Gender Politics after "Reform and Opening Up" response
Shanghai Baby (DVD cover, from Asian Wiki)
Please respond to "Women and Work" and "Shanghai Baby" (p1-37). "Women
and Work" includes fascinating first person accounts from the 1980s and
a "test" on whether you are a "good housewife" at the end, "Shanghai
Baby" is considered semi auto-biographical, written by a "beauty writer"
in Shanghai in the late 1990s. Pay attention to the nature of sources: Is it scholarly work? Is it
fiction? Is it based on first-person narratives? Response due by Wednesday April 16 at 8 pm, comments to two other responses due by 10 pm. Enjoy reading and writing!
Reading Shanghai Baby made me think back to Miss Sophia's Diary. They are both intimate, first-person accounts about women and their most private spheres. Many of the interactions are based upon one-on-one encounters and are related through the words of these women themselves. I thought that they actually make really interesting comparison pieces for the scope of the class itself, if not at least our study of gender politics in China in the 20th century. They don't mark out exactly one hundred years of time, but they do reflect periods in China's history that are often compared and contrasted (for instance, May 4th in the 1920s and June 4th in the 1980s). They also give important insight into sex and sexuality in these key periods in history.
While reading, I found myself wondering what would happen if these two women met. They both have differing ideas about the men in their lives and different relationships to them as well. Miss Sophia languishes after the man she desires, whereas "Coco" mothers her boyfriend and their chaste relationship leaves her dissatisfied. She celebrates Tian Tian's successes, as on page 48-49 with the sale of the painted underwear, but it doesn't feel like a relationship between lovers. When the story of Coco's divorced husband is told in chapter eight, it feels like a reiteration of some aspects of Coco's relationship with Tian Tian. On 73, she describes Tian Tian as "a foetus soaking in formaldehyde," indicating that he has never really grown up and that, in fact, she has grown beyond him. The excerpt provided doesn't tell us what happens between Tian Tian and Coco, of course, but I feel like the portions we did read are indicative of the outcome.
Though I can't exactly agree with what I'm reading as the author's view on sex serving as a sign of a mature relationship, I think that there definitely exists a curious power dynamic between the man (who is withholding sex, voluntarily or otherwise) and the woman (desiring sex, although it may not be something that society accepts externally, she certainly doesn't seem to be overly shy in her expression of desire, whether it be with other characters or as a facet of her narration). That power dynamic is present throughout everything we read, be it as overt as it is here in the form of men and women directly "competing" through the medium of sexual relationships or via women "competing" against men in other areas of life (work, for example, in last week's examples of women working for the Revolution), or even in the case of figures such as Qiu Jin, competing with themselves (and perhaps their inner demons) to try and understand their own, unique place in society.
I agree that this reading relates to Miss Sophia's Diary, especially in relation to the sexual descriptions and the interactions she has with others. Their descriptions and expressions are much of the same. I think it is interesting how you point out what it would be like if they met. I find this interesting and wonder the same thing.
I also think many psychological and sexual descriptions about Nikki are similar to Miss Sophia's Diary, and I think using this kind of description and narration makes for understanding about female inward world.
The point you make about power dynamics and competition is interesting. If we reflect on most of our past readings we can quickly find the competition between genders, roles, the self, society, government etc. But it takes work and analysis to recognize competition where it takes place.
Out of "Women and Work" what most drew my attention after a brief skim was that it seems to be like a "guide" of sorts. After a 'revolution' of sorts, the gender roles settle back in again but women are still permitted to work, but are fully expected to uphold housewife responsibilities as well. It would seem that there was a lot of fuss over women being given the right to have a career, "..the fact that women were not as strong as men and therefore not physically suited to their jobs.", "once women married they would be burdened with housework and childrearing and would therefore be unable to concentrate on their tasks." (both p.245) It is argued, even by a female manager of an aircraft, that men have higher attendance rates and fulfill their work much more actively than the female attendant which I found interesting and, sadly, relate-able. It would seem that women during this time (and even still in current day, though on a less large scale) were expected to just do their housewife duties and be mothers and men take care of the work and income. Even if women were in the workforce at this point in time, it was still highly implied that men were the ones 'meant' to be doing those things.
Reading Shanghai Baby I felt like I was reading some kind of really long diary entry. Guided through her day with this man and we get very intimate, personal details regarding sexuality in this time between this couple. I found it intriguing how she felt "responsible" for Tian Tian, as if he were her child but yet definitely not. It sort of reminded me of the piece we read several weeks back (which I can not recall the name of) where pre-teened age girl was arranged in a marriage with an infant. It was a marriage, therefore would likely eventually lead to some type of romance life -- but also with the aspect of the girl taking care of her husband not in such a way as "serving" him like a slave but caring for him. A reverse of the roles if you will, Tian Tian being the fragile one, and her taking care of him with such love that, I personally find quite ideal.
I agree that Shanghai Baby was a lot like a diary. Also I like your connection between the stories we have read in class. I never thought about the story where she takes care of her husband who is a baby and how it is much of the same in Shanghai Baby. These are good connections.
I like that you compared the story to a diary, as though we (the readers) have stumbled upon this woman's intimate thoughts. Or, more intriguing, as though she has submitted these thoughts to us (again, the readers). The idea of an author writing about an author in a semi-autobiographical way really intrigues me. It's a little strange to think about writing your diary with the intention to publish it, but so many people actually do!
I also thought it was funny that it was an author writing about an author in a semi-autobiographical way. It makes me wonder how accurate her thoughts are and if she censored herself in order to protect her image. While it must have been tempting for her to do this, I think she presents herself honestly by revealing both positive and negative aspects of her life.
The test at the bottom of "Women and Work" to determine if you are a "good housewife" reminds me of the quizzes in popular magazines today that determine if you are a good boyfriend/girlfriend. They are quite trivial and hold very little to no relevance to reality in my opinion yet people are still drawn in to take them.
I like that you compared Xiao Xiao to Shanghai Baby in the sense that she was in some way taking care of her husband rather than viewing him as her other half. It seemed that Shanghai Baby was a long diary in which at times did become uncomfortable to read because it did seem so personal and intimate.
In “Women and Work” I felt that many of the descriptions of the role of women in the workforce were demeaning to the female. One of the parts I found most interesting was the issue about women securing a job – “When I look for new workers I am not looking for trouble. Not long after a woman enters the factory she will get married, have children, and take maternity leave. What good is she?” (pg.245). I find this quote interesting because the man is not wanting to hire the woman based on the need that she has to conceive and hold the baby and then once she has the baby she leaves. I think this is hypocritical of want society wants. It is important to society that more children be born in order to work especially if it is a male. However, without women there couldn’t be children. The women can be the core of that child’s life and I think it is important for the women to have a working role in society and education to show the importance of it and to teach the children. If the father is working all day, how are the children going to learn? If both the mother and father are working and then care for the child, the child can learn more. One of the issues this reading also points out is women’s access to higher education even if they are well educated. Education is important in the revolution and to advance a country. I think the more educated the woman comes, the more likely they can participate in the workforce without discrimination. In the beginning it says, “…paid employment outside the home was the key to liberating women and building a society based on genuine gender equality” (pg. 243). I agree with this and think women can have more pay when they have access to education.
In “Shanghai Baby” Nikki expresses her story much like a diary. Her writing is different in that her story is more sexual in her descriptions and desires. It is much like “Miss Sophia’s Diary” in that she freely expresses herself and her sexual desires, much like Sophia. Nikki explains that she is drawn to tragedy and intrigue, “When I was studying Chinese at Fudan University in Shanghai, I’d wanted to become a writer of really exciting thrillers: ‘evil omen’, ‘conspiracy’, ‘dagger’, ‘lust’, ‘poison’, ‘madness’, and ‘moonlight’ were all words that sprang readily to mind” (pg.3). She is very descriptive in her expressions and the encounters she has with individuals. This story is almost opposite of “Women and Work” in that this women is working in replace of the man, or Ting Ting, and she cares for him. Her role as caretaker and breadwinner is more descriptive of what happens nowadays. I think this story is more similar to changes currently and the transition of women’s roles and the expansion of their capabilities.
I thought your quote from Women and Work was an interesting choice. We've talked about roles for women and how they were challenged during the Cultural Revolution, but the very fact that a piece of writing like that exists, even if it were to be satire, proves that these roles persist in our consciousness. Rebelling against the roles is just as formative in establishing them, really.
I agree with you that “many of the descriptions of the role of women in the workforce were demeaning to the female.” Your quotation from the book is true in China and many Chinese women face this problem. When I was in high school, I wanted to retake a senior year, but my parents told me if I delayed graduation, I would become older than my peers. And after I graduate from university, it’s hard to find a job because the marriage break and maternity leave would be considered by many companies and employers.
"The women can be the core of that child’s life and I think it is important for the women to have a working role in society and education to show the importance of it and to teach the children."
Managing a family is difficult as it takes all of one's time and all of one's income. It also takes all of one's self whether man or woman. When we say "it is important for women to have a working role in society" we must be careful not to define this work as outside the home; otherwise we deem housework and child-rearing as less important than other work.
In the story “Shanghai Baby”, the main character Coco is a 25-year-old Shanghainese woman who wants to be a writer. Coco began having an affair with married German businessman Mark when she found the young man she loves called Tian Tian who is unable to provide her with what she wants physically. This novel certainly does give insights into the vast changes of China's new generation and their concerns. They are concerned with gender inequalities and the attitude to foreigners, as well as the generation gap. But there is one thing need to be mentioned that is Shanghai is more westernised and sophisticated than much of the rest of the country in china. Shanghai girls were not representing the whole china.
A lot of women entered in the workforce since 1970’s .The role of women in the workforce has changed since then. Labour bureau assigned jobs to those educated young people who had been sent to the countryside. Many middle school graduates had to wait several years before being assigned a job. Most of the “youth wait for employment” were women. Mao’s thought advocated women and men have an equal right. Men and women must have equal right for equal work opportunity. But in fact, a job was assigned in an unfair way .They assigned a job to high examination score students first and then the rest of students. When the government found they can’t balance the ratio of men and women worker and they can’t offer more job opportunities to women then encouraged women to take advantage of their “special strengths” to solve their employment problem (Emily Honig, P246) Many women started to work in the handicraft industries and many young girl was trained in a variety of skills .They can easily find a job around their house. Mao’s thought advocated “Women can do anything men can do” that was rejected during the early 1980’s. The government decided to move women out of those jobs which required physical strength. (Emily Honig, P250) We can see the china government started to care about women’s physical condition and encouraged women to work in the field like hotel, store and restaurant. However, women’s autonomy reflected in that they have the right to choose the job they want. The government “forced” women to choose the job they think that is suitable for women. That was not a real equality. China's One Child Policy was designed to limit population growth. People lose their right on having more children that was treated as human right violation.
I thought that the tone and themes of “Women and Work” and “Shanghai Baby” were vastly different. It shows how much China has changed in the post-Mao era. “Women and Work”, a scholarly piece, discusses the discrimination that faced women despite the equality rhetoric of Mao’s communist China. Even quotes from real women in “Women and Work” seemed serious compared to “Shanghai Baby”. For example, women interviewed by the Women’s Federation stated, “We women are first and foremost people with careers, being a woman comes second” (Honig and Hershatter 252). And, “But I believe that contributing to society through my work is the most important thing; the household comes second” (ibid.). These comments are not self-centered, but are more focused on the country and society.
Nikki’s thoughts in “Shanghai Baby” contrast sharply with the comments from “Women and Work”. Nikki is continually obsessed with herself and her relationships with those immediately around her. It is also remarkable how Western Nikki’s story is. There are very few features of the story that distinctly mark it as being a Chinese story (and there’s not a single reference to the Revolution!). I was amazed by her knowledge of Western literature and film; she writes, “Recently we’d taken to watching TV and videos in bed, caressing one another against the scarlet backdrop of Quentin Tarantino’s violent films, and fall asleep in concert with Uma Thurman’s moaning and John Travolta’s gunfire” (40). Furthermore, “Shanghai Baby” shows the advance of acceptable social roles for women. Whereas women were limited to mother or worker in the 1970s and 1980s, Nikki shows how she plays a number of roles, consisting of: skilled professional, little beauty, temperamental child, and ordinary girl (17).
I agree with your analysis of the format of the writings, I also thnk they were such stark contrasts! Also, it is vey interesting that you point out Nikki never mentioning the revolution, which I think is just another way that this piece was very westernized.
While reading "Shanghai Baby", I too was surprised at how many references were made to various Westerners and Western products in general. I agree that both writing styles and pieces were very different when it came to format. It was also interesting how women during that time in "Women and Work" were more worried about contributing to society rather than being a housewife.
“Women and work” talked about women and their roles in the workforce. In the reading, it keyed on how women were seen in the workforce. “Some units pointed to the fact that women were not as strong as men and therefore not physically suited to their jobs. Others claimed that once women married they would be burdened by housework and childrearing and would therefore be unable to concentrate on their tasks” (245). The reading also talked about how middle school women would help their mothers with household chores and therefore this became a woman’s ‘special strength (247). Another ‘special strength’ of women was their ‘civil and careful nature’. Also women were assigned jobs according to education level and exam score tests.
“Shanghai Baby” is about this woman named Nikki (Coco) falls in love with a man named Tian Tian. “Unable to enter me, he starred at me, speechless, his whole body in sweat. It was the first time with a girl in his twenty-something years” (pg.5). Tian Tian is not sexually experienced and from reading on, we can see the Nikki wants to have a sexual relationship with Tian Tian, but Tian Tian is unable to satisfy her sexual needs. She goes on and says, “Making love with a woman and sleeping with a woman are two separate passions. Love does not make itself felt in the desire of copulation (a desire that extends to an infinite number of women) but in the desire for shared sleep (a desire limited to one woman) (5). She starts to understand this when she experiences a series of events when she has an affair with another man. To me this story seems relate to “Miss Sophia’s Diary”, especially the sexual desires that a woman possesses. In both of these stories, the woman seems to be lost in what she wants and desires in a man.
I also thought the quote about differentiating between making love and sleeping with a woman was interesting. If I understood the quote correctly, she seems to placing the love she and Tian Tian have on a pedestal. By not having sex, their love is more significant. But, the two characters (Tian Tian and Coco) did not deliberately choose to only experience love by sleeping with each other since Tian tian can't have sex.
I was also struck by the amount of Western influence in the novel "Shanghai Baby." I think this was mostly due to the fact that the story takes place in Shanghai which was one of the first places to be inhibited by foreigners in China. If Wei Hui had lived in a non-coastal city I think the story would have been quite different or not even existed.
As I read through the chapter, “Women and Work,” it is clear to see that men and women weren’t as equal in China at the time as the propaganda posters may have suggested. What I found rather striking was that the women had to score higher on tests in order to get into the same technical school as men. Stated in the reading it says, “at the technical school in Shenyang Number Six Pharmaceutical Factory, men needed 173 points for admission in 1983, women 317 (248).” Even though this part of the chapter goes on to say that the justification for these standards was due to the lack of dormitories, in my mind that reason isn’t a strong enough argument. What did make more sense was the argument that women didn’t have the strength to do the required jobs in the factory as men did. Biologically it is generally true that men are more physically inept to do jobs that require a large amount of physical activity. However, I believe that if women were able to pass some sort of physical test while passing the verbal test with a score higher (or the same) as men than they should be almost guaranteed enrollment. In the section titled “The Problem of Keeping Jobs,” once there were factories built that geared more towards “women’s strengths” such as print shops, shoe factories, and garment factories. What was interesting about this was when it stated that, “in many cases though, no “appropriate” work unit was found for the women transferred out of physically taxing jobs, and they were left unemployed (251).” It seemed that the jobs were already being chosen for women even before tests were given. No matter what work a woman at that time might have been able to do, she would have never been given the chance fully. Men were never put into question as to what they could and couldn’t do. It seemed that excuses were always being made for as to why women weren’t allowed to be accepted into schools or why they weren’t getting the same jobs as men were. After reading this piece it seems that the truth behind the propaganda posters we have previously viewed was that women were just the face of men’s jobs. These posters were simply tricking others nations into thinking that women and men in China were becoming equivalent in the work force.
The story of “Shanghai Baby” seemed to ride the line of fiction and semi-autobiographical. Tian Tian had finally convinced Coco to quit her job at the Green Stalk Café and begin writing again. Once she had written some of her novel, Tian Tian convinced her to read some aloud to their friends and it seemed that those passages overlapped with the story we were reading. The novel she was writing was, in some ways, portrayed as her in the works of writing “Shanghai Baby.” This is why it proved to be a bit confusing for me. It seemed that throughout all these chapters, sex was what ended up driving her towards Mark. However, she always felt guilty after being with Mark and immediately went home to Tian Tian never wanting him to find out what she had done. Coco didn’t want to lose him but kept falling into her old ways in which the physical bond was more important to her than the deep connection which is what she seemed to have formed with Tian Tian. I wondered whether she would have stayed faithful if Tian Tian was able to physically please her like she wanted. She was in a battle with herself because she didn’t know what she wanted. The novel she wrote seemed to be a way for her to get personal thoughts out while still presenting itself as a fictional piece to others.
Shanghai baby is based on first-person narrative and written about love triangle among Nikki, a Shanghainese writer, Tian Tian, Nikki’s Chinese boyfriend and Mark, Nikki’s Germany lover. Nikki loves Tian Tian, but unfortunately, Tian Tian is sexual impotence, then, she fell in love with Mark. Tian Tian is her spiritual partner, but cannot satisfy her bodily desires, and Mark is just her bodily partner. “Making love with a woman and sleeping with a woman are two separate passions. Love does not make itself in the desire of copulation (a desire that extends to an infinite number of women) but in the desire for shared sleep (a desire limited to one woman).” (Wei, p.5) She quoted this quotation to describe her different feelings between making love with Mark and sleeping with Tian Tian. I don’t think this is a scholarly work, and it is more like an urban love story. This novel includes a number of descriptions about Nikki’s psychological and physiological feelings. Like the articles we read at the beginning of this semester Miss Sophia’s Diary, it includes a lot of sexual fantasy and entangled psychological description. But the difference is Nikki is more fearless and outrageous, and it makes the readers thinking about the moral values in our society.
The tile of this novel is Shanghai Baby, for me, the most interesting information of this tile is Shanghai. It seems that Shanghai is a very magical place, at least, is a material place. “This has a lot to do with living in a place like Shanghai. A grey fog hangs over the city, mixed with continual rumors and an air of superiority, a hangover from the time of the shili yangchang, the foreign concessions. This air of superiority affects me: I both love it and hate it.” (Wei, p.1) When I read her book, I thought about Guo Jingming, another popular modern Shanghai writer that we mentioned in CHI 430 class. Both of Guo Jingming and Wei Hui have a same point is that they really like to describe the material life or show their xiaozi qingdiao (Petty Bourgeoisie). There are a lot of brands in Guo Jingming’s books, like Prada, Channel, iphone 5s. In Wei Hui’s book also, when she described things, she always emphasize and attach a label on it, such as CK fragrance, Dave chocolate, sofa bought from IKEA…(these are high-level brands in 2000 China) She also likes to show Petty Bourgeoisie, like black satin qipao was custom-made at Su Zhou silk factory, sort of upscale places in Shanghai… I found this Shanghai characteristic is interesting, and makes me thinking that why always Shanghai? I think this book is neither completely fiction nor true. Because some parts of this book looks like it’s a true story, such as a Shanghai female writer who graduated from Fudan University and “want to write a novel that would take the literary world by storm” (Wei, p.6), I think this may be the author’s wish too. But some plots in this book seem to be unreal.
I found both reading much more interesting and very different from the previous readings we have had. “Women and Work,” a scholarly article, showed women as much weaker than in last weeks readings, “Iron Girl” and “Good Daughter.” Women were encouraged to work in nurseries and schools, both of which were considered weaker careers than the ones, such as welding, women had been encouraged to pursue just a few years earlier. The government encouraged women to pursue the less dangerous jobs by using their “special strengths” which included their manual dexterity, training in household chores, and their civil and careful nature (pg. 246-247). These strengths were perfect for a career in childcare or education and helped to glorify these positions. Women were expected to not only hold a paying job but to also fulfill their role as a housewife. “In Chinese policy there is an implicit assumption that women have two major roles to fulfill: that of mother and of worker,” (pg. 243). Because of this expectation and the amount of time that was needed to be a good mother, employers considered women incapable of devoting themselves to jobs as fully as men did. The same rhetoric is used post World War II in America after male soldiers returned to the war to find that women had replaced them in many careers to aid in the war effort. After their return women were encouraged to return to housework and careers more suited for women.
In the novel “Shanghai Baby” the first thing I noticed was that it was written in a more Western style and included many western elements that have not appeared in previous readings. Western images such as Ikea, cigarettes, milk, sound systems, leopard print handbags, and halter-tops as well as other elements occur frequently throughout the novel. Regardless of the sexual nature and shrewdness of the novel, which led to it being banned in China, the author, Wei Hui, includes rather strong and influential lines. I was surprised by her use of the following lines and the strength they carry. “There will never be more than a thin glass barrier between your present and the wreckage of your past,” (pg. 3). The main character, Nikki, says this to her boyfriend, Tian Tian, after he opens up to her about his father’s mysterious death. I think this line carries and deeper meaning. I think it also refers to the past and present state of China. Nikki also says that she wants to reveal, “the truth about mankind: violence, style, lust, joy, and then enigma, machines, power, and death,” (pg. 8). This quote is very powerful and shows the positive and negative aspects of mankind as a whole, not just Chinese society. The last quote that really struck me was when Madonna said to Nikki and Tian Tian, “Love’s the most powerful thing on earth,” (pg. 12). The story seems to focus more on the sexual desire of humans’ but this quote puts the deeper meaning into perspective.
I agree with you on that "Shanghai Baby" is written in a western style. That is another reason why I think that Miss Sophia's Diary and Shanghai Baby is because of this western style
The “Women and Work” piece was a very interesting read because it gave us a more realistic insight into how Chinese women were treated. We observed several posters that depicted the women as having equal rights and enjoying their rights. After looking at the posters and reading the article it is definitely apparent that the posters were used as propaganda. I think it is really interesting that the Chinese women accepted their role so easily and without little fight. We have seen few rebellions with women leading for a change but often times they end up back in their assigned and expected role. As we discussed in class, the propaganda posters were more than likely not geared towards Chinese women themselves since they knew where they fit in the roles of society, so who then were these posters actually geared toward? I really enjoyed “Shanghai Baby” because I found it very westernized in the language that is used. Much of the reading was very graphic for Chinese literature and even for a Chinese woman to have expressed openly. The outward attitude and drive that Coco has is so fun to read compared to all of our more academic and scholarly sources.
I think that the posters were geared towards the outside world and maybe even in China too. Maybe when Chinese women saw these posters of happy, skillful, beautiful women, it gave them a sense of hope and something to work for, even if they couldnt actually get it right away.
These two readings this week were very hard core towards what people think about females and this notion of them being able to work or not. Everyone has strong opinions on this issue during this time all over the world. There are many reasons why women should or shouldn't be at work. "Women and Work" talked about how being a female was not only a "disadvantage" biologically, but "their sex was a serious handicap in securing a job" (Honig and Hershatter, 249). This struck me because I had never thought of a gender being a handicap, but in this article being a female was very harmful to the individual and her life. Many people think that women should stay at home with the kids and take care of the husband and for some women that's good but our reading mentions: "If all wives stay at home, they will lose their economic independence, and the basis of equal rights will be removed" (Honig and Hershatter, 252). I think this is a very true statement, and being that women had worked so hard for the revolution and now to be staying at home with the kids and allowing the government to take complete control, was something that made women fight even harder for it.
The second reading "Shanghai Baby" was written very differently. While the first reading was very informative and written very formally, the second reading was quite the opposite being very straight forward and almost harsh sounding. The format in "Shanghai Baby" was written as a first- person narrative, not containing any scholarly work, from what I could tell. Also the tone was very harmful to the Tian Tian, the main male character, the model friend from the restaurant said, "'my little good-for-nothing.' she said. 'Take good care of your love. Love's the most powerful thing on earth" (Wei Hui, 12). This quote was directed at Tian Tian, and said by a female, which I find quite striking. I would expect a male to say this to a female "my good-for nothing" but not the other way around. Also, this notion of Tian Tian wanting his girlfriend to stay at home to be a writer, was interesting as well being that Nikki all along wanted to be a writer and now Tian Tian would allow her to do that. I think this notion of "staying at home" had such a stigma because it was as if the woman's life was over if she stayed at home, and all the fun was taken out of her life. However, in Nikki's case she wanted to stay home so that she could live her dream to be a writer.
I appreciate "Women and Work" because it clearly states the sociological discoveries we have made post-Mao. This is that “…women’s participation in the workforce was not the harbinger of liberation that Marxist theory (or Mao’s interpretation of Marxist theory) predicted.” The author describes the difficult position of urban women at the time as entering into the work force on a "clearly unequal basis" as most businesses plainly assigned two major roles to any young woman; that of the mother and the worker. Page 258-59 describes women as being more equipped, ready and available to do housework as mothers. Wang’s sociological perspective on why women should do housework may not be correct as (it simply puts that women should perform these tasks because they always have); but we must consider the economic state and developmental mode of a nation. If its economy and jobs are geared towards industrial work and hard labor then surely men are more capable and effective. As the economy changes, so should roles adapt.
It seems that Wei Hui could have followed a similar model as given by "Miss Sophia's Diary" and Yu Dafu's "Sinking" as these stories are intimate and vivid. If we asked "what thoughts did the narrator leave out of this account?" the answer would either be interesting or "nothing". My first impression of Nikki was that she holds to a shallow definition of love (and in some ways she does) but she also offers wisdom to those who love each other or wish to love each other. At one point she says "Death's shadow only fades little by little as time passes. There will never be more than a thin glass barrier between your present and the wreckage of your past." In this she recognizes the frailty of our subconscious mind when dealing with past experiences. Later we learn that her past relationship somewhat colored her actions and sentiments when dealing with Tian Tian.
The article that really caught my eyes while I was reading is the only child policy in China, I really want to talk about it because I am not the only child.I have a younger sister who is four years younger than me. And it has been years, when people know that there are two kids in my family, they are shocked, and they asked how.. So basically, the policy states that one family can only have one child, unless one of your parents side have the only child in two following generation, or both of your parents are the only child of their family. in my case, my mother and my grandpa on my mother's side are the only child, so my family is allowed to have more than one kid. I think this policy has its good side and bad side, for the good side, it can slow down the growth of the population in CHina.however, on th other side, it is not really good for the kid. in the US, they have more than one kid in the family, so kids know what does share mean, and they know what does responsibility mean. but in China, the whole family is going around the only child, once it doesnt go right, it will have a bad effect on the kid, he will think that people should be around him, and he is the most important one in the group.
I like your views on the one-child policy. It's interesting to hear a first hand point of view on the subject. It's kind of funny that people are shocked to find out that there are more than one child in the family when I feel that it's fairly common that families disobey this policy.
The quote that stood out to me in Women and Work was “leaders firmly believed that paid employment outside the home was the key to liberating women” (pg. 243). This lead me to a positive view of the era in regard to women’s right… until I read the rest of the page. The author goes on to state that women entered the workforce on an unequal basis. They were funneled into the “least-skilled, lowest-paying jobs with fewer welfare benefits” (pg. 243). Women had the opportunity to work but they were discriminated against in the workplace. Furthermore, women were told to fulfill two roles: workers and mothers. Meanwhile, there is no mention of men fulfilling roles as worker and fathers. Even today, working women have to accomplish their work and take care of their families and on the other hand, men are not expected to do so. Not only do women have to work with terrible conditions but securing a job is also a challenge due to their gender. When I look for new workers I am not looking for trouble. Not long after a woman enters the factory she will get married, have children and take maternity leave. What good is she?” (pg.245). This furthers the idea that women are not actually equal. Instead, their worth is now just determined by an employer, likely male. Society seems to elevate women staying starting a family yet that is also the one thing that will lead to discrimination against women. A good family consists of two parental figures, not just a female. Shanghai Baby is very much like Miss Sophia’s diary in regards to the writing style. They are both free to write about their sexual desires. The author writes about intimate experiences from the character’s personal life. Furthermore, she is descriptive in her re telling of different encounters. The difference between Women and Work and Shanghai Baby is that former seems more serious. In Shanghai Baby, the main character’s worries seem to be so trivial compared to something like women’s rights or the role of a woman in society.
I loved everything you had to say about the 'Women and Work' piece. Very valid points that are unfortunately still true today. I'm not familiar with the current standings of gender in the household stereotypes in China but in America I feel they still very much exist, even though it's slowly evening out.
Reading Shanghai Baby made me think back to Miss Sophia's Diary. They are both intimate, first-person accounts about women and their most private spheres. Many of the interactions are based upon one-on-one encounters and are related through the words of these women themselves. I thought that they actually make really interesting comparison pieces for the scope of the class itself, if not at least our study of gender politics in China in the 20th century. They don't mark out exactly one hundred years of time, but they do reflect periods in China's history that are often compared and contrasted (for instance, May 4th in the 1920s and June 4th in the 1980s). They also give important insight into sex and sexuality in these key periods in history.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading, I found myself wondering what would happen if these two women met. They both have differing ideas about the men in their lives and different relationships to them as well. Miss Sophia languishes after the man she desires, whereas "Coco" mothers her boyfriend and their chaste relationship leaves her dissatisfied. She celebrates Tian Tian's successes, as on page 48-49 with the sale of the painted underwear, but it doesn't feel like a relationship between lovers. When the story of Coco's divorced husband is told in chapter eight, it feels like a reiteration of some aspects of Coco's relationship with Tian Tian. On 73, she describes Tian Tian as "a foetus soaking in formaldehyde," indicating that he has never really grown up and that, in fact, she has grown beyond him. The excerpt provided doesn't tell us what happens between Tian Tian and Coco, of course, but I feel like the portions we did read are indicative of the outcome.
Though I can't exactly agree with what I'm reading as the author's view on sex serving as a sign of a mature relationship, I think that there definitely exists a curious power dynamic between the man (who is withholding sex, voluntarily or otherwise) and the woman (desiring sex, although it may not be something that society accepts externally, she certainly doesn't seem to be overly shy in her expression of desire, whether it be with other characters or as a facet of her narration). That power dynamic is present throughout everything we read, be it as overt as it is here in the form of men and women directly "competing" through the medium of sexual relationships or via women "competing" against men in other areas of life (work, for example, in last week's examples of women working for the Revolution), or even in the case of figures such as Qiu Jin, competing with themselves (and perhaps their inner demons) to try and understand their own, unique place in society.
I agree that this reading relates to Miss Sophia's Diary, especially in relation to the sexual descriptions and the interactions she has with others. Their descriptions and expressions are much of the same. I think it is interesting how you point out what it would be like if they met. I find this interesting and wonder the same thing.
DeleteI also think many psychological and sexual descriptions about Nikki are similar to Miss Sophia's Diary, and I think using this kind of description and narration makes for understanding about female inward world.
DeleteThe point you make about power dynamics and competition is interesting. If we reflect on most of our past readings we can quickly find the competition between genders, roles, the self, society, government etc. But it takes work and analysis to recognize competition where it takes place.
Deleteit is a great comparison bwtween the aritcle and Sophie's diary
DeleteOut of "Women and Work" what most drew my attention after a brief skim was that it seems to be like a "guide" of sorts. After a 'revolution' of sorts, the gender roles settle back in again but women are still permitted to work, but are fully expected to uphold housewife responsibilities as well. It would seem that there was a lot of fuss over women being given the right to have a career, "..the fact that women were not as strong as men and therefore not physically suited to their jobs.", "once women married they would be burdened with housework and childrearing and would therefore be unable to concentrate on their tasks." (both p.245) It is argued, even by a female manager of an aircraft, that men have higher attendance rates and fulfill their work much more actively than the female attendant which I found interesting and, sadly, relate-able. It would seem that women during this time (and even still in current day, though on a less large scale) were expected to just do their housewife duties and be mothers and men take care of the work and income. Even if women were in the workforce at this point in time, it was still highly implied that men were the ones 'meant' to be doing those things.
ReplyDeleteReading Shanghai Baby I felt like I was reading some kind of really long diary entry. Guided through her day with this man and we get very intimate, personal details regarding sexuality in this time between this couple. I found it intriguing how she felt "responsible" for Tian Tian, as if he were her child but yet definitely not. It sort of reminded me of the piece we read several weeks back (which I can not recall the name of) where pre-teened age girl was arranged in a marriage with an infant. It was a marriage, therefore would likely eventually lead to some type of romance life -- but also with the aspect of the girl taking care of her husband not in such a way as "serving" him like a slave but caring for him. A reverse of the roles if you will, Tian Tian being the fragile one, and her taking care of him with such love that, I personally find quite ideal.
I agree that Shanghai Baby was a lot like a diary. Also I like your connection between the stories we have read in class. I never thought about the story where she takes care of her husband who is a baby and how it is much of the same in Shanghai Baby. These are good connections.
DeleteThe story you're talking about is Xiao Xiao.
DeleteI like that you compared the story to a diary, as though we (the readers) have stumbled upon this woman's intimate thoughts. Or, more intriguing, as though she has submitted these thoughts to us (again, the readers). The idea of an author writing about an author in a semi-autobiographical way really intrigues me. It's a little strange to think about writing your diary with the intention to publish it, but so many people actually do!
I also thought it was funny that it was an author writing about an author in a semi-autobiographical way. It makes me wonder how accurate her thoughts are and if she censored herself in order to protect her image. While it must have been tempting for her to do this, I think she presents herself honestly by revealing both positive and negative aspects of her life.
DeleteThe test at the bottom of "Women and Work" to determine if you are a "good housewife" reminds me of the quizzes in popular magazines today that determine if you are a good boyfriend/girlfriend. They are quite trivial and hold very little to no relevance to reality in my opinion yet people are still drawn in to take them.
DeleteI like that you compared Xiao Xiao to Shanghai Baby in the sense that she was in some way taking care of her husband rather than viewing him as her other half. It seemed that Shanghai Baby was a long diary in which at times did become uncomfortable to read because it did seem so personal and intimate.
DeleteI thought Shanghai Baby was similar to Miss Sophia's diary but I did not think about Xiao Xiao's story. I like how you thought of that.
DeleteIn “Women and Work” I felt that many of the descriptions of the role of women in the workforce were demeaning to the female. One of the parts I found most interesting was the issue about women securing a job – “When I look for new workers I am not looking for trouble. Not long after a woman enters the factory she will get married, have children, and take maternity leave. What good is she?” (pg.245). I find this quote interesting because the man is not wanting to hire the woman based on the need that she has to conceive and hold the baby and then once she has the baby she leaves. I think this is hypocritical of want society wants. It is important to society that more children be born in order to work especially if it is a male. However, without women there couldn’t be children. The women can be the core of that child’s life and I think it is important for the women to have a working role in society and education to show the importance of it and to teach the children. If the father is working all day, how are the children going to learn? If both the mother and father are working and then care for the child, the child can learn more. One of the issues this reading also points out is women’s access to higher education even if they are well educated. Education is important in the revolution and to advance a country. I think the more educated the woman comes, the more likely they can participate in the workforce without discrimination. In the beginning it says, “…paid employment outside the home was the key to liberating women and building a society based on genuine gender equality” (pg. 243). I agree with this and think women can have more pay when they have access to education.
ReplyDeleteIn “Shanghai Baby” Nikki expresses her story much like a diary. Her writing is different in that her story is more sexual in her descriptions and desires. It is much like “Miss Sophia’s Diary” in that she freely expresses herself and her sexual desires, much like Sophia. Nikki explains that she is drawn to tragedy and intrigue, “When I was studying Chinese at Fudan University in Shanghai, I’d wanted to become a writer of really exciting thrillers: ‘evil omen’, ‘conspiracy’, ‘dagger’, ‘lust’, ‘poison’, ‘madness’, and ‘moonlight’ were all words that sprang readily to mind” (pg.3). She is very descriptive in her expressions and the encounters she has with individuals. This story is almost opposite of “Women and Work” in that this women is working in replace of the man, or Ting Ting, and she cares for him. Her role as caretaker and breadwinner is more descriptive of what happens nowadays. I think this story is more similar to changes currently and the transition of women’s roles and the expansion of their capabilities.
I thought your quote from Women and Work was an interesting choice. We've talked about roles for women and how they were challenged during the Cultural Revolution, but the very fact that a piece of writing like that exists, even if it were to be satire, proves that these roles persist in our consciousness. Rebelling against the roles is just as formative in establishing them, really.
DeleteI agree with you that “many of the descriptions of the role of women in the workforce were demeaning to the female.” Your quotation from the book is true in China and many Chinese women face this problem. When I was in high school, I wanted to retake a senior year, but my parents told me if I delayed graduation, I would become older than my peers. And after I graduate from university, it’s hard to find a job because the marriage break and maternity leave would be considered by many companies and employers.
Delete"The women can be the core of that child’s life and I think it is important for the women to have a working role in society and education to show the importance of it and to teach the children."
DeleteManaging a family is difficult as it takes all of one's time and all of one's income. It also takes all of one's self whether man or woman. When we say "it is important for women to have a working role in society" we must be careful not to define this work as outside the home; otherwise we deem housework and child-rearing as less important than other work.
I agree with you that "Shanghai Baby" and "Miss Sophia's Diary" are similar to each other in the aspect of sexuality and sexual desires.
DeleteIn the story “Shanghai Baby”, the main character Coco is a 25-year-old Shanghainese woman who wants to be a writer. Coco began having an affair with married German businessman Mark when she found the young man she loves called Tian Tian who is unable to provide her with what she wants physically. This novel certainly does give insights into the vast changes of China's new generation and their concerns. They are concerned with gender inequalities and the attitude to foreigners, as well as the generation gap. But there is one thing need to be mentioned that is Shanghai is more westernised and sophisticated than much of the rest of the country in china. Shanghai girls were not representing the whole china.
ReplyDeleteA lot of women entered in the workforce since 1970’s .The role of women in the workforce has changed since then. Labour bureau assigned jobs to those educated young people who had been sent to the countryside. Many middle school graduates had to wait several years before being assigned a job. Most of the “youth wait for employment” were women. Mao’s thought advocated women and men have an equal right. Men and women must have equal right for equal work opportunity. But in fact, a job was assigned in an unfair way .They assigned a job to high examination score students first and then the rest of students. When the government found they can’t balance the ratio of men and women worker and they can’t offer more job opportunities to women then encouraged women to take advantage of their “special strengths” to solve their employment problem (Emily Honig, P246) Many women started to work in the handicraft industries and many young girl was trained in a variety of skills .They can easily find a job around their house. Mao’s thought advocated “Women can do anything men can do” that was rejected during the early 1980’s. The government decided to move women out of those jobs which required physical strength. (Emily Honig, P250) We can see the china government started to care about women’s physical condition and encouraged women to work in the field like hotel, store and restaurant. However, women’s autonomy reflected in that they have the right to choose the job they want. The government “forced” women to choose the job they think that is suitable for women. That was not a real equality. China's One Child Policy was designed to limit population growth. People lose their right on having more children that was treated as human right violation.
I thought that the tone and themes of “Women and Work” and “Shanghai Baby” were vastly different. It shows how much China has changed in the post-Mao era. “Women and Work”, a scholarly piece, discusses the discrimination that faced women despite the equality rhetoric of Mao’s communist China. Even quotes from real women in “Women and Work” seemed serious compared to “Shanghai Baby”. For example, women interviewed by the Women’s Federation stated, “We women are first and foremost people with careers, being a woman comes second” (Honig and Hershatter 252). And, “But I believe that contributing to society through my work is the most important thing; the household comes second” (ibid.). These comments are not self-centered, but are more focused on the country and society.
ReplyDeleteNikki’s thoughts in “Shanghai Baby” contrast sharply with the comments from “Women and Work”. Nikki is continually obsessed with herself and her relationships with those immediately around her. It is also remarkable how Western Nikki’s story is. There are very few features of the story that distinctly mark it as being a Chinese story (and there’s not a single reference to the Revolution!). I was amazed by her knowledge of Western literature and film; she writes, “Recently we’d taken to watching TV and videos in bed, caressing one another against the scarlet backdrop of Quentin Tarantino’s violent films, and fall asleep in concert with Uma Thurman’s moaning and John Travolta’s gunfire” (40). Furthermore, “Shanghai Baby” shows the advance of acceptable social roles for women. Whereas women were limited to mother or worker in the 1970s and 1980s, Nikki shows how she plays a number of roles, consisting of: skilled professional, little beauty, temperamental child, and ordinary girl (17).
I agree with your analysis of the format of the writings, I also thnk they were such stark contrasts! Also, it is vey interesting that you point out Nikki never mentioning the revolution, which I think is just another way that this piece was very westernized.
DeleteWhile reading "Shanghai Baby", I too was surprised at how many references were made to various Westerners and Western products in general. I agree that both writing styles and pieces were very different when it came to format. It was also interesting how women during that time in "Women and Work" were more worried about contributing to society rather than being a housewife.
Delete“Women and work” talked about women and their roles in the workforce. In the reading, it keyed on how women were seen in the workforce. “Some units pointed to the fact that women were not as strong as men and therefore not physically suited to their jobs. Others claimed that once women married they would be burdened by housework and childrearing and would therefore be unable to concentrate on their tasks” (245). The reading also talked about how middle school women would help their mothers with household chores and therefore this became a woman’s ‘special strength (247). Another ‘special strength’ of women was their ‘civil and careful nature’. Also women were assigned jobs according to education level and exam score tests.
ReplyDelete“Shanghai Baby” is about this woman named Nikki (Coco) falls in love with a man named Tian Tian. “Unable to enter me, he starred at me, speechless, his whole body in sweat. It was the first time with a girl in his twenty-something years” (pg.5). Tian Tian is not sexually experienced and from reading on, we can see the Nikki wants to have a sexual relationship with Tian Tian, but Tian Tian is unable to satisfy her sexual needs. She goes on and says, “Making love with a woman and sleeping with a woman are two separate passions. Love does not make itself felt in the desire of copulation (a desire that extends to an infinite number of women) but in the desire for shared sleep (a desire limited to one woman) (5). She starts to understand this when she experiences a series of events when she has an affair with another man. To me this story seems relate to “Miss Sophia’s Diary”, especially the sexual desires that a woman possesses. In both of these stories, the woman seems to be lost in what she wants and desires in a man.
I also thought the quote about differentiating between making love and sleeping with a woman was interesting. If I understood the quote correctly, she seems to placing the love she and Tian Tian have on a pedestal. By not having sex, their love is more significant. But, the two characters (Tian Tian and Coco) did not deliberately choose to only experience love by sleeping with each other since Tian tian can't have sex.
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ReplyDeleteI was also struck by the amount of Western influence in the novel "Shanghai Baby." I think this was mostly due to the fact that the story takes place in Shanghai which was one of the first places to be inhibited by foreigners in China. If Wei Hui had lived in a non-coastal city I think the story would have been quite different or not even existed.
DeleteAs I read through the chapter, “Women and Work,” it is clear to see that men and women weren’t as equal in China at the time as the propaganda posters may have suggested. What I found rather striking was that the women had to score higher on tests in order to get into the same technical school as men. Stated in the reading it says, “at the technical school in Shenyang Number Six Pharmaceutical Factory, men needed 173 points for admission in 1983, women 317 (248).” Even though this part of the chapter goes on to say that the justification for these standards was due to the lack of dormitories, in my mind that reason isn’t a strong enough argument. What did make more sense was the argument that women didn’t have the strength to do the required jobs in the factory as men did. Biologically it is generally true that men are more physically inept to do jobs that require a large amount of physical activity. However, I believe that if women were able to pass some sort of physical test while passing the verbal test with a score higher (or the same) as men than they should be almost guaranteed enrollment. In the section titled “The Problem of Keeping Jobs,” once there were factories built that geared more towards “women’s strengths” such as print shops, shoe factories, and garment factories. What was interesting about this was when it stated that, “in many cases though, no “appropriate” work unit was found for the women transferred out of physically taxing jobs, and they were left unemployed (251).” It seemed that the jobs were already being chosen for women even before tests were given. No matter what work a woman at that time might have been able to do, she would have never been given the chance fully. Men were never put into question as to what they could and couldn’t do. It seemed that excuses were always being made for as to why women weren’t allowed to be accepted into schools or why they weren’t getting the same jobs as men were. After reading this piece it seems that the truth behind the propaganda posters we have previously viewed was that women were just the face of men’s jobs. These posters were simply tricking others nations into thinking that women and men in China were becoming equivalent in the work force.
ReplyDeleteThe story of “Shanghai Baby” seemed to ride the line of fiction and semi-autobiographical. Tian Tian had finally convinced Coco to quit her job at the Green Stalk Café and begin writing again. Once she had written some of her novel, Tian Tian convinced her to read some aloud to their friends and it seemed that those passages overlapped with the story we were reading. The novel she was writing was, in some ways, portrayed as her in the works of writing “Shanghai Baby.” This is why it proved to be a bit confusing for me. It seemed that throughout all these chapters, sex was what ended up driving her towards Mark. However, she always felt guilty after being with Mark and immediately went home to Tian Tian never wanting him to find out what she had done. Coco didn’t want to lose him but kept falling into her old ways in which the physical bond was more important to her than the deep connection which is what she seemed to have formed with Tian Tian. I wondered whether she would have stayed faithful if Tian Tian was able to physically please her like she wanted. She was in a battle with herself because she didn’t know what she wanted. The novel she wrote seemed to be a way for her to get personal thoughts out while still presenting itself as a fictional piece to others.
Shanghai baby is based on first-person narrative and written about love triangle among Nikki, a Shanghainese writer, Tian Tian, Nikki’s Chinese boyfriend and Mark, Nikki’s Germany lover. Nikki loves Tian Tian, but unfortunately, Tian Tian is sexual impotence, then, she fell in love with Mark. Tian Tian is her spiritual partner, but cannot satisfy her bodily desires, and Mark is just her bodily partner. “Making love with a woman and sleeping with a woman are two separate passions. Love does not make itself in the desire of copulation (a desire that extends to an infinite number of women) but in the desire for shared sleep (a desire limited to one woman).” (Wei, p.5) She quoted this quotation to describe her different feelings between making love with Mark and sleeping with Tian Tian. I don’t think this is a scholarly work, and it is more like an urban love story. This novel includes a number of descriptions about Nikki’s psychological and physiological feelings. Like the articles we read at the beginning of this semester Miss Sophia’s Diary, it includes a lot of sexual fantasy and entangled psychological description. But the difference is Nikki is more fearless and outrageous, and it makes the readers thinking about the moral values in our society.
ReplyDeleteThe tile of this novel is Shanghai Baby, for me, the most interesting information of this tile is Shanghai. It seems that Shanghai is a very magical place, at least, is a material place. “This has a lot to do with living in a place like Shanghai. A grey fog hangs over the city, mixed with continual rumors and an air of superiority, a hangover from the time of the shili yangchang, the foreign concessions. This air of superiority affects me: I both love it and hate it.” (Wei, p.1) When I read her book, I thought about Guo Jingming, another popular modern Shanghai writer that we mentioned in CHI 430 class. Both of Guo Jingming and Wei Hui have a same point is that they really like to describe the material life or show their xiaozi qingdiao (Petty Bourgeoisie). There are a lot of brands in Guo Jingming’s books, like Prada, Channel, iphone 5s. In Wei Hui’s book also, when she described things, she always emphasize and attach a label on it, such as CK fragrance, Dave chocolate, sofa bought from IKEA…(these are high-level brands in 2000 China) She also likes to show Petty Bourgeoisie, like black satin qipao was custom-made at Su Zhou silk factory, sort of upscale places in Shanghai… I found this Shanghai characteristic is interesting, and makes me thinking that why always Shanghai? I think this book is neither completely fiction nor true. Because some parts of this book looks like it’s a true story, such as a Shanghai female writer who graduated from Fudan University and “want to write a novel that would take the literary world by storm” (Wei, p.6), I think this may be the author’s wish too. But some plots in this book seem to be unreal.
I found both reading much more interesting and very different from the previous readings we have had. “Women and Work,” a scholarly article, showed women as much weaker than in last weeks readings, “Iron Girl” and “Good Daughter.” Women were encouraged to work in nurseries and schools, both of which were considered weaker careers than the ones, such as welding, women had been encouraged to pursue just a few years earlier. The government encouraged women to pursue the less dangerous jobs by using their “special strengths” which included their manual dexterity, training in household chores, and their civil and careful nature (pg. 246-247). These strengths were perfect for a career in childcare or education and helped to glorify these positions. Women were expected to not only hold a paying job but to also fulfill their role as a housewife. “In Chinese policy there is an implicit assumption that women have two major roles to fulfill: that of mother and of worker,” (pg. 243). Because of this expectation and the amount of time that was needed to be a good mother, employers considered women incapable of devoting themselves to jobs as fully as men did. The same rhetoric is used post World War II in America after male soldiers returned to the war to find that women had replaced them in many careers to aid in the war effort. After their return women were encouraged to return to housework and careers more suited for women.
ReplyDeleteIn the novel “Shanghai Baby” the first thing I noticed was that it was written in a more Western style and included many western elements that have not appeared in previous readings. Western images such as Ikea, cigarettes, milk, sound systems, leopard print handbags, and halter-tops as well as other elements occur frequently throughout the novel. Regardless of the sexual nature and shrewdness of the novel, which led to it being banned in China, the author, Wei Hui, includes rather strong and influential lines. I was surprised by her use of the following lines and the strength they carry. “There will never be more than a thin glass barrier between your present and the wreckage of your past,” (pg. 3). The main character, Nikki, says this to her boyfriend, Tian Tian, after he opens up to her about his father’s mysterious death. I think this line carries and deeper meaning. I think it also refers to the past and present state of China. Nikki also says that she wants to reveal, “the truth about mankind: violence, style, lust, joy, and then enigma, machines, power, and death,” (pg. 8). This quote is very powerful and shows the positive and negative aspects of mankind as a whole, not just Chinese society. The last quote that really struck me was when Madonna said to Nikki and Tian Tian, “Love’s the most powerful thing on earth,” (pg. 12). The story seems to focus more on the sexual desire of humans’ but this quote puts the deeper meaning into perspective.
I agree with you on that "Shanghai Baby" is written in a western style. That is another reason why I think that Miss Sophia's Diary and Shanghai Baby is because of this western style
DeleteIt is interesting how you connected images from Shanghai Baby to western objects. That did not even cross my mind.
DeleteThe “Women and Work” piece was a very interesting read because it gave us a more realistic insight into how Chinese women were treated. We observed several posters that depicted the women as having equal rights and enjoying their rights. After looking at the posters and reading the article it is definitely apparent that the posters were used as propaganda. I think it is really interesting that the Chinese women accepted their role so easily and without little fight. We have seen few rebellions with women leading for a change but often times they end up back in their assigned and expected role. As we discussed in class, the propaganda posters were more than likely not geared towards Chinese women themselves since they knew where they fit in the roles of society, so who then were these posters actually geared toward?
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed “Shanghai Baby” because I found it very westernized in the language that is used. Much of the reading was very graphic for Chinese literature and even for a Chinese woman to have expressed openly. The outward attitude and drive that Coco has is so fun to read compared to all of our more academic and scholarly sources.
I think that the posters were geared towards the outside world and maybe even in China too. Maybe when Chinese women saw these posters of happy, skillful, beautiful women, it gave them a sense of hope and something to work for, even if they couldnt actually get it right away.
DeleteThese two readings this week were very hard core towards what people think about females and this notion of them being able to work or not. Everyone has strong opinions on this issue during this time all over the world. There are many reasons why women should or shouldn't be at work. "Women and Work" talked about how being a female was not only a "disadvantage" biologically, but "their sex was a serious handicap in securing a job" (Honig and Hershatter, 249). This struck me because I had never thought of a gender being a handicap, but in this article being a female was very harmful to the individual and her life. Many people think that women should stay at home with the kids and take care of the husband and for some women that's good but our reading mentions: "If all wives stay at home, they will lose their economic independence, and the basis of equal rights will be removed" (Honig and Hershatter, 252). I think this is a very true statement, and being that women had worked so hard for the revolution and now to be staying at home with the kids and allowing the government to take complete control, was something that made women fight even harder for it.
ReplyDeleteThe second reading "Shanghai Baby" was written very differently. While the first reading was very informative and written very formally, the second reading was quite the opposite being very straight forward and almost harsh sounding. The format in "Shanghai Baby" was written as a first- person narrative, not containing any scholarly work, from what I could tell. Also the tone was very harmful to the Tian Tian, the main male character, the model friend from the restaurant said, "'my little good-for-nothing.' she said. 'Take good care of your love. Love's the most powerful thing on earth" (Wei Hui, 12). This quote was directed at Tian Tian, and said by a female, which I find quite striking. I would expect a male to say this to a female "my good-for nothing" but not the other way around. Also, this notion of Tian Tian wanting his girlfriend to stay at home to be a writer, was interesting as well being that Nikki all along wanted to be a writer and now Tian Tian would allow her to do that. I think this notion of "staying at home" had such a stigma because it was as if the woman's life was over if she stayed at home, and all the fun was taken out of her life. However, in Nikki's case she wanted to stay home so that she could live her dream to be a writer.
I appreciate "Women and Work" because it clearly states the sociological discoveries we have made post-Mao. This is that “…women’s participation in the workforce was not the harbinger of liberation that Marxist theory (or Mao’s interpretation of Marxist theory) predicted.” The author describes the difficult position of urban women at the time as entering into the work force on a "clearly unequal basis" as most businesses plainly assigned two major roles to any young woman; that of the mother and the worker. Page 258-59 describes women as being more equipped, ready and available to do housework as mothers. Wang’s sociological perspective on why women should do housework may not be correct as (it simply puts that women should perform these tasks because they always have); but we must consider the economic state and developmental mode of a nation. If its economy and jobs are geared towards industrial work and hard labor then surely men are more capable and effective. As the economy changes, so should roles adapt.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that Wei Hui could have followed a similar model as given by "Miss Sophia's Diary" and Yu Dafu's "Sinking" as these stories are intimate and vivid. If we asked "what thoughts did the narrator leave out of this account?" the answer would either be interesting or "nothing". My first impression of Nikki was that she holds to a shallow definition of love (and in some ways she does) but she also offers wisdom to those who love each other or wish to love each other. At one point she says "Death's shadow only fades little by little as time passes. There will never be more than a thin glass barrier between your present and the wreckage of your past." In this she recognizes the frailty of our subconscious mind when dealing with past experiences. Later we learn that her past relationship somewhat colored her actions and sentiments when dealing with Tian Tian.
The article that really caught my eyes while I was reading is the only child policy in China, I really want to talk about it because I am not the only child.I have a younger sister who is four years younger than me.
ReplyDeleteAnd it has been years, when people know that there are two kids in my family, they are shocked, and they asked how..
So basically, the policy states that one family can only have one child, unless one of your parents side have the only child in two following generation, or both of your parents are the only child of their family. in my case, my mother and my grandpa on my mother's side are the only child, so my family is allowed to have more than one kid.
I think this policy has its good side and bad side, for the good side, it can slow down the growth of the population in CHina.however, on th other side, it is not really good for the kid.
in the US, they have more than one kid in the family, so kids know what does share mean, and they know what does responsibility mean. but in China, the whole family is going around the only child, once it doesnt go right, it will have a bad effect on the kid, he will think that people should be around him, and he is the most important one in the group.
I like your views on the one-child policy. It's interesting to hear a first hand point of view on the subject. It's kind of funny that people are shocked to find out that there are more than one child in the family when I feel that it's fairly common that families disobey this policy.
DeleteThe quote that stood out to me in Women and Work was “leaders firmly believed that paid employment outside the home was the key to liberating women” (pg. 243). This lead me to a positive view of the era in regard to women’s right… until I read the rest of the page. The author goes on to state that women entered the workforce on an unequal basis. They were funneled into the “least-skilled, lowest-paying jobs with fewer welfare benefits” (pg. 243). Women had the opportunity to work but they were discriminated against in the workplace. Furthermore, women were told to fulfill two roles: workers and mothers. Meanwhile, there is no mention of men fulfilling roles as worker and fathers. Even today, working women have to accomplish their work and take care of their families and on the other hand, men are not expected to do so. Not only do women have to work with terrible conditions but securing a job is also a challenge due to their gender. When I look for new workers I am not looking for trouble. Not long after a woman enters the factory she will get married, have children and take maternity leave. What good is she?” (pg.245). This furthers the idea that women are not actually equal. Instead, their worth is now just determined by an employer, likely male. Society seems to elevate women staying starting a family yet that is also the one thing that will lead to discrimination against women. A good family consists of two parental figures, not just a female. Shanghai Baby is very much like Miss Sophia’s diary in regards to the writing style. They are both free to write about their sexual desires. The author writes about intimate experiences from the character’s personal life. Furthermore, she is descriptive in her re telling of different encounters. The difference between Women and Work and Shanghai Baby is that former seems more serious. In Shanghai Baby, the main character’s worries seem to be so trivial compared to something like women’s rights or the role of a woman in society.
ReplyDeleteI loved everything you had to say about the 'Women and Work' piece. Very valid points that are unfortunately still true today. I'm not familiar with the current standings of gender in the household stereotypes in China but in America I feel they still very much exist, even though it's slowly evening out.
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