Old Family Stories: An Autobiography by Li Zhen's Wife

Author: Dong Bing
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-09-01
Features: This is a memoir written by Dong Bing, the wife of the renowned writer Li Zhen. Dong Bing was born into a farming family on Mount Mangshan in Luoyang, Henan. From a young age, she lived in poverty. Later, her parents arranged for her to marry the eldest son of a wealthy family in the neighboring village, who later became the famous writer Li Zhen. From a poor girl to the daughter-in-law of a landlord's family, and then to the wife of a celebrated writer and a mother of six children, Dong Bing's life can be described as both an ordinary life and an extraordinary one. In the impoverished western mountains of Henan, strong feudal customs lingered. Men from landlord families had to wear long gowns when they went out, and the newly married wives were treated like long-term servants. As the eldest daughter-in-law, Dong Bing, within days of her marriage, had to take on all the household chores for a family of over twenty people—cooking, fetching water, spinning thread, and weaving cloth—on her shoulders at the age of eighteen. During the busy farming season, she also had to work in the fields. Through Dong Bing's words, you can experience the immense pressure faced by women in the old era. In the 1950s, Li Zhen gradually entered the literary world and became a renowned figure. During the Cultural Revolution, he fell from grace, was branded a "black element," and suffered multiple raids on his home and public criticisms. All six of his children were sent to the countryside, which was a great torment for a wife and mother. Dong Bing, who came from the cave dwellings on Mount Mangshan, settled in Beijing in her later years. She wrote down her life experiences in simple and sincere language, capturing the truth of her life. The truth is always vivid, and she will take you to the rural China of the past—a genuine world.