The Good Women Of China: Hidden Voices
Submitted by PRECIOUS YAMAGUCHI on Sat, 2005-01-01 08:00.
The saying "blondes have more fun" never rang true to my ears, until I read The Good Women Of China by Xinran Xue. Then I realized that, yeah, very few blondes in the 1990s have probably gone through as much hardship, racism, sexism, sexual abuse, poverty, forced marriage, gang rape, loss of family, and political struggle as the women that the progressive, creative and intelligent Chinese journalist Xinran, interviewed. Culturally speaking, Chinese women living in the late twentieth century--whether they were living in the city or living in a cave (literally)--have experienced the dark side of humanity and no matter what their status was socially or economically, were seen as less of a human than men. This non-fiction novel is a compilation of interviews that Xinran, a broadcast journalist, conducted with what may seem like the most ordinary Chinese women: from a homeless scavenger woman, to a beautiful Chinese college student, to a woman serving time in a Chinese prison. These are just a few of the good women of China that Xinran found.In the 1990s, Xinran had a call-in radio show called "Words on the Night Breeze," where local Chinese women would share their stories. The book is based on the stories that women have shared with her through her radio show. These heroic stories of ordinary women were forced to be forgotten until Xinran created an outlet for them to be heard.
The search for defining what was a "good woman" in China, was inspired by a college student that Xinran interviewed named Jin Shuai, who told her that "in a man's eyes, there's no such thing as a good woman," and questions Xinran about what makes "good woman" in China. Through the consistency of stories that are based on how society has tried to break the spirits of women through rape, discouragement, ostracism and with sayings such as "behind every successful woman, there is a man who causes her pain," and "many Chinese men think that saying a few loving words to their wives is beneath their dignity," it shows that the strength of Chinese women throughout history has been incredible and the suffering that they have overcome astonishing. Reading this book is actually a good reminder to acknowledge that hardship and struggle is all relative: while some individuals may be complaining about gas prices, there are women in China who live in undeveloped areas who eat rice "goulash" every day and have to use jagged-edged leaves from a tree as maxi-pads. It is also remarkable to see that through the pain that men have caused in the lives of Chinese women for numerous generations, there is only one lesbian that Xinran encounters in her novel.
If Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club made you cry, wait until you read the stories of these inspirational women who have gone through the dark side and back, and most likely have never once in their life had a prescription of Prozac filled out for them. The Good Woman Of China is an eye-opener to transformation of gender roles in China, and the bravery of Xinran's extraordinary quest to seek out the stories and philosophies of modern Chinese women. After reading Good Woman, it's no wonder why some Asian women dye their hair blonde. login to post comments
