Skip to main content
Better Tuition Academy
Enquire NowCall 1800 002 085

Translucent Jade

by Maureen Ten (Ten Ch'in U)Prescribed for HSC English 2024–2027 (NESA) · Last reviewed Translucent Jade is a poem by Maureen Ten (Ten Ch'in U), an Australian poet of Chinese heritage, published in the anthology Contemporary Asian Australian Poets. It traces her rediscovery of a gift given to her by her grandfather.

Enquire Now

Summary

Translucent Jade is a poem by Maureen Ten (Ten Ch'in U), an Australian poet of Chinese heritage, published in the anthology Contemporary Asian Australian Poets. It traces her rediscovery of a gift given to her by her grandfather. It is studied in HSC English Standard Module A: Language, Identity and Culture.

Overview

In this highly personal poem, Ten describes the emotional experience of rediscovering a gift she received from her grandfather as a child. She reflects how at first, she was unbothered by the gift, and gave her attention instead to the gift her mother gave her at the same time, which seemed to sparkle and sing. None of her family members pushed her to be more appreciative of her grandfather’s gift, and so it was soon forgotten.

The second stanza depicts Ten’s rediscovery of the gift, and how she ‘retrieved his gift from the silence’ as an adult. The imagery she uses to describe the strangeness of the gift, ‘as if from a world I hadn’t inhabited,’ demonstrates the lack of connection she shares with her culture, while at the same time foreshadowing the role of the gift as a vehicle by which she may reconnect to that aforementioned culture. It was as a result of this disconnect that she now feels like ‘an imposter.’ It is by rediscovering the gift, the ‘translucent jade’ for which the poem is named, that Ten is able to see the extent to which she has distanced herself from her culture. The gift acts as a device that allows her to see her ancestral and cultural heritage clearly.

Ten’s confrontation of that uncertainty is embodied in the recurring use of rhetorical questions in the final stanza of her poem. Her questioning of whether the gift belongs to her, or she to it, is a powerful reflection on the nature of the relationship between culture and identity, and the way in which one informs the other.

Context

Maureen Ten, who also writes under her Chinese name Ten Ch'in U, is an Australian poet of Chinese heritage. Translucent Jade appears in Contemporary Asian Australian Poets (2013), an anthology edited by Adam Aitken, Kim Cheng Boey and Michelle Cahill that brought together poets of Asian backgrounds writing in Australia, and it is through this anthology that the poem is prescribed for HSC study. Jade carries deep significance in Chinese culture: it has been prized for millennia as a symbol of virtue, purity and continuity between generations, which is why a grandfather's gift identified with jade can stand for an entire ancestral inheritance. The poem speaks to a common second-generation migrant experience, in which cultural belonging is not automatic but must be consciously reclaimed, and objects passed down through families become bridges back to a heritage that distance and assimilation have obscured.

Cultural Assumptions

The Power of Nostalgia and Memory

From the outset of her poem, Ten paints a complex portrait of the sense of disconnection and uncertainty she experiences as a result of not having a full sense of self. The titular ‘translucent jade’ serves to remind her of her ancestral and cultural heritage, and while she is excited by its capacity to do so, she remains sceptical and ambivalent, asking ‘Does this begin to become me, / Do I to it belong?’ Indeed, though Ten progresses from being unsure of her cultural and ancestral heritage to forming a more complete sense of identity by interacting with a symbolic token from her past, the conclusion of her poem still affirms the complexity of hybrid identities.

Quote Table

  • What vibrations are these? / Does this begin to become me, / do I to it belong?

    Technique
    Rhetorical questions
    Idea
    Cultural engagement and connection

  • “Sometimes I felt an imposter”

    Technique
    Metaphor
    Idea
    Difficulties of cultural negotiation

  • “It was a little strange, / as if from a world I hadn’t inhabited but had heard stories about”

    Technique
    Simile
    Idea
    Cultural disconnection

  • “Common in its place of origin”

    Technique
    Description
    Idea
    Cultural and family heritage

More Contemporary Asian Australian poetry

Contemporary Asian Australian Poets - Visual Aid

Visual aidContemporary Asian Australian Poets
Poems
Themes
  • The Turbulent Process and Equally Disorienting Consequences of Assimilation
  • The Power of Nostalgia, Memory and Storytelling to Form a More Complete Sense of Self
  • The Cosmopolitanism of Multiculturalism
Context
  • White Australia Policy
  • Racism
  • Influx of Asian immigrants to Australia in the mid-1970s
  • The repeal of the White Australia Policy gave way to increased interest in making Australia a more multicultural nation, and emigration to Australia by foreigners was heavily advocated for by the government and businesses.
Quotes: Nostalgia, Memory and Storytelling and their Ability to Shape Identity
  • "Eyes, lips, hands conjoined: the umbilical cord restored." Final stanza of "This is where it begins". Metaphor, cumulation
  • "And as I do jigsaw-puzzle pieces of memory lock together, my past made whole." The fourth stanza of "Mother" whereby the persona is attempting to understand his mother's past, metaphor
  • "It was a little strange, / as if from a world I hadn't inhabited but had heard stories about" The second stanza of "Translucent Jade" where the persona considers and questions their connection to their culture. simile

Frequently Asked Questions

Who wrote Translucent Jade?
Translucent Jade was written by Maureen Ten, who also writes as Ten Ch'in U, an Australian poet of Chinese heritage.
Which module is Translucent Jade studied in for the HSC?
The poem is studied in HSC English Standard Module A: Language, Identity and Culture as part of the Contemporary Asian Australian Poets anthology.
What is Translucent Jade about?
The poem describes the poet rediscovering a gift her grandfather gave her as a child, and how the forgotten gift becomes a way of seeing her ancestral and cultural heritage clearly.
What are the main themes of Translucent Jade?
Key ideas include cultural disconnection and reconnection, memory and nostalgia, hybrid identity, and the relationship between culture and self.
What techniques should students analyse in Translucent Jade?
Focus on symbolism, imagery and the rhetorical questions of the final stanza, such as "Does this begin to become me, / Do I to it belong?"

Same module

More Module A texts

Contact Us

Ready to get started, or have a question about tutoring?

Reach our team on 1800 002 085 (free to call) or send us an enquiry through our contact page.

Enquire NowCall 1800 002 085