The voice of the male and their ideology have assumed the dominant position in the traditional Chinese society. Females were only to act according to the perspective of males. Marginalized, women, especially those with liberation ideas, were finding it more and more depressing to be manipulated by the society. After thousands of years of Confucianism practices a standard code of conduct had been established in the Chinese society that created constraints to the physical and philosophical activities of females.

Any deviation from these codes was regarded as rebels and condemned. However, the development of feminism in the 19th century gave birth to many literatures works from the female perspectives of the time. Love in a Fallen City, by Zhang Ailing, is one of them. The author told a love story between Bai Liusu and Fan Liuyuan, at the crumbling times of the traditional, establishing a high level of understanding of the social positions of women back then, as well as their desire to be liberated. In Love in a Fallen City, Liusu refused to obey the traditional Chinese thinking, pursued her own happiness, and demonstrated very modern ideas about love and feminity.

The story began in the Bai household, a symbol of tradition and restriction for women. All of the characters in the house, except for Liusu, were the advocates of the existing social order that suppresses women. Although no direct comment was given by the author, the sense of male supremacy was established from the very beginning, when Liusu’s brothers and in-laws initiated a discussion about her but did not seem to care about her own opinions.

Having divorced with her ex-husband, Liusu was still expected to fulfill her duties as a “wife” when the ex-husband died. In addition, all the misfortunes of Liusu’s ex-husband, and even that of her brother, were blamed on Liusu. Women, despite already being the vulnerable group in a society, had to endure the unsubstantial and absurd accusations like this their whole lives, and this was only a story in Shanghai, one of the largest, most urbanized cities in China. Situated in such a hostile environment, Liusu was well aware of her situation.

In her conversation with Mrs. Xu, she said: “If there were a way, I’d be long gone!” Having not studied much, and without the ability to do manual labor, the society did not leave Liusu much of an alternative to being dependent on men. Therefore, there was little to do for Liusu except for constantly reminding herself that she is different from everyone else in the Bai household. She played by their rules when she had to, just as she paces in accordance with the traditional melody played from huqin.

Things changed drastically for Liusu just as the melody came to a discordant halt. Mrs. Xv introduced Fan Liuyuan to her, bringing new hope to her life. The story then switched to Hong Kong, as a symbol of the new times.

For Liusu, the relationship with Liuyuan was more like a gamble: if she won, she would be able to break free with her old life and embrace love and wealth brought by Liuyuan; if she lost, she would lose everything, including her reputation, potential happiness for the rest of her life, and even the chance to remarry to someone that she wouldn’t normally consider.

However, Liusu took a leap of faith, which did not turn out to be successful at the beginning. In the entire novel, women were dependent on men. Either the traditional women like Liusu’s in-laws, or the rebels like Liusu herself, or even princess Saheiyini living her exile life in Hong Kong, none of them were truly free from men limited by the times they were in. In the relationship between Liusu and Liuyuan, Liusu was always the one manipulated and remained in the passive position the whole time.

Liuyuan’s attitude towards her was like a roller coaster. At its peak, he would take her to sight-seeing every day, and call her at the middle of the night expressing his love. Other times, he treated her with coldness and purposed made her jealous by spending time with princess Saheiyini. It was painful and bitter as she returned to Shanghai, as it is believed that women deserved to die, if they ever get cheated by men.

However, being a smart woman, Liusu kept patient and waited for messages from Liuyuan. Months later, Liuyuan telegraphed her with a few words only, asking her to go to Hong Kong and be her mistress. When the anticipated “success” arrived in such a humiliating way, Liusu had no choice but to follow her destiny, as her damaged pride is nothing compared to the mental suffering her had to endure at the Bai household.

Despite the extreme imbalance between the male and female powers in the Chinese society back then, as demonstrated by the relationship between Liusu and Liuyuan, Liusu was still able to put up a fight for what she believed in. when Liuyuan refused to give her commitment for life the first time they were in Hong Kong, Liusu was furious as she heard him making an analogy between marriage and prostitution.

In addition to feeling offended, what Liusu was really angry about was the fact that the imbalance between genders remained overlooked by Liuyuan. When Liuyuan sent for her from Hong Kong, Liusu cried, feeling so incapable to escape from her fate, that even when she felt so insulted, she had to do what the insulter asked of her. It can be concluded that Liusu is a character bearing extreme contradictions.

On the one hand, she believed in the dignity and individuality of women beyond what tradition and society had granted them. On the other hand, she was limited by her abilities to change the situation and stop being dependent on men. The struggles of Liusu become realistic with the depiction of such contradictions. However, by the end of the story, Liusu became the winner in her own gambling.

The outbreak of war in Hong Kong had disabled Liuyuan from leaving her. The author believed that only through the fall of the “city”, constructed by traditions and the male-dominated society, can women truly be liberated and find real happiness. Despite the difficulties, Liusu got the ideal life that she wished for all along. However, there were still countless “cities” left unbroken for the women of China.

In conclusion, Zhang Ailing expressed in the novel countless times the suppressions and restrictions faced by the women from traditional Chinese society. She also remained realistic in acknowledging the difficulty in breaking these restrictions. Although all the female characters were bound by their times in the novel, the difference between Liusu and other ladies from Shanghai was that she knew exactly her limitations, but tried her best to fight for her dignity and integrity.

Although Liusu was lucky to have the war as the prompter for her happy ending, it wouldn’t have been possible if she weren’t the character she was. Overall, the author praised the effort of women in breaking free from the social norms to embrace the new ages, keeping hopeful that all women would live freely and obtain happiness in their “fallen cities” someday.