Chinese Literature Autumn 1995 [antikvár]

Letter from the Editor IT is well-known that autumn in Beijing is the most pleasant and beautiful season of the year. Resplendent flowers are still in full bloom, and the sweet fragrance of fruits fills the air. Under blue skies dotted with white clouds, visitors to this famous historical city are pleased with what they discover. This year autumn in Beijing is more appealing than ever: The Fourth World Conference on Women is to be held here in September. For the occasion, more than 30,000 outstanding women from around the world will gather in Beijing to discuss common problems facing women around the globe today. We would like to extend a warm welcome to our visiting friends, and wish the conference great success. Chinese women, who make up about half of the 1.2 billion population in China, possess both Oriental traditions and modern education, and are an indispensable force in social activities. They have made inestimable contributions to material, cultural and ideological progress in China, especially in the fields of literature and art, where outstanding results have been achieved. To welcome the Fourth World Conference on Women, this issue of Chinese Literature focusses on works by female writers and also provides an introduction to poets, painters and critics who have been active in literary and artistic circles in recent years. From their works, readers may discover the talents of Chinese female intellectuals in the field of humanities and their attention to social development, especially the role of women. Although what we can publish in one issue is not enough to be totally representative of the present wealth of Chinese female writers, poets, painters and critics, we hope it will give readers who have long wanted to hear more about educated Chinese women a new perspective on their lives and art.