In Rui and Xiaofan's series of podcasts Her Voice, we will talk about the novel, Qiuyuan, two films, The Handmaiden, Xieguanyin, one theatre production, A Doll's House, and two female artists, Frida Kahlo and Judy Chicago.

In this episode, we present a book Qiuyuan written by Chinese author Yang Benfen. This half-novel, half-memoir looks back at the life of an ordinary Chinese woman, while reflecting on the changes in China in the 20th century. We focus on the four women characters, Qiuyuan, Zhihua, Auntie Man and Xiaoquan, who are either kind and simple, tough or acerbic, and representative of the characters in modern China's countryside. Qiuyuan and her family struggle through the torrents of the times but always remain good-natured. In this book, you will experience the most down-to-earth but empathetic stories.

In this episode, you will hear:

1. An introduction to the work and the author

2. An analysis of the female characters

3. An introduction to the background of the novel (1900-1980)

4. Our perceptions

Hosts: Xiaofan and Rui

Music:

Acoustic Motivation from Coma-Media

Forest Lullaby from Lesfm