Take the riveting social criticisms and literary wit of Henrik Ibsen's "A Doll House" and transplant them to Chinese soil: what emerges is this unique collection juxtaposing the works of the Chinese writing master, Lu Xun, with his literary successor, Ding Ling. Each of the works by these two astute authors carries a biting social commentary on the hypocrisies of the burgeoning Chinese state in regards to women during the first half of the twentieth century. Containing six works in total, this fascinating collection reveals the force tradition and social expectation wield in historical moments where they are being renegotiated. In his speech, "What Happens After Nora Leaves Home?" and his short stories, "New Year's Sacrifice" and "Regret for the Past", Lu Xun exposes how the anti-Confucian nationalist movement of the 1920s liberated women's thoughts beyond the constraints of tradition only to leave them the victims of social expectation and financial dependency. Ding Ling, writing in response to the clash between the nationalist and communist movements during the late twenties into the mid-forties, echoes Lu Xun's sentiments in her speech, "Thoughts on March 8 (Women's Day)", and the short stories, "New Faith" and "When I Was in Xia Village". The result is a compelling collection that questions the options created for empowered, intelligent women living in a nation still clinging to tradition.

Author Biography

Ding Ling was the pseudonym of Jiang Bingzhi (October 12, 1904 - March 4, 1986), a contemporary Chinese author from Linli, Hunan province. She is most noted for Miss Sophie's Diary, published in 1927, and later her Communist literature, including The Sun Shines Over the Sanggan River, which won the Stalin Prize for literature in 1951. Hailed by Mao Zedong as the source of modern Chinese revolutionary literature, Lu Hsun or Lu Xun (September 25, 1881 - October 19, 1936), the pen name of Zhou Shuren, is considered one of the most influential Chinese writers of the 20th century. His literary works enriched every modern genre, except the novel, and influenced the rise of Chinese nationalism. Tani E. Barlow is the Director for the Project for Critical Asian Studies and Professor of History and Women's Studies at the University of Washington, Seattle. Her most recent book is The Question of Women in Chinese Feminism. She has also edited an anthology entitled I Myself Am Woman: Selected Writings of Ding Ling.