Beautiful life

Author: Li Hong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-03-01
Features: The Beautiful Life is an engaging feminist novel. Author Li Hong approaches complex social and family issues from multiple perspectives as a journalist, painter, and writer. Feminist scholar Huang Lin describes it as a presentation of female experience within the ideological framework. Its highly personalized language makes it one of the most readable works of 2005.
I got married. But it hardly counts as a marriage, for there was no ceremony, no certificate to prove our legal relationship—it was simply that my husband and I had sexual relations. Yet I don’t consider this just cohabitation; I take it seriously as a marriage. No matter how my husband thinks, I remain steadfast. Because the tearing of the hymen is a milestone, it declares the end of a pure era and the beginning of another period centered around men. This is a new life, a new world, which gives me new strength. I swear to live happily and fulfilling my life. My husband was happy because I was still a virgin, having never had sexual experience with other men. Though I seemed clumsy in bed, it wasn’t a big deal. He taught me like a teacher guiding a student, instructing me, demonstrating it hand by hand. With my intuition, I quickly mastered it and seemed quite skilled, able to use it with ease and even innovate in ways. I felt happiness, immeasurable happiness. I realized that my previous understanding of happiness was too superficial and bookish. Now, my concept of happiness grows larger, more concrete, and deeper. It’s not something heard or seen, nor written down—it’s something felt; it comes from thoughts and actions. I decided to dedicate this life to him, entrusting everything to him without reservation. To thank life, we built a home. Our home isn’t big, but comfortable. It isn’t luxurious, but warm. At first glance, it seems ordinary, like searching for a needle in the ocean. But once you step through the carefully designed door, you’ll find it so unique and different. The walls are red. When you’re in a good mood, they feel warm, as if passion ignites life, blurring the line between dreams and reality. When you’re sad, this redness feels like a revolution, a silent declaration of war, with victories won at the cost of blood and life.