Louise Edwards

The legendary tale of the Chinese woman warrior has developed a strong connection to Chinese ancestry throughout the course of history. As we progress toward modern times we find that these stories have been incorporated into novels, operas, plays and movies. This distinct interest in the role of women, vigilance and their participation in war has generated a unique appeal to the role women and men play in the war. This question is addressed in Louise Edward’s book, Women Warriors and Wartime Spies of China. In her analysis, Edwards explores how women and men, femininity and masculinity, have been used to advocate for war. In her analysis, she claims that “womanhood, femininity and masculinity are useful militarisation strategies” (3). In support
One of the similarities is the early emphasis on the story of Mulan. Both Wei and Edwards essentially begin their work by paying homage to the story of Mulan by outlining her story as a soldier who achieved equality on the battlefield. Edward’s interpretation of Mulan guides the reader’s ability to understand the how women like Wei saw Mulan and it also displayed that the narratives of Mulan change over time. Edwards claims “that Mulan’s story is not merely an empty vessel into which diverse ideological or commercial interest are poured. At its core, it has allowed writers, critics, and audiences to wrestle with key features of the Chinese moral and social universe … despite remarkable and extensive elaborations in plot, characterization and context, these militarisation processes remain central to the narrative tension of the Mulan story” (18). This analysis of Mulan made by Edwards takes shape within Wei’s admiration for the story of Mulan and allows the reader to gain a firsthand look at how women identified with these legendary stories. This admiration guides women like Wei and allowed her to apply the lesson preached in these stories into their own lives. Wei opens her autobiography by writing “[w]hen I was about seven I sat on my mother’s lap round-eyed and still, and listened to
Zhao Yiman was a member of the Chinese communist party who acted as a resistance fighter to the Japanese army. Her life tells the story of the ideal Maoist woman who ultimately sacrifices family for a greater cause. Edwards references her image to the people of China as a “patriotic forerunner for women’s equal participation in society and labor – a symbol of Mao’s famous epithet that ‘women hold up half the sky’” (118). This portrayal of Yiman’s life and accomplishments stand to display the powerful role of Chinese nationalism that was to be implied. Wei also addressed how she also felt she had to assume this level of responsibility in her work for Chinese nationalism. While justifying why she was married so late in life she states, “[a]fter living so many years in danger, with so many narrow escapes, I came to have a feeling that my life had been spared not for myself but for some public service” (141). This statement displays how women like Zhao Yiman may have internally perceived nationalism and how it affected their work and personal lives. These women would willingly sacrifice key elements of their own personal life like the sanctity of marriage to ensure the progress of the country was achieved