A feminine perspective

"These works are about women's lives, which is closely related to our time. They are also great literary works that once received extensive attention in our society. Moreover, they cover numerous topics," she says.

Zhang divided the 23 lectures into six parts according to six themes following the stages of growing up: the female body, women's self-perception, discourse in romantic relationships, marriage, motherhood and female tradition.

Putting these works into a current social context, where gender issues have been widely and fiercely discussed, Zhang introduces in the book her thinking about understanding women's bodies, beauty, money and sex in romantic relationships, conjugal affection and separation, the diverse perceptions of motherhood, female tradition passed down through generations, and the origins of women's writing.

Including no feminist theory in the book, Zhang says she wants to play the role of a "ferrywoman" who leads readers into the world of literature about women. She emphasizes that the book talks about common sense that has been forgotten.

For example, the lecture about the short story Mother in Wind talks about a mother who is very different from the Chinese maternal archetype.

It is a forgotten piece of common sense that there should be many different kinds of mothers, she says.

"This is an introductory book. My ultimate goal is to introduce readers to these works," she says.

"As I write in the letter to female readers, 'If someday at a special moment you come across a difficulty, you happen to think of some wife, mother or daughter from this book, and if thinking of their plight can give you courage to face up to your problems, reduce your fears and provide company on your road, then I would have achieved what I set out to do.'"