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