The Good Women of China: Hidden Voices

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.


Heartbreaking stories very well told.   October 6, 2004
J. P. G. Cox (Infinity)
11 out of 11 found this review helpful

What struck me the most with The Good Women of China: Hidden Voices is the unpretentious way the stories are presented. No where does Xinran leave me with the impression that she is 'milking' the stories for all they are worth in order to gather sympathy from the reader. Instead she leaves me with the impression that she is almost reluctant and embarrassed to tell the stories she presents. Stories that each have in common that they are equally heartbreaking.

Speaking for myself I can only say that every one of those stories touched the fibbers of my heart..

Undoubtedly no one in the Western World is unaware of the suffering that comes with being a woman on most continents, yet it is a whole different story to be confronted with actual reports of the fate that befell a number of woman simply because they possessed a number of xx chromosomes; a reminder that to this day having a set of xy chromosomes makes you into an instant winner and a set of xx chromosomes into an instant victim on most continents.

To me these stories made me realize how privileged men are in not only China but in most parts of the world, and as such made me realise the long way we have to go before women are treated as equals.

It is because of the unpretentious presentation of the stories and the content of those stories, which I found to be without flaw, that I rate The Good Women of China: Hidden Voices with five stars. And warmly recommend it to those interested in hearing what being a woman in China can get you in some very unfortunate but not rare cases.



What a wonderful, heartbreaking, fascinating book!   January 16, 2004
Julie A. Elkes (Bloomington, IN United States)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

Once I picked up the book and began reading, I couldn't put it down. The stories of these women who are so different, and yet so much like us, made me weep, laugh, and be astonished at their lives and history. Xinran Xue is a gifted writer who captures the poignancy of these womens' lives, whom she came to know through her radio program in China. In a time when most reporters would have left well-enough alone, she goes out into her world to interview women from all walks of life, and expresses their stories of incest, brutality, achievement, and daily survival with a simplicity that is dynamic and powerful. This book is a MUST-HAVE for anyone's library.


An astonishing achievement   June 14, 2005
Observer
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

"The Good Women of China" is undoubtedly an invaluable source for scholars of women's history and modern China. But to reduce it to a mere document would be to miss its greatest achievements. Xinran Xue is the rare nonfiction writer whose literary gifts make her work of interest far beyond her specific subject matter. On its face, the book is a description of the terrible hardships endured by women in China over the last 50 years. But it is also a study of a universal theme: how do different people respond to adversity? Some of the women described, such as the earthquake survivors who begin group homes for the surviving children, are heroic almost beyond our understanding. Others are tragic heroines, such as the "woman who kept a fly for a pet", who defy their abusers even at the price of self-destruction. Others respond pathetically, refusing easy opportunities to leave abusive situations. Most disturbing are the young university women who choose to become, in effect, high class prostitutes, providing both sex and business service to foreigners.

The author's simple, spare prose lets the stories speak for themselves. The author's refusal to reduce her subject to a simple morality tale adds immeasurably to its power. I cannot recommend this book too highly.