IN BRIEF (Page 22)

Women from Minguo

Sun Yat-sen once said love and revolution were his lifelong goals and his second wife, Soong Ching-ling, was the person he loved the most. A new book Minguo Hongfen (Beauty of the Republic) features 22 women from the Republic of China (1911-49), also known as the Minguo period. The book features political figures like Soong, and socialites such as Ruan Lingyu and Sai Jinhua. As a historian of the Minguo period, author Zhang Yaojie relies heavily on the study of documents. The China Art Research Institute scholar writes about these women from a researcher's perspective using reliable sources and unearthing a wealth of new information. His storytelling skills make the book gripping and easy to read. The 22 women have been selected from diverse fields. The author says he is trying to portray a well-rounded picture of women in those times, who were faced with the dilemmas of protesting oppressive ideals stemming from Confucian ideology or remaining true to their family and maintaining independence and assertiveness.

Economic perspective