Contemporary Chinese female writer Zhang Kangkang＇s novel Zhima uses the lives of rural migrant women to symbolize the experience of the individual in Chinese urban modernity. The novel exposes the gender and class d...Contemporary Chinese female writer Zhang Kangkang＇s novel Zhima uses the lives of rural migrant women to symbolize the experience of the individual in Chinese urban modernity. The novel exposes the gender and class discrimination suffered by the rural migrant woman Zhima, but it does not fully unmask or probe the deeply institutionalized imbrications between gender, class and power in both rural and urban society. The challenge posed to the hierarchical distinction between rural/urban in this text＇s narrative ultimately gives way to the discourses on suzhi （quality） and ＂population control＂ that actually reinforce the rural/urban differences. The author＇s self-proclaimed feminist standpoint is also overshadowed by the text＇s complicity with developmentalist modern urban values. This literary text thus affirms, rather than calling into question, the post-socialist discourses of modernity, which are distinguished by their promotion and celebration of urbanization and free market.展开更多
China＇s rise within a global economy has had diverse consequences for Chinese women. For the super rich and the rising middle class, it has offered opportunities for vast wealth. For the newly emergent underclass of ...China＇s rise within a global economy has had diverse consequences for Chinese women. For the super rich and the rising middle class, it has offered opportunities for vast wealth. For the newly emergent underclass of migrant workers who have flooded to the cities, it has engendered exploitative states of vulnerability, especially for rural women. In this paper we locate our inquiry in the context of globalization and its impact on rural women＇s lives as witnessed through the medium of a unique and distinctive women＇s life narrative, Sheng Keyi＇s Bei mei （Northern Girls）. The text testifies to the underside of women＇s lives within the new market economy, documenting the cruelty of global capitalism. It presents an alternative version of the history of China＇s rise in the global economy and maps a trajectory of increasing inequality from a previously silenced female perspective. Sheng Keyi＇s world speaks to the sordid world of women, the world of yin. It coexists with the dizzying ascent of the yang--as the powerful nation grapples with social inequality and fragmentation. In its international circulation, Northern Girls opens readers to the contradictions and ambivalent aspects of China＇s economic rise and its consequences specifically for migrant women.展开更多
文摘Contemporary Chinese female writer Zhang Kangkang＇s novel Zhima uses the lives of rural migrant women to symbolize the experience of the individual in Chinese urban modernity. The novel exposes the gender and class discrimination suffered by the rural migrant woman Zhima, but it does not fully unmask or probe the deeply institutionalized imbrications between gender, class and power in both rural and urban society. The challenge posed to the hierarchical distinction between rural/urban in this text＇s narrative ultimately gives way to the discourses on suzhi （quality） and ＂population control＂ that actually reinforce the rural/urban differences. The author＇s self-proclaimed feminist standpoint is also overshadowed by the text＇s complicity with developmentalist modern urban values. This literary text thus affirms, rather than calling into question, the post-socialist discourses of modernity, which are distinguished by their promotion and celebration of urbanization and free market.
文摘China＇s rise within a global economy has had diverse consequences for Chinese women. For the super rich and the rising middle class, it has offered opportunities for vast wealth. For the newly emergent underclass of migrant workers who have flooded to the cities, it has engendered exploitative states of vulnerability, especially for rural women. In this paper we locate our inquiry in the context of globalization and its impact on rural women＇s lives as witnessed through the medium of a unique and distinctive women＇s life narrative, Sheng Keyi＇s Bei mei （Northern Girls）. The text testifies to the underside of women＇s lives within the new market economy, documenting the cruelty of global capitalism. It presents an alternative version of the history of China＇s rise in the global economy and maps a trajectory of increasing inequality from a previously silenced female perspective. Sheng Keyi＇s world speaks to the sordid world of women, the world of yin. It coexists with the dizzying ascent of the yang--as the powerful nation grapples with social inequality and fragmentation. In its international circulation, Northern Girls opens readers to the contradictions and ambivalent aspects of China＇s economic rise and its consequences specifically for migrant women.
