A War of One's Own

A War of One's Own
AuthorLin Bai
Original title一个人的战争
SubjectFeminism, autobiographical fiction, female homoeroticism, chinese literature
PublisherChina Youth Publishing House (中国青年出版总社)
Publication date
1994
Publication placeChina
Pages253 (China Youth Publishing House first edition)
ISBN9787515303178

A War of One's Own or One Person's War (Simplified Chinese Characters: 一个人的战争) is a novel written in 1994 by Lin Bai (Mandarin Chinese: 林白). It explores the coming-of-age of a young woman and is retold through a series of the main character's recollections and inner thoughts which focus on her identity, sexuality, and relationships.[1] It was originally published in avant-garde journal "The City of Flowers" (花城) and was later individually republished in July 1994.[2] Upon its re-release, the novel sparked immediate controversy for its frank portrayal of female sexuality and homoeroticism. Some critics have deemed it "zhun huangse (quasi-pornographic) and low"[3] literature and it has subsequently been subjugated to many rounds of censorship.[2] Nonetheless, it is a lauded and very notable work of 1990s feminist Chinese literature and has been reprinted yearly since its initial release.[4]

  1. ^ Tuft, Meredith Bryna. This Is Not a Woman: Literary Bodies and Private Selves in the Works of the Chinese Avant-Garde Women Writers. 2012. University of Oregon, PhD dissertation. Scholar's Bank, http://hdl.handle.net/1794/12934.
  2. ^ a b Tze Lan Sang. 2003. "Lin Bai’s narratives of female homoerotic desire" in The Emerging Lesbian(Chicago: Chicago University Press), pp. 175-199
  3. ^ Wang, Lingzhen. 2004. Personal Matters: Women’s Autobiographical Practice in Twentieth- Century China. (Stanford: Stanford University Press), pp. 176.
  4. ^ Schaffer, Kay & Song Xianlin (2007) Unruly Spaces: Gender, Women's Writing and Indigenous Feminism in China, Journal of Gender Studies, 16:1, DOI: 10.1080/09589230601116125, pp. 26-27