Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is a 2005 novel by Lisa See set in nineteenth century China. In her introduction to the novel, See writes that Lily, the narrator, was born in 1823 -- "the third year of Emperor Daoguangs reign".The novel begins in 1903, when Lily is 80 years old. During her lifetime, Lily lives through the reigns of four emperors: Emperor Daoguang (1820 1850); Emperor Xianfeng (1850 1861); Emperor Tongzhi (1861 1875); and Emperor Guangxu (1875 1908).