Big breasts a boon and burden for migrant girl
By Fu Rong |
March 24, 2013, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
SHENG Keyi is always interested in the psychology of women, especially those struggling at the bottom rung of the social ladder. How they mature, aspire and adjust their dreams to reality. Her works boldly reveal the essence of things, and the dark side of people and society. Her language is often powerful and direct. She doesn't shy from talking about sex and desire, giving the gritty details of real-life struggles, despair and courage.
Her debut novel "Northern Girls" (1995) was recently published in English. It follows protagonist Qian Xiaohong, a village girl with an ordinary face and enormous breasts that, in Sheng's words, "are much too large for civilized, polite society."
As a 16-year-old, Qian leaves her hometown in Hunan Province and heads south, becoming one of the "northern girls" migrating to factories in Guangdong Province in search of marginal wages and a better life. "Northern Girls," or beimei in Chinese, is the term used by Guangdong people to describe migrant women.
Author Sheng herself had once been a migrant worker in Shenzhen and incorporated some of her own experiences in China's mass migration, urbanization and modernization.
Through the eyes of Qian and her companions - as well as the testimony of their bodies - readers feel the reality faced by young penniless women alone and at the mercy of others. Exploitation permeates their daily lives. To get temporary residence permit in the city, for example, one girl must exchange sexual favors. Qian's breasts, symbols of nurturing and fertility, become the objects of crude jokes, insults, and groping. Her breasts are also the reason she gets to work as a shampoo girl in a barber shop.
Today Sheng, a Hunan Province native, has written more than 2 million words in six novels and several short stories. A seventh novel is on the way. "Northern Girls" was her first book that was translated into English.
Q: You have said Qian is a typical girl from your home village. So is the novel a mirror of your own experience?
A: When a novelist starts to write, it needs imagination, experiences, and his or her own observations about human. Sometimes, the prototype of a book is a result of many consequences. Qian's looks and personality were inspired by girls in the village.
She is a principled girl who is bold in pursuing sexual freedom, which was unacceptable in the remote village in the 1990s. Qian is also a kind, passionate girl who sees sex as a natural instinct.
Q: You write a lot about sex in the book. Do you think sexual repression is a big problem in society, especially in rural areas? Is sex a symbol?
A: Qian's pursuit of sexual freedom implies a struggle against the social system at that time. Sex always exists, it's the beginning of every conflict and is also the driving force behind all development.
Q: What do Qian's huge breasts represent?
A: To put a character like Qian, with such obvious sexuality, in society makes people show more of their true natures. Breasts represent female identity and also their secondary social status, which is dominated by men. Huge breasts bring trouble as well as benefits to Qian. And she enjoys her very conspicuous breasts. On some level, being so buxom is an affront to male power. But at the end of the story, her breasts also become her burden. Women still cannot shake off the limitation of gender.
Q: All the female characters seem to have tragic and sad endings. Is that because of women's lower social status?
A: A novel is the reflection of reality, but it is still fiction, not documentary. The tragic ending implies the difficulties of how women survive and represents the huge sacrifice they made on the way to finding independence and dignity.
Q: You like writing about women in a bold way with strong language. How do you describe your writing style?
A: Over the decades, my stories involve villages, cities and history. My characters include illiterate poor women, insincere intellectuals, and women and men of different social levels. I am writing about the difficulties people encounter in their lives. I normally write about darkness, the shadow, the unfairness and I am critical. I try to make characters natural and real, without flattery. I try to reach the essence and nature of truth.
Q: Do you think female writers have advantages in writing about social issues and female psychology?
A: Writing a novel is about properly grasping people's psychology. Many of my readers think I have active and accurate descriptions of men's minds. I am confident that I do as well. There are also a lot of great male writers who can know and write well about women's thinking. So, in writing there is no gender advantages. I never think I am a woman while I am writing.
Q: Do you have a favorite work? What are your plans?
A: It's hard (to pick a favorite). Every novel is a new attempt for me and they are even written in different styles. I am now working on my seventh novel about a family and China's history. My sixth novel "Death Fugue" will be my next work to come out in English. It should be on book shelves next year.
Q: What's your life like? Where do you get inspiration? What topics attract you?
A: My life is simple. Reading, writing and traveling. There is always something in life that inspires you. China now has a lot of social issues, food safety, environment, corruption, and medical service ... And what is frightening is that people are accustomed to such a society and have learned how to survive, with a little self-mockery every now and then. Struggle and crying is in vain. So I feel writing is a precious craft.
Her debut novel "Northern Girls" (1995) was recently published in English. It follows protagonist Qian Xiaohong, a village girl with an ordinary face and enormous breasts that, in Sheng's words, "are much too large for civilized, polite society."
As a 16-year-old, Qian leaves her hometown in Hunan Province and heads south, becoming one of the "northern girls" migrating to factories in Guangdong Province in search of marginal wages and a better life. "Northern Girls," or beimei in Chinese, is the term used by Guangdong people to describe migrant women.
Author Sheng herself had once been a migrant worker in Shenzhen and incorporated some of her own experiences in China's mass migration, urbanization and modernization.
Through the eyes of Qian and her companions - as well as the testimony of their bodies - readers feel the reality faced by young penniless women alone and at the mercy of others. Exploitation permeates their daily lives. To get temporary residence permit in the city, for example, one girl must exchange sexual favors. Qian's breasts, symbols of nurturing and fertility, become the objects of crude jokes, insults, and groping. Her breasts are also the reason she gets to work as a shampoo girl in a barber shop.
Today Sheng, a Hunan Province native, has written more than 2 million words in six novels and several short stories. A seventh novel is on the way. "Northern Girls" was her first book that was translated into English.
Q: You have said Qian is a typical girl from your home village. So is the novel a mirror of your own experience?
A: When a novelist starts to write, it needs imagination, experiences, and his or her own observations about human. Sometimes, the prototype of a book is a result of many consequences. Qian's looks and personality were inspired by girls in the village.
She is a principled girl who is bold in pursuing sexual freedom, which was unacceptable in the remote village in the 1990s. Qian is also a kind, passionate girl who sees sex as a natural instinct.
Q: You write a lot about sex in the book. Do you think sexual repression is a big problem in society, especially in rural areas? Is sex a symbol?
A: Qian's pursuit of sexual freedom implies a struggle against the social system at that time. Sex always exists, it's the beginning of every conflict and is also the driving force behind all development.
Q: What do Qian's huge breasts represent?
A: To put a character like Qian, with such obvious sexuality, in society makes people show more of their true natures. Breasts represent female identity and also their secondary social status, which is dominated by men. Huge breasts bring trouble as well as benefits to Qian. And she enjoys her very conspicuous breasts. On some level, being so buxom is an affront to male power. But at the end of the story, her breasts also become her burden. Women still cannot shake off the limitation of gender.
Q: All the female characters seem to have tragic and sad endings. Is that because of women's lower social status?
A: A novel is the reflection of reality, but it is still fiction, not documentary. The tragic ending implies the difficulties of how women survive and represents the huge sacrifice they made on the way to finding independence and dignity.
Q: You like writing about women in a bold way with strong language. How do you describe your writing style?
A: Over the decades, my stories involve villages, cities and history. My characters include illiterate poor women, insincere intellectuals, and women and men of different social levels. I am writing about the difficulties people encounter in their lives. I normally write about darkness, the shadow, the unfairness and I am critical. I try to make characters natural and real, without flattery. I try to reach the essence and nature of truth.
Q: Do you think female writers have advantages in writing about social issues and female psychology?
A: Writing a novel is about properly grasping people's psychology. Many of my readers think I have active and accurate descriptions of men's minds. I am confident that I do as well. There are also a lot of great male writers who can know and write well about women's thinking. So, in writing there is no gender advantages. I never think I am a woman while I am writing.
Q: Do you have a favorite work? What are your plans?
A: It's hard (to pick a favorite). Every novel is a new attempt for me and they are even written in different styles. I am now working on my seventh novel about a family and China's history. My sixth novel "Death Fugue" will be my next work to come out in English. It should be on book shelves next year.
Q: What's your life like? Where do you get inspiration? What topics attract you?
A: My life is simple. Reading, writing and traveling. There is always something in life that inspires you. China now has a lot of social issues, food safety, environment, corruption, and medical service ... And what is frightening is that people are accustomed to such a society and have learned how to survive, with a little self-mockery every now and then. Struggle and crying is in vain. So I feel writing is a precious craft.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
