Past the women's wall

Author: Yuan Jingmei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-01
Features: The stories in this collection are the "leaves" I deliberately picked from life. There are so many leaves in life, and many writers have gone to pick them. I don’t dare say the leaves I’ve picked are all the most beautiful, but I just want those who are willing to read these leaves to see some wisdom in them. Just as I want my American students to see the relationship between women and nature from the names they give to their leaves, I want my readers to see something deeper than the "leaves" themselves in my stories. Because the "leaves" I’ve picked are all "leaves that have drifted to foreign lands." These drifting leaves may reflect more clearly the patterns of the original "roots." Fish swim in a pool, foraging, making friends, and feeling the kindness of the water. Familiar currents let them move freely, and the tenderness and rules of the water are natural to them. They live in the water, even unaware that it has become part of their lives. Those fish are us; that pool of water is our culture. Later, a few fish struggle painstakingly to jump into another pool of water, but somehow, the water there tastes different, and the currents always flow against their habits. The fish, struggling in their familiar water, keep bumping into walls, blocking their dreams, hardships, critiques, and reflections. Only then do they realize: "A land nurtures its people." Those relocated fish are the men and women in Moon Passing the Women’s Wall; that other pool of water is American culture.