Woman's White House

Author: Lü Hong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-06-01
Features: The White House of Women is prefaced by Professor Zhang Cuo, a renowned poet and scholar in the United States, and Professor Wang Lingzhi, and postscripted by the famous critic Li Shoru. It provides an elaboration and evaluation of the author's long career in journalism and literary creation. Professor Zhang Cuo from the Department of Comparative Literature and East Asian Studies at the University of Southern California states: "In her writing, there are two different versions of me—one is the realistic me, observing the diverse life in North America, swirling and ever-changing, like a kaleidoscope in the eye, colorful and vibrant. The other is the lyrical me by the shores of East Lake, reflecting on my life and its tender, lingering emotions. The former, the more realistic version of me, sees the fading flowers and fruits, like a half-map of North America, from Ohio and Chicago in the east to San Francisco on the West Coast. Many scenes of Chinese Americans in the United States are like dreams in full bloom, seemingly illusory yet real. This is the dividing line between the world of academia and the vast society, making one reluctant to close the book and sigh frequently. As she walks this path, she has become a microcosm of the perseverance of Chinese descendants striving in a foreign land. The figures she sketches are gentle and kind, rare and precious." Professor Wang Lingzhi, Director of the Asian American Studies Center at the University of California, Berkeley, states: "As a multiculturalist, she seems to embody the intersection of literature and journalism, creation and criticism; as a visiting scholar, she moves between Eastern and Western cultures; with the calm objectivity of a journalist, she observes the vast world and reports on social trends; as a column writer and essayist, she is deeply moved and emotionally rich; her fiction is distinguished by delicate prose; as a literary critic, her sharp and incisive writing spans and explores, offering a scan of the ups and downs of women's literature; both critical and invested, both reflective and imaginative... like a 'sensitive wanderer,' visiting, thinking, and writing are her way of living, and also her primary means of influencing others and projecting life and society. She has a sensitive and painful soul; she can see through the hollow and decadent essence behind the pursuit of materialism, using her words to combat apathy and numbness. And in the struggle of life that refuses to sink, she struggles to reach the distant shore..." The renowned Chinese-American writer, former editor and chief editor of the China Youth Press, Li Shoru, states: "She is a 'Chu person.' Chu people are persistent, and Chu people are also sincere. This sincerity reflects her state, feelings, and dreams, and also reflects society and life. Presentation is communication, and it is also a call. However, no matter what she receives, it is no longer just Lü Hong's own—it is the deeply personal life experience of a wanderer, presented with a sincere heart and sincere search."