According to the language: """Three Eight" Festival Feeling" was published on March 9, 1942 in the fourth edition of "Literature and Art", a supplement to the "Liberation Daily", and this year marks the 81st anniversary of the publication of the article. The full text is appended below.
Image from the National Library's database of modern newspapers
At what point will the word "women" not be taken seriously and do not need to be specifically mentioned?
There is this day every year. Every year on this day, almost all parts of the world meet to review their ranks. Although Yan'an has not been as lively as the year before in the past two years, it seems that there are always a few people busy there. And there must be conferences, speeches, electricity, articles.
Women in Yan'an are happier than women elsewhere in China. There are even many people who are enviously saying: "Why does millet eat lesbians so red and fat?" Lesbians make up a large proportion in hospitals, rest homes, and outpatient departments, but it does not seem surprising, but the lesbians in Yan'an are not exempt from the luck: they can best be talked about as questions of interest on any occasion. And all sorts of lesbians can get the slandering she deserves. These accusations seem serious and justified.
The marriage of a lesbian is always noticeable, not satisfactory. They can't be closer to a gay man, let alone to several. They were ridiculed by the painters: "Is a section chief also married?" The poets also said: "Yan'an only has the chief of horseback riding, there is no chief of artists, and artists cannot find beautiful lovers in Yan'an." However, they also listened to this precept on some occasion: "Fuck, look down on our old cadres, say it's dirt buns, if it weren't for our soil buns, you want to come to Yan'an to eat millet!" But women always have to get married. (Not marrying is even more sinful, and she will be more likely to be the target of rumors and forever vilified.) He is either on horseback or in straw shoes, and he is either an artist or the head of the general affairs section. They all have to have children. Children also have their own fates: some are wrapped in fine wool thread and flannel cloth, held in the arms of the nanny, some are held by unwashed cloth, thrown at the bedside and crying, while the mother and father are munching on the child's allowance (25 yuan a month, worth two and a half pounds of pork), without which they may not taste the meat at all. However, who exactly should a lesbian marry, the fact is that those who are forced to take children can be openly ridiculed: "Nala, who has returned to the family." "And lesbians with babysitters can have one day a week for the most hygienic ballroom dance. Although there will be ugly slanders whispering in the background, as soon as she goes there, it will be lively, whether it is horseback riding, straw shoes, general affairs section chief, artists' eyes will look at her. This has nothing to do with all theories, with all doctrines, with all speeches. But this is a reality that everyone knows, everyone does not say, and is doing.
The same goes for divorce. At the time of marriage, there are three conditions that must be noted. First, politically pure and impure, second, similar age and appearance, third, whether they help each other. Although these three conditions are met by almost everyone (there are no open traitors here). And the so-called help can also be said to be the sewing of shoes and socks, or even the comfort of women), but it must be considered in a grand manner. And the pretext of divorce must be the backwardness of lesbians. I am most ashamed of a woman who does not progress herself and drags her husband, but let's see how they are lagging behind. Before they got married, they all had lofty ambitions and hard struggles, and they got married under the physical requirements and the honey words of "helping each other", so they were forced to do the hard work of Nala, who returned to the family. They are also afraid of the danger of "falling behind", they run in all directions, brazenly asking the nursery to take in their children, asking for uterine scraping, preferring to be punished by all punishments and having to risk their lives to quietly take the medicine of abortion. And they listened to the answer: "Isn't it work to raise children? You are only greedy for comfort and lofty ambitions, what great political work have you done? Since you are so afraid of having children, and you are not responsible for giving birth, who told you to marry?" So they are not exempt from the fate of "backwardness". When a woman who has the ability to work and can sacrifice her career to be a good wife and mother, she has not been praised at the beginning, but after more than ten years, she will inevitably not escape the tragedy of "backwardness". Even today, when I look at it as a woman, these "backward" elements are really not a lovely woman, their skin is beginning to wrinkle, their hair is thinning, and the exhaustion of life robs them of the last bit of love. It seems natural for them to be in such misfortune, but in the old society, they may be called pitiful and poor, but today, they are self-inflicted and deserved. Haven't you heard that there is still a legal debate about whether a divorce must be initiated by one party or must be agreed by both parties? Divorce is probably initiated by men, and if it is a woman, there must be something more immoral, and the woman is completely cursed.
I myself am a woman, I will understand women's shortcomings better than others, but I understand women's pain better. They will not be ahead of the times, they will not be ideal, they will not be ironclad. They cannot resist all the temptations of society, and silent oppression, each of them has a history of blood and tears, and has had noble feelings, (whether rising or falling, whether fortunate or unfortunate, whether they are still struggling alone or involved in vulgarity,) This is even less unjust for the lesbians who come to Yan'an, so I look at all those who have been reduced to female prisoners with great tolerance. And I hope that men, especially men with status, and women themselves see the mistakes of these women as more connected to society. It would be good to talk less about empty discussions, talk more about practical issues, keep theory from practice in touch, and be responsible for every Communist Party member's cultivation.
However, we cannot help but have some small hopes for lesbians, especially in Yan'an. And encourage yourself. Encouragement of friendliness.
There is never an incompetent person in the world who is entitled to everything. Therefore, in order for women to achieve equality, they must first strengthen themselves. I don't have to say that everyone understands. Moreover, there will surely be a speech today: "First to take our power", I will only talk about the things that must be paid attention to every day as a member of the front (whether it is the proletariat, the war of resistance, or women).
First, don't make yourself sick. Unrestrained life sometimes feels romantic, poetic, and lovely, but it is not suitable for today's environment. No one can love your life more than yourself. Nothing is more unfortunate than losing your health today. Only it is closest to you, pay attention to it and love it.
Second, make yourself happy. Only in happiness can there be youth, vitality, full life, feeling that I can withstand all tribulations, have a future, and enjoy it. This pleasure is not the satisfaction of life, but the fighting and enterprising of life. Therefore, we must do some meaningful work every day, we must read some books, we must have something for others, and laziness only makes people feel that life is blank, weak, and withered.
Third, with brains. It is best to make it a habit. Correct the problem of not thinking and going with the flow. Every time you say a word, every thing you do, it's best to think about whether it's true? Whether this matter is handled properly, does not violate the principle of one's own human being, and whether oneself can be responsible. Only then will there be no regrets. This is called through reason, so that we will not be deceived, blinded by all sweetness, seduced by small profits, so that we will not waste enthusiasm, waste life, and be free from troubles.
Fourth, make the determination to endure hardships and persevere to the end. To be born a modern conscious woman is to have the dream of tenderness that sacrifices all roses. Happiness is a fight in a storm, not playing the piano under the moon and chanting poetry before flowers. If you don't have the greatest determination, you will definitely stop halfway. Not miserable, that is, degenerate. And this kind of support must be cultivated in "permanence". It is difficult for people without big ambitions to have this kind of stoicism that is not greedy for cheapness and does not seek comfort. And this kind of ambition can only be found by those who are truly human, not for themselves.
Early morning of the 38th Festival.
P.S. The article has been written, I reread it again, I feel that there are still many opinions about the place of hope, but for the limited time to publish, I can't sort it out. However, there is also the feeling that some words may be considered happy by some people if they were said by a chief in the General Assembly. However, it is written under the pen of a woman, it can be canceled, but since it is written, it is still for those who feel the same way.
(From Yan'an Liberation Daily, March 9, 1942)
Young Ding Ling
【About author】Ding Ling (October 12, 1904 ~ March 4, 1986), female, formerly known as Jiang Wei, character Bingzhi, also known as Jiang Wei, Jiang Wei, Ding Bingzhi, pen name Binzhi, Conghuo, etc., a native of Linqi, Hunan Province, graduated from the Department of Chinese Literature of Shanghai University, a member of the Communist Party of China, a famous writer and social activist. In November 1936, Ding Ling arrived in northern Shaanxi and was the first literati to come to Yan'an. Ding Ling's arrival added fresh blood to the originally weak literary and artistic movement in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Anti-Japanese Base Area. She has made irreplaceable contributions to the history of modern Chinese literature. Representative works include his debut novel "Mengke", the novel "The Sun Shines on the Sangan River", the short story "The Diary of Ms. Shafi", and the short story collection "In the Dark". On March 4, 1986, Ding Ling died at her home in Duofu Lane, Beijing, at the age of 82.