Liang Xiaosheng Topic

Author: Liang Xiaosheng
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Features: Scan China's Women
What do you think of contemporary women? What do you think of your peers? What do you think of the women of your previous generation? How do you think these generations of women differ? Which generation of Chinese women do you feel closer to? In recent years, topics like these about women have been one of the subjects I often "encounter." The use of the word "encounter" is intended to indicate that I am not an expert or scholar in women's issues, nor have I ever considered becoming one. Therefore, I rarely think about any topic related to women, whether it becomes a "focus" or a "hot topic." As a result, I often find myself in a predicament, utterly at a loss for an answer. Without a doubt, most of the questioners are women. Some are young, and some are middle-aged. About one-third to one-fourth of them are readers who pose their questions in letters, while the remaining two-thirds to three-fourths are journalists who, time and again, abruptly turn the conversation and throw the questions right in my face. Over time, I have formed an impression that contemporary women, whether modern or traditional, still care quite a bit about how contemporary men view them. Indeed, most contemporary women have long been free from being ruled by men's opinions, but sometimes they still hope to gain some sense of validation from men's comments about women. And this means that modern women are not as independent as they claim to be; traditional women still content themselves with traditional ways. Interestingly, I feel—contemporary middle-aged women seem to hope to hear higher praise from contemporary men compared to contemporary young women. And contemporary young women do too. Is it really necessary for contemporary men to determine which group—middle-aged or young women—is more charming? This phenomenon is not only interesting but also worthy of analysis. Having been questioned so many times, when my mind is at ease, I can't help but reminisce about trivial thoughts. Each memory brings forth a new train of thought, and this has given me the urge to write. The writing has absolutely no literary value, but there might be a tiny bit of cognitive value. Just a tiny bit, really, just a tiny, tiny bit. If there is, then it's not entirely boring.