Rewriting women's literature again

The country's leading female authors and critics wrangle over the current meaning of feminism in print. Mei Jia reports

Debate raged between established women writers and literary critics at the Chinese Women Literature Forum last month in Beijing. "I'm not against 'female literature'," says author Zhang Kangkang, celebrated for illuminative descriptions and erudite portrayals of women's emotions.

"I just can't accept being labeled as a producer of 'feminist literature'. That places roadblocks in the way of the development of the country's women writers."