Related stories

2006 'Arts from Our Land' Competition The Art of Chance China's Int'l Arts and Entertainment Group Founded The Laowai P.I. vs James 'Blonde'! The Case of the Bad Movie The Cultural Year of Greece in China, Ancient Magnificence, Contemporary Style

The Female Psychologist "I am all ears"

The Female Psychologist is a novel about He Dun, a female psychologist, who has opened a clinic where she will listen to and treat people’s psychological problems. While listening to the stories of the suffering, He Dun constantly reflects on her own life, and by assessing herself, she cures herself and finds a way to survive her own psychological crisis so she can have a better life.

The book is full of cases involving emotional problems arising from today’s urban life. In one case, a couple complains about their crowded marriage: they live so closely with their relatives that they have to share almost everything. For example, if they want to cook chicken wings for dinner, they have to buy five kilograms of wings for all relatives to get some. Without taking such an unbearable burden, they are afraid of being blamed for a lack of traditional fealty. In another case, a government official sweats and stammers whenever he speaks in public. Since he cannot cope with the public pressure, his high position brings pain to him rather than honour.

Bi Shumin, one of the most influential female writers in China, has published many works concerning women’s issues since 1980s. Most of the works reflect Bi’s medical background; she is a physician-turned-writer. In Red Prescription (《红处方》), she writes about drug addiction, while Save the Breast (《拯救乳房》) focuses on the psychological trauma of breast cancer patients. Bi joined the army and was sent to Tibet when she was only 16. She stayed in Tibet for 11 years as an army medic. When she finally returned to Beijing, she wanted to tell everybody what she had learned. “I came away with the intense feeling that life is fleeting, yet precious—not only mine, but also those of others," she said.

Psychological treatment may be very popular in western countries, but it’s in its early stage in China. Although the author reminds readers that the book is fiction, it’s still hard to believe how crude the so-called psychological therapy is in the book. If just anybody can opened a clinic as the book describes, it definitely will cause serious psychological concerns among the readers.