Chinese Culture Exposed in Joy Luck Club and Kitchen God's Wife Traditional Chinese customs are described in great detail in Amy Tan's books. This rich culture adds interesting and fascinating details to the intricate stories of The Joy Luck Club and The Kitchen God's Wife. Traditions are evident throughout the stories in The Joy Luck Club. One of the earliest examples is in Ying-Ying St. Clair's short story titled "The Moon Lady". Ying-Ying is describing the Moon Lady Festival, a festival dedicated to the woman who lives on the moon and once a year comes down to earth to grant your secret wish, something you want but can't ask for. This excerpt describes appropriate traditional dress (ornate clothing saved for special occasions), delicious foods such as rabbit's feet and moon cakes (saved for special occasions), fireworks, and the family all gathered together. This is one of the most detailed and culturally authentic stories in the novel. The other story that strikes the reader as containing vivid culture and tradition is "The Red Candle" by Lindo Jong. This story, like that of Winnie Louie, describes the customs of arranged marriages in great detail. Lindo Jong begins by talking about the village matchmaker who came to his house when he was two years old. The matchmaker, Huang Taitai, looked at her and said, "An earth horse for an earth sheep. This is the best marriage combination." Lindo says that Huang Taitai looked through her and saw that she would be a perfect wife: a strong, tenacious, good worker, eager to please her elders in their old age. Lindo describes what happened next: This is how I became engaged to Huang Taitai's son, who I later found out was just a child, or... middle of paper... is not considered a sufficient starting point for the future . deceased.Traditional Chinese customs are described in great detail in Amy Tan's books. This rich culture adds interesting and fascinating details to the intricate stories of The Joy Luck Club and The Kitchen God's Wife. Works Cited Conrad, Tammy S. “Creating an Asian-American Mythology: Storytelling in the Fiction of Amy Tan.” Thesis by Tammy S. Conrad. 1998. Available: