IRON Girls
women with bones of steel
Bey: When did your husband die, Yuzhen?
Rong: In 2003, we married in the 1950s, it was a long time to spend together. A cousin introduced me to this introverted secretary from Bengbu, he was really quite shy and not very outgoing. But recommendation by friends had replaced arrangements by parents, so this was how we managed to meet each other.
Bey: What was your life like before marriage?
Rong: My father died when I was young, so I lived with my older brother, and my mother lived with my younger brother on the farm. I helped my brother to carry corn as a job, because I was strong enough to keep up with the workload. My mother was a very strong woman, but did not have much influence because I did not live with her.
Bey: Were you close to your mother?
Rong: In 1960 I collected my mother and we lived together in Bengbu. It was my xiao shun, filial duty. Family ties were stronger in the countryside than in the city. I have experience of both, so I can say this with some surety.
Bey: When did you live in the city?
Rong: I met my husband in Nanjing, we got married there. Before meeting him and settling down, I followed Chairman Mao’s call to build up our country's railroads, something I was incredibly proud to be a part of. In Nanjing, I I was a jiating zhufu (家庭主妇), a housewife, and in Bengbu when we moved here. We followed my husband's work to Bengbu. It was another big change. I moved from Pi Xian [small village outside Bengbu] to Nanjing, then from Nanjing to Bengbu. Bengbu was a very rural town, even more so than today, but this was very normal in China. And it was for his job, he had no choice.
The following interview was conducted on the banks of the Dragon Lake in Bengbu, Anhui Province. The two women had been Iron Girls, the celebrated country women of the Cultural Revolution, women who were stronger than men. Both came from farming families. Bey previously interviewed Wong Rongying, 73, in her home, assisted by the translation of Sun Yue from Zhejiang University. Rong Yuzhen, 81, is a close friend of Ms. Wong.
We were all country girls working together, we looked after each other because we knew how hard it was for women. Today we still exercise together, just like before, all women together. The men did not have these kind of relationships.
Bey: How did you feel as a country woman moving to the big city?
Rong: It was a big city and I was so small, and so poor, making a living seemed impossible! But everyone in the city was poor, I was nothing special. We were all country girls working together, we looked after each other because we knew how hard it was for women. Today we still exercise together, just like before, all women together. The men did not have these kind of relationships, especially if they were in a position of leadership. Leaders do not do favours unless they get a return.
Bey: What about female leaders?
Rong: [Laughs] There were none! I do not know of any female leaders, I think it was a tradition limited to the men. Women were not taken seriously as individuals, even though they did the same work as men.
Bey: If you could turn back time, would you change the way women were perceived?
Rong: Yes, I would like have been able to get an education, but at that time we had no mind to chase for rights and ideas. Having children made me feel more complete, like a person with purpose, more than just another person. More than just a woman.
Bey: How many children do you have?
Rong: I had four daughters first, and then two sons. I did not stop until I had a son, my colleagues would tease me because I didn't have a boy, it was very important [laughs]. But I made sure that even the girls went to school.
Bey: I have heard that during the Cultural Revolution, many families were torn apart by politics, was this the case for your gamily when you moved back to Bengbu?
Rong: People in the city struggle with politics, people in the country struggle with living. Poor people can’t have a relationship with politics.
Bey: What do you think the image of country women was for politics during the Cultural Revolution?
Rong: Country women are hardworking, practical and honest. Good for the poster, but reality is always more complicated.
Bey: What do you think your daughters and granddaughters think of your story?
Rong: Girls today are not interested, sometimes I do not think they even believe us. But my family shows filial loyalty, one third of my children’s salary is given to me.
Bey: What are you happiest and saddest memories?
Rong: Now is a happy time, seeing my children succeed. But I was sad when my husband died. Taking care of six children was hard, and in my forties I developed heart problems, I think because of the work. Women are fragile, their bodies are not built for heavy labour.
Ms. Rong and Ms. Wang continued to discuss the dangers of women taking on manual labour, talking about my own mother and the problems she faced medically because of birthing children while having an overactive and physically challenging job. We also compared the health problems of women in England, and in China, agreeing that many working class women in England, such as my grandmother, pushed their bodies to the limits to get by.
Image credit: WeDuty
September 1, 2012
Interviewing Iron Girls
