As the social atmosphere grows more open, many formerly submerged aspects of history are floating to the surface. This tide of recollections offers a chance to fill in blank pages in the history of women in Taiwan. From the women's movement during the Japanese era, to women's struggle to enter the workplace, to the oral history of women whose families suffered political oppression, women who had been silent for so long are finally speaking out.
Mother's Day will soon be upon us, and as we cherish the memories of the older generation of Chinese women, we are put to wonder: How did they get through it? Whether they have suffered silently or have constantly nagged and pestered, what stories do their lives hold?
In the process of reconstructing this history, the Taipei Association for the Promotion of Women's Rights, which puts great emphasis on collecting historical materials about women, has published Grandmothers' Tales, a collection of winning reminiscences submitted to a writing contest the association sponsored, and an oral history entitled Disappearing Taiwanese Grandmothers. Sinorama has invited Li Yuan-chen, a professor of Chinese at Tamkang University and one of Taiwan's pioneers in women's rights, to review these two books, and Sinorama's Claire Liu has interviewed their editor, Chiang Wen-yu.
Professor Chiang Wen-yu of the Taipei Association for the Promotion of Women's Rights has edited two "grandmothers' tales" books. One of the books, which was compiled from interviews conducted by Tseng Chiu-mei, was published under the title Disappearing Taiwanese Grandmothers. The two books were published by Taiwan Interminds in September of last year in conjunction with the writing competition "A Hundred Women's Stories" sponsored by the association in February of 1994. The event garnered a good deal of positive attention. Because I'm quite a bit older than Chiang Wen-yu, upon finishing the two "grandmothers' tales" books, I felt that the women in them represent my mother's generation. This feeling is probably related to my being a second-generation mainlander. In 1949, when I was very little, my parents and I fled the mainland and came to Taiwan. I would never see my grandmother again. It wouldn't be until the 1980s that people in Taiwan could visit relatives on the mainland, and by then my grandparents had long since passed away. I feel that the laments of the grandmothers in the book are the sad songs of my mother's generation.
The Association for the Promotion of Women's Rights has been comprehensive in these two books, recording the experiences of many different kinds of women in Taiwan, including indigenous Taiwanese, Han Chinese descended from early southern Fujianese or Hakka settlers, Japanese who moved here when Taiwan was a Japanese colony, and the mainlanders who came over with the Nationalists at the end of their war with the communists. Women who have shed blood, sweat and tears on this island appear in this history, regardless of their ethnic origins. One can of course say that it still isn't comprehensive enough, but it does establish a basic framework, allowing us to know the life histories, spirits and thoughts of many women since early in this century. For a daughter like me, and a granddaughter like my daughter, this book provides a sense of connection to that generation that is not limited to flesh-and-blood ancestors. After learning more about the great masses of women of previous generations, you suddenly feel close to all women, as if all were family, and feel pained by how this patriarchal and colonial society of Taiwan has oppressed women and given them no respect over the normal course of their lives. These books drive home the importance of the women's and Taiwan autonomy movements, so as to prevent society here from regressing as a result of political troubles.
Showing vitality
It is moving how the women of that generation described in these two books, regardless of whether their contributions to society were great or small, all dutifully raised families. Although superficially the role and duties of women are praised by patriarchal society, it has not directly acknowledged their hardships, conflicts and humiliations, and no outline had previously been sketched of how the older generation of women on Taiwan, under various forms of oppression, still possessed the remarkable energy required to carry on through life's trials and tribulations and raise their children. True, this strength of theirs was often twisted, and they too would often favor their sons over their daughters just as their mothers favored their brothers over them. Yet this strength in the face of hardship represents a basic force working for the survival and development of society. These two books make us respect this force and make it clear that it should be freed so that women are no longer oppressed and warped by patriarchal society. For besides being used to raise children, this force could accomplish much for women themselves. This is an important point these two books are making.
I often have conflicting thoughts and emotions about maternal feelings, both because my mother herself harbored many of society's male-chauvinist attitudes and also because my acquaintance with two women poets of my mother's generation--Chen Hsiou-hsi (who is already deceased) and Tu Pan Fang-ko--gave me glimpses of great sacrifice and depth of maternal feeling. I don't want society to exploit women because they can bear children. Still, I too am deeply moved by women's motherly capacity for sacrifice--they are, after all, the mothers of all society including myself--and I deeply understand that this maternal capacity is a necessary condition for the survival of the species. Yet how can we extend the maternal qualities and steadfastness of the generations of women who preceded us, while dispensing with their sad songs? This is a question that occurs to me whenever reading biographies of women of that generation, one I pondered frequently while reading these two books. Perhaps, society as a whole should take on some of these maternal duties. Perhaps not only women, as those who bear children, but also men should be asked to develop these maternal qualities. At the same time we should allow women more freedom to decide how they put their strength to use, letting some give it mostly to their children, and letting others make the most of their talents for contributing to the greater social good. Further, both sorts of women must not be oppressed by patriarchal society. When career women develop their abilities in society, they shouldn't just look toward the examples of men; it's even more important that they join hands with other women to change patriarchal society, so that it respects more than just power. And women who are mothers should be respected for more than merely their procreative abilities; they should have an opportunity to develop their own selves as well.
No monopoly on maternal behavior
This is not just an issue for our mothers or grandmothers. Most women of our own generation and the generation of our children, will continue to bear the brunt of maternal responsibilities because of their ability to bear children. In writing about the sad songs of our mothers and grandmothers, we, like the Association for the Promotion of Women's Rights, are trying to show that if there is to be true equality of the sexes, then mothers must be given much more freedom. Mothers should be allowed to give the maternal love that society finds so moving and praiseworthy to society as a whole. This does not mean that women should discard their maternal feelings but rather that they should have the right to develop them as best they see fit. Men should also be given more freedom in their role as fathers. In this way mothers will not have to carry quite as heavy a load as they did in previous generations. But to make women's sad songs a little happier right now, when the mother's role is still awaiting liberation, we should look to the appendix "Who Is to Care for Our Grandmothers?" which focuses on welfare plans to ensure that elderly women enjoy a comfortable old age. Only by getting the government to improve in this area, where it is now very weak, will that generation of Taiwanese women not be consigned to sing the same old tragic song.
That the Women's Rights association planned, compiled and published these two "grandmothers' tales" books shows that the women's movement of the mid-1990s is getting to the roots of the problems of ordinary local women. Everyone hopes that the women's movement will not be exclusively the realm of outstanding women but rather be a social movement that pays attention to solving the problems of the vast majority of women.
Title: Grandmothers' Tales
Editor: Chiang Wen-yu
Publisher: Taiwan Interminds
Price: NT$280
Title: Disappearing Taiwanese Grandmothers
Editor: Chiang Wen-yu
Publisher: Taiwan Interminds
Price: NT$250
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