This month, I thought it was important to address the voices of Asian women that have been too often silenced in the media. For this reason, the choice for this month’s essential read is the beautifully written novel The Good Women of China: Hidden Voices by Xinran. This nonfiction novel surrounds the real lived accounts of Chinese women in the late 20th century. In the 1980s, Xinran Xue worked in a radio station in Nanjing, a city in China. While working at this station, she became personally interested specifically in the lived experiences of modern Chinese women. Because of this interest, she began her radio show “Words on the Night Breeze,” which allowed for women to call in and either ask questions to Xinran or tell their own stories of what it means to be a Chinese woman.
During this time, Chinese women had few opportunities where they could express their personal stories. Xinran’s show included her reading letters and addressing issues that weren’t commonly discussed on any radio station prior. Ultimately, Xinran had created a space for women to feel heard and understood in whatever circumstances. These stories ranged from how traditionally Chinese women were looked down upon if they differed from a predetermined idea of femininity and how that generational trauma inherently impacts a culture. Although some of these stories were disturbing including detailed descriptions of sexual assaults and abusive and empty marriages, this novel provides a forum for the stories to be heard, when in the past they had been historically dismissed.
This novel was such a powerful read not just because it sheds a light on the horrors that have occurred to these women, but rather because it outlines that these stories can no longer be ignored. That being said, given the heavy subject material this book took a while to finish. I needed to take a break several times to fully let each woman’s story really stay with me. Although some critics may claim that this story doesn’t have much positivity, Xinran never claimed that it would. Xinran is an honest storyteller who made a decision to relive and retell some stories that have never really left her.
Readers have the opportunity to understand how history has failed Chinese women, and how it continues to do so. Given everything that has been discussed in the media given hate crimes against members of the AAPI community, it is beyond crucial that books like these are given recognition. As a society, we must provide these women with a place where they feel safe enough to share their stories, no matter how disturbing they may seem.
Most of my reading suggestions have been mostly fun and lighthearted, and even though I do enjoy books that allow an escape from reality, this one is honest and truly vulnerable. Many people are asking how do I support my friends in the AAPI community, and one of the ways is to inform yourself. This book will allow you to see the historical aspects that have allowed these hate crimes to go on for too long. Allow this novel to initiate the conversations that are greatly needed in your inner circles. To be an ally, you must be willing to have these conversations, or else you are part of the problem.