A Self-portrait

I was fond of literature from childhood. But I wasstudying hard to become a doctor and never thought ofliving off writing. I began my writing career from the May FourthMovement in 1919. At first, as a member of the FemaleStudents Federation, I wrote some articles for publication.At that time the turbulent Chinese youth's patrioticmovement and the new cultural movement brought me outof the home and campus. I began to witness the pressing     

Mom's Hut,A Restful Harbor

I have become very fond of returning to my own parents' home, and to my mother's side, ever since I was 30. When I am tired of life in the noisy city and being a mother and wife, returning to my mother's side makes me feel like a daughter again. There I am free from worries and can enjoy the tender care and love of my mother. In the morning, lying in bed lazily in the most comfortable posture, I do not need to urge my son to get up for school. The clatter Mother makes when she goes to the kitchen to prepare breakfast is the     

Threads of Youth Needlework Helps Woman Recall the Past

MAYBE I should be grateful to my mother. When I was very young, she taught me how to knit socks. Using a kind of white nylon thread and a needle made from a kind of hairpin, a durable sock could be made. Before long I had mastered the skill, then knit a pair of socks for each of my family members. However, my mother seemed to be a collector of socks and didn't allow me to stop knitting them until I came to hate this task. Luckily, my mother changed her interest. One day while she was     

My Nepalese Friends

NEPAL and China are good neighbors. In the 1980s many Chinese technicians went to Nepal to help build roads and other projects. As an interpreter with a Chinese construction cooperative, I worked there from 1993 to 1994. During my stay in Nepal, I met many different Nepalese women who impressed me deeply. My landlady Sumiyala, was the first Nepalese woman to come into my life. She was over 40 years old, a healthy and good-humored housewife. Whenever Ⅰ had time, I liked to chat with her and gradually we became friends. I remember my landlady was busy in and out of her house all day long— cleaning, cooking and taking care of her grandchildren and her parents-in-laws.     

Pasta, Shanxi Style Hand-pulled Noodles Loved by Tourists and Residents Alike

I had my most delicious meal with noodles in a small village along the Yellow River. It was on a March day a decade ago, when I had just moved to Shanxi Province. I was out in the field as a reporter, and was exhausted and starving after traveling more than 50 kilometers on foot and by bus. A middle-aged man, whom I did not know, was standing in front of his dugout cave, the traditional dwelling of the Shanxi people." He called to me and invited me to have a meal in his home. Upon entering the cave, I was asked to sit on a kang, a brick bed, while the man's wife busied herself with cooking my meal. In no time a huge bowl of youpomian, noodles with Chinese prickly ash oil, was on the table in front of me. My nostrils were immediately filled with the strong and delicious smell of chili and prickly ash.     

My Ping-Pong Family

WHEN I was born, my father was 40 and my mother was 36. Father is a man of few words and an introverted nature. He belongs to that type of people who are very tough and strong-willed; he has worked hard all his life. Mother, on the other hand, is extroverted and eager to excel. My personality is a combination of both of their characters. Father loves playing ping-pong ardently. He used to be a top player of the Henan provincial team and won the men's singles championship in a contest of five provinces in central and southern China. Mother, a worker at the No. 4 National Textile Mill in Zhengzhou, also loved to play ping-pong when she was young. It was because of the sport that she and Father were brought together and got married. When the Henan     

Health Consultation in China

ONE Sunday morning, I noticed some people gathered at a clearing outside a school in which my family had an apartment. Feeling curious, I joined them to find that some young dentists, wearing their white coats, were offering free consultations for people. They were selling toothbrushes and dental floss at the same time. One of my teeth was bothering me. It always felt odd when I bit something cold. I consulted with a young dentist, who was wearing a pair of glasses. He asked me many questions like when had it begun to hurt, if I felt the pain, how long it had been since I had it filled the previous time. He asked me to open my mouth and checked the tooth carefully. "You should have your     

Unending Love

FLIGHT CA 937 from Beijing touched down at London's Heathrow Airport at dusk, and I followed the queue of passengers through the custom gate. A tall blonde woman who appeared to be in her 50s lowered a plaque bearing my name and walked in my direction. She had immediately recognized me from a photograph I had sent to the Londonbased Women's Council the previous month. Hella Huber El-Droubie, a member of the Women's Council, would be my hostess and would become my "special     

Emancipation Began When Foot-Binding Ended

MY late grandmother was one of the last generation of women who had bound feet. In the beginning of this century, she was born in a small remote village inhabited by the Mongol and Han nationalities. In those years her mother bound her childish feet tightly, using strips of cloth, so her feet remained small and pointed. Although I didn't know much about life when I was a child, I often felt constrained at the sight of my grandmother's bound feet. While I was growing up, I read some books about women's emancipation and started to be more concerned about the fate of women. Chinese women have struggled up a long     

Close to Wurina

AT the Central University for Nationalities campus, I met a Mongolian teacher. Knowing I am a journalist in charge of the column "Ethnic Women," he opened-up. He told me that Mongolian women are traditionally good at singing and dancing, warm-hearted, outspoken and industrious. Pride can be read from his words, "At the Central University for Nationalities, there are a lot of female Mongolian teachers. Prof. Wurina, who teaches the history of foreign literature in the Chinese Department, is one of the most prominent. She is deputy to Haidian District People's Congress of Beijing.     

The Foolish King (A Folktale of the Uzbek Ethnic Nationality)

ONCE upon a time, there was a poor man who had himself a hut. Because he had little money he had the roof made of a thin layer of poor quality straw matting. One night a thief came. He mounted the roof to see if there was any chance of getting into the house. But the straw mats could not stand his weight and he went right through the roof and fell onto the poor man, who was sound asleep. The thief was annoyed, and went to the King first timing in the morning. "Your Majesty," he said to the King, "I am a thief who knows my job very well. But last night I couldn't steal anything. Instead, I broke my leg." The King sent for the poor man immediately. "It's true, your Majesty," said the poor man when he arrived. "Then you must be sent to the gallows," announced the King, and ordered the gallows to be readied at once. Seeing what a fool the King was, the poor man cried, "I'm innocent, Your Majesty. It is the hut-builder who is guilty, because he didn't build the roof strong enough."     

总算交流了(英文)

Many women dream that one day they will have a wedding ring slid onto their finger by someone they dearly love, and they will happily spend the rest of their days with that person. My wife was no exception. When wewere preparing for our marriage, I asked what she wanted most. "A ring, an exquisite ring, for sure," she said excitedly. Taking her into my arms I said, "You'Ⅱ have it." Unfortunately I failed to keep my word. When we were just about to get married, my father contracted lung cancer. I spent nearly all of my savings and got into debt because of the hospital bills. Ten days after my father's death, my wife brought her luggage to my room. We pasted the character “喜”(double happiness) at the bedside and in the living room. It was autumn. "Now let it be the time to harvest our four years'love. "said she. Without any ceremony or guests, we got married. Thinking that my wife couldn't get the ring she craved for filled me with regret. That evening I held her tight, gently stroking her delicate     

信箱(英文)

Helping Me to Know More about China帮我了解中国It is my first time in China. I have been here for only two weeks as an exchange student. I got your February issue from one of my friends. I was absorbed by the cover, which was so colorful. I couldn't help but read the inside. I found some of the pictures so impressive, and very helpful to me in understanding Chinese women and China.     

Where Is My Home?

WHEN I was asked where my home was the name of the unknown county would always escape my lips. By then I had been in this fancy metropolis for quite a few years. It had accompanied me to do everything and my family, my habits and whatever I had had all been merged with the city. But still I didn't know why I believed that remote and nameless village     

Nine Weddings in Half a Century

THERE is a Chinese saying the sentimentof which I am sure you all know: "Themore children you have, the greater your goodfortune and happiness." Here we see a mind-set that existed in China for generations, thebelief that having more children will not onlysafeguard your well-being and care in old agebut will help the healthy development of theclan. My parents belong to a generation whooft stated this philosophy. My mother married young (she was not yetsixteen) and managed to fit in nine children inall - eight boys and one girl, me. When mymother reflects on the past she says that shedid not experience much of the luck the     

When One Is Over 40 Years Old

AN 80-year old woman, who was recovering from a bone injury, once told me that she would be traveling around the world for the rest of her life. Listening to her touching and admirable plan, I realized that the loss of one's ability to do a certain thing will cultivate a longing for that particular thing. This longing was also with me the year I became 40. At that time, I frequently thought back over all l had done during the past 40 years, I     

一百三十针(英文)

Imet my first girlfriend when I was in my third year at college. Her name was Lan and she studied in the Foreign Language Department. We met through Old Sui, one of my roommates, who came from the same town as Lan. Blood brothers, Sui and I often drank wine together, had heart to hearts and slept together. After I met Lan, Our twosome became a threesome.     

COUPLE MOVES TOWARD GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY

IN 1946 my wife died of illness, leaving behind a 2-year-old daughter and a 6-month-old son. It was at this time that Chi Fuyuan, who was then 18, came to my family. My mother, my late wife's mother, my younger brother and two younger sisters lived with us. How would my new wife get along with the other members of this big family? Fuyuan later talked with me about the opera, Beating the Reed Cattails, which     

Women in My Eyes

Ihave many women in my life, such as my wife, mother, mother-in-law, colleagues and customers. I feel pressure from them in different ways when I am in contact with them. Sometimes these pressures make me lose my breath, but on the other hand, they also are the motivation behind my success. I was born to a common family. There are three brothers and no sisters. I was the oldest. The woman I knew the earliest was my mother. She also came from a common familv, was hardly educated and     

An Ordinary Mind——Woman Bears Tragedies by Practicing Qigong

Iremember clearly how despaired I was seven years ago when I received the doctor's diagnosis of my illness—multiple hysteromyoma. "Mum, you'd better to have the operation," said my 15-year-old son. "Ⅰ'Ⅱ go to the hospital to take care of you." His mention of the operation disheartened me, because I had already had three operations. During these operations, it was my husband who helped me through the difficulties. He cooked delicious food for me and took care of my daily needs. But he has passed away. I did not know how I could go through this fourth operation without his help.