Autobiography of a Chinese Girl

by Ping-Ying Hsieh

The author recounts her early childhood, education, military life, and career as a writer, and explains how she tried to circumvent the restrictions of Chinese culture and tradition

Genres: China, Nonfiction, Chinese Literature

216 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1986

Reviews

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found a 1941 copy of this book in the half price used books sale at Waterstones a couple months ago. I thought it sounded quite interesting as a biography as a young woman revolutionary. Unfortuantely while the translator was pleased to leave in bits that talked about how backwards tradional Chinese culture was for women they took out all the political parts. The first part was still quite good. It told the story of a young girl growing up in the early 20th century in China in a traditional family and how she had to fight with her mother in order to get an education and go to school. It was fascinating to see what she was reading (Water Margin and Zola) and how she was encouraged by her brothers. It was an interesting mix between old and new society. She went to several different schools and it was interesting to read how they were all different. She also wrote a lot about the family dynamics, how her mother ruled the family as well as the village, despite being a traditional "three followings" woman in theory. It gave you a very good feel of one woman's life.

Unfortunately where this book fell apart a little was when she joined the army in 1926 for the revolution. There was nothing to explain how she went from being a student obsessed with learning to how she decided to join the army. All the ideology wasn't there. I'm not sure if this was a fault of the translators (which I strongly suspect) or just not included in the original as it was assumed the audience would know why a young student would find it so important to join the revolutionary army. Time in the army was strange, she went into great detail about her training and one night of guard duty, but didn't go into any of the detail of the actual fighting or what she saw. She mentioned how many people from her school were killed but not how or why. It all felt a bit disappointing and superficial.

After she left the army she had to return home and was fighting with her parents against her arranged marriage. Eventually she fled, worked briefly as a teacher, was arrested for being a communist and then took a boat to Shanghai.

The first half of this book was really good but I felt let down by the second half. But it was still an interesting read.

[Smitha Murthy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes, it really does pay to scour old bookshops. I would never have come across this little gem of a book otherwise! In our social media crazy world, we are always hunting for the next "bestseller" to read. What's trending on Amazon? Let me read that! What's made it to the NY Times list? Let me add that. Quiet books like this that are full of courage just get lost in the clutter.

My fascination and love for China will forever be the story of my life. China is the country where I grew up. Where I learned to fail. Where I learned to live. As I read through the rather disjointed memoir of Ping-Ying Hsieh, I was struck by how different the China of 2003 was compared to the China she describes. I was lucky. Ping-Ying not so lucky. Yet, she is one of the most heroic people I have ever read about. There is something utterly heartbreaking about her desire to lead a life that is at once different and non-conformist. Even in today's world, I have met people who won't live up to their ideals, who are inauthentic, and who won't fight for their values. Not Ping-Ying. This is a riveting story of courage. I am just sad that the book ends rather abruptly - I want to know more of Ping-Ying.

[Cecily · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the title states. She is a young adult in turbulent times, remembering her childhood, her struggle for an education and very different struggles as a soldier.

A fascinating story, but staggeringly banal in places, which is particularly odd given her love of literature (eg, and I paraphrase, "Sometimes [when on library duty] I was so engrossed in my book, people had trouble getting my attention") - but maybe that's the fault of the translation.

My fondness for this book is perhaps more a reflection on its significance to me (the first book about China that I read), rather than its specific content. Perhaps I should reread now that I am older, and... better-informed.

[Katie M · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really fascinating look at an extraordinary life.