifact. Later, when her mother notices the ji during their reunion, it becomes a touchpoint for their reconciliation.

The ji ultimately embodies both pain and possibility. Its presence in Tao’s hair represents her refusal to abandon her origins despite displacement, while its origin story reveals the wounds inflicted by cultural assimilation. It is a repository of identity, history, and trauma, and it is also a vessel for healing.