The Good Women Of China [Paperback]

Xinran (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (November 11, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679312269
• ISBN-13: 978-0679312260
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,045,971 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars don't miss it; don't dismiss it., September 20, 2005

By 

NoBooksNoLife (Tokyo, Japan and Nevada USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Good Women of China: Hidden Voices (Paperback)

Riveting anecdotes from ordinary women in China who usually go unheard or supressed in the public forum and unnoticed in history. Their experiences are all the more shocking because they're not intended to be--the pain, waste, sadness and sacrifice in their lives underscore the turmoil of China's recent past and volatile present. For students of China, and anyone visiting or doing business with China, as well as for avid readers of all persuasions, READ THIS BOOK NOW, and keep a watchful eye on developments in China. I had frankly decided to read no more of the 'my-family-suffered-in-China-and-I-survived' books (of which there are so many excellent ones), but when I heard Xinran in a TV interview describe how she came to write this book, I became curious. When I started reading it, I couldn't put it down except to dry my tears.

I would also recommend: Kristof and Wudunn's CHINA WAKES; Anchee Min's RED AZALEA; Adeline Yen Mah's FALLING LEAVES; Jung Chang's WILD SWANS; Mo Yan's RED SORGHUM; Dai Sijie's BALZAC AND THE LITTLE CHINESE SEAMSTRESS; and anything by Ha Jin.

30 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Modern" China, May 20, 2004

By 

J. Marren "jtm497" (Glen Ridge, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Good Women of China: Hidden Voices (Paperback)

This startling collection of stories offers a remarkable insight into the lives of women in the country that threatens to become the most powerful in the world in the 21st century. Communism promised equality for all in China, but like all political systems it is no match for traditions and customs that have lasted for thousands of years. These stories painfully explore what happens when the modern and the traditional collide, crushing women in the middle.

Living in a culture where revealing the most personal aspects of our lives on TV is a daily occurance, it is hard to envision how revolutionary Xinran's radio show "Words on the Night Breeze" was in China. For the first time, women had an anonymous way to tell their stories to the world, and what spilled out was heartbreaking. There were stories of true disaster, like the mothers who suffered through a devastating earthquake and watched their families swallowed up whole. But these things happen in every country. Much more disturbing to me were the stories of arranged marriages by party officials--in this nation of "comrades," a woman still has no choice but to stay with a husband who is lord and master, and treats her much as her female ancestors must have been treated long ago. Or the story of the young girl who is abused for years by her father--when her mother finds out about it she is told to put up with it to avoid angering him! Stories about the massive cruelties of the Cultural Revolution abound--I never cease being surprised and shocked at the pain this country visited on itself during the rule of Mao in the 1960's.

Surely things are changing, one asks. But after reading about the university student I wasn't so sure. Women in university are the cream of the crop. But Xinran is shocked to learn that many choose what sounds like a new twist on an ancient tradition--they become "personal secretaries" to high powered businessmen, some foreigners, who need help navigating the Chinese system. They are totally cynical and businesslike, and view these relationships as a way to earn money and security. Woe to the woman who falls in love with her boss, however--she is cut off as cleanly as a concubine might have been abandoned in ancient times.

This is a painful, sobering book. Progress and freedom are elusive concepts, and again and again after reading of other parts of the world, I realize how lucky Americans are that we got to "start fresh" a mere 200+ years ago. This is a wonderfully written book, well deserving of 5 stars.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A must read for all feminists, February 24, 2003

By 

"cerena" (Santa Rosa, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Good Women of China: Hidden Voices (Hardcover)

Once I started reading, I could not stop until I finished it. The true stories of the lives, experiences, pain and suffering of the women described by the author are unforgettable. I am a second generation Chinese American, raised in Chinatown in Los Angeles. I was raised watching movies from China and Hong Kong where the stories were always about the suffering of unnoticed, unappreciated women. I have always been grateful that I was not born in China. Members of my family had to live through the nightmare of the "Cultural Revolution" and my aunt who was persecuted and sent to the countryside for "reeducation" because she was the daughter of a merchant, died as a result of starvation and neglect.
The only criticism I have of the book is the relentlessness of the sadness and misery of these women's lives. It makes the reading hard work. I hope the author is encouraged to share more true stories that are not always so tragic and depressing.