The Good Women Of China: Hidden Voices

This is a breathtaking book about women of China and their true lives before and after the process of "opening up" in 1983 by Deng Xiaoping. For eight groundbreaking years, Xinran presented a radio programme in China during which she invited women to call in and talk about themselves. Broadcast every evening, 'Words on the Night Breeze' became famous throughout the country for its unflinching portrayal of what it meant to be a woman in modern China. Centuries of obedience to their fathers, husbands and sons, followed by years of political turmoil had made women terrified of talking openly about their feelings. Xinran won their trust and, through her compassion and ability to listen, became the first woman to hear their stories. Her book reveals the lives of Chinese women to the West as never before.