China From the Inside

　　ANNOUNCER. Major funding for China From the Inside has been provided by
　　the corporation
　　for public broadcasting;
　　additional funding
　　is provided by:
　　...individuals, foundations
　　and corporations
　　committed to the production
　　and acquisition
　　of quality programs;
　　by:
　　a complete list
　　is available frompbs.
　　and by contributions
　　to yourpbsstation from:
　　( men's chatter continues )
　　(?? music ??)
　　interpreter for xie lihua:
　　many women aren't in charge
　　of their own destinies.
　　that's why if someone
　　in the countryside
　　meets a girl of 18 and wants
　　to know if she's married,
　　they don't ask,
　　"have you got a husband?"
　　but rather,
　　"have you got azhu?"
　　zhumeans master.
　　so a girl isn't her own master
　　and has to find one.
　　"have you got a master?"
　　narrator:
　　this may be china's century.
　　she's growing richer.
　　growing stronger.
　　and the process
　　is taking her people
　　through momentous upheavals.
　　this television series
　　has had exceptional access
　　to the country--
　　her institutions and people--
　　at a critical time.
　　this is
　　china from the inside.
　　(?? theme music ??)
　　china's women have always been
　　under pressure:
　　from men, from family,
　　from work.
　　now more and more
　　are under new pressure--
　　from themselves--
　　to take control of their lives,
　　to get an education,
　　to have a career,
　　to marry for love.
　　it's a slow, difficult process,
　　which is changing china.
　　(?? music ??)
　　china is going home.
　　for two weeks of the new year,
　　around 150 million
　　exhausted workers
　　take a break from building
　　new china to revisit the old,
　　to return to their villages
　　laden with gifts and stories
　　from the city.
　　(?? music ??)
　　interpreter for wu qing:
　　i think they're amazing.
　　migrants are
　　the greatest people.
　　the fact that they up and go
　　shows how brave
　　and determined they are.
　　they're willing to change
　　their lifestyle
　　and their thinking,
　　particularly the women.
　　narrator:
　　migration fractures families,
　　but it also gives women
　　new roles--
　　whether running the farm
　　back home,
　　or as wage-earners in the city.
　　xiao zhang has lived in beijing
　　for 14 years,
　　cooking and cleaning.
　　for a few hours each week,
　　she sees her husband xiao huang
　　who works in a small restaurant
　　in the suburbs.
　　this is the only time
　　in the year
　　when they're together.
　　interpreter for xiao zhang:
　　it's always like this
　　when we go home
　　for the new year.
　　everyone's carrying bags,
　　big and small.
　　we're all looking for
　　a place for the luggage.
　　i just want to get
　　on the train, grab a seat
　　and find somewhere
　　to dump the stuff.
　　then we can relax.
　　narrator: they're taking the
　　night train home to anhui,
　　600 miles south.
　　interpreter for wu qing:
　　for me, there are two chinas:
　　beijing, shanghai, guangzhou,
　　that's one china.
　　i know the other china.
　　it's where there are more women,
　　more poverty;
　　it's where we need
　　the decision-making
　　to be more rational
　　and democratic.
　　that's the place i like.
　　changing china means
　　changing the countryside.
　　that means changing women.
　　(?? chinese music ??)
　　( train horn blasts )
　　narrator:
　　with the exodus
　　of men to the cities,
　　two-thirds of china's
　　rural workforce are women.
　　to improve their lives,
　　they need education,
　　but it costs.
　　parents prefer to spend
　　on their son,
　　so he'll look after them
　　in old age.
　　a daughter becomes
　　part of her husband's family.
　　xiao zhang has bumped into
　　a university friend
　　of her brother.
　　neither she nor her sister
　　received higher education,
　　but they're supporting
　　their brother through college.
　　interpreter for xiao zhang:
　　it's not easy for people
　　from the countryside
　　to go to a university.
　　we think that if we
　　support our brother,
　　and he does well,
　　it'll be very good
　　for our parents and family.
　　(?? chinese music ??)
　　narrator: few returning for the
　　new year have children with
　　them.
　　most can't afford schooling
　　in the city,
　　or aren't allowed access to it.
　　are left in the countryside
　　with grandparents
　　while parents work
　　to support them.
　　and that's what gives
　　added urgency and poignancy
　　to xiao zhang
　　and xiao huang's journey.
　　because waiting for them
　　in his parent's village
　　are the ten-year-old daughter,
　　dandan,
　　and four-year-old son, jinhui,
　　they haven't seen for a year.
　　interpreter for xiao zhang:
　　i wanted to get home
　　as quickly as possible
　　and see the children
　　as soon as we got off the train,
　　to hear our children calling us.
　　people abroad are more open.
　　it'd be very embarrassing
　　in china
　　if we kissed and cuddled
　　like foreigners.
　　in china we buy presents
　　and clothes for our children
　　when we go home.
　　that's how we show we care.
　　( excited chatter )
　　( laughing )
　　( horn squeaking )
　　( laughing )
　　interpreter for xiao huang:
　　i was very happy
　　when my daughter came to me,
　　holding a pair of new boots
　　and told me, "i love them."
　　i said, "if you love the boots,
　　then listen to me.
　　"you must study hard
　　and go to university
　　and one day you'll have
　　whatever clothes you want."
　　my daughter said,
　　"yes, i'll be good.
　　i promise i'll study hard."
　　narrator:
　　for thousands of years
　　in china,
　　to be a woman meant to submit.
　　girls had their feet bound,
　　arches broken,
　　toes bent over.
　　the women could be trusted
　　never to stray far from home.
　　gao yaojie became
　　a famous doctor
　　and activist for women's rights
　　in china,
　　defying the binding of her feet
　　at five.
　　interpreter for gao yaojie:
　　in those days, no one thought
　　it was cruel to women.
　　girls just needed to count money
　　and know a few numbers.
　　girls weren't expected
　　to go to school.
　　it was a patriarchal society.
　　men were good,
　　no matter how bad they were.
　　( pop! pop! )
　　narrator:
　　since 1949,
　　communist rhetoric
　　has stressed women's equality
　　with men,
　　but old habits of thought
　　die hard.
　　a side effect of china's
　　rural birth-control policy
　　is to favor boys.
　　the aim is to limit
　　china's population--
　　currently 1.3 billion.
　　if your firstborn is male,
　　you can't have another child.
　　but if, like xiao zhang,
　　your first is a girl,
　　you can have a second,
　　hoping for a son
　　to work, take care of you
　　and carry on the family line.
　　"blossom first,"
　　the old saying went,
　　"then the fruit."
　　( pop! )
　　interpreter for xiao zhang:
　　personally, i'd have preferred
　　to give birth to a daughter
　　than a son.
　　but as my xiao huang is
　　the only boy in his family,
　　his parents,
　　my mother and father-in-law,
　　wanted me to have a son.
　　narrator:
　　having a son in china
　　is often not left to chance.
　　interpreter for gao yaojie:
　　some people
　　do an ultrasound scan
　　4-5 months into pregnancy,
　　and when they find out
　　it's a girl,
　　they go for an abortion.
　　i know a privately-owned
　　hospital that does it.
　　the government has reinforced
　　the restriction on abortions
　　many times,
　　but they haven't stopped.
　　the main reason is corruption
　　in the health service
　　and corruption is everywhere.
　　so men and women
　　are still treated unequally.
　　narrator:
　　some parents
　　abandon baby girls.
　　found in time
　　and brought to an orphanage.
　　(?? woman singing children's son
　　g in chinese ??)
　　disabled girl babies
　　particularly risk
　　being unwanted.
　　(?? singing continues ??)
　　the government's trying
　　to persuade the people
　　that girls are as good as boys,
　　but by the year 2020,
　　there'll be a shortfall
　　of around 40 million women.
　　(?? singing continues ??)
　　interpreter for xie lihua:
　　women will face
　　an even more terrible future
　　in 20 years' time.
　　abduction and trafficking women
　　will increase.
　　so will prostitution,
　　as well as sexual violence
　　against women and rape.
　　i think this problem really must
　　be solved from the ground up.
　　(?? music ??)
　　narrator:
　　birth planning officer
　　hu guanhua is doing her rounds.
　　the new year's a good time
　　to catch women at home.
　　next stop:
　　xiao zhang's village.
　　(?? music ??)
　　in its drive
　　to control the birth rate,
　　the state peers
　　into the nation's bedrooms.
　　china's women
　　don't have a lot of privacy.
　　(?? music ??)
　　narrator:
　　young wives
　　aren't just accountable
　　to the birth planning officer.
　　interpreter for xu rong:
　　in joining the new world
　　of their husband's family,
　　they've got their father-in-law
　　to deal with,
　　their mother-in-law,
　　various uncles,
　　sisters-in-law,
　　et cetera.
　　she's got to gain
　　everyone's acceptance.
　　when there are conflicts,
　　she's the weakest.
　　so this custom of moving in
　　with the husband's family
　　has made many women
　　feel helpless
　　when they have problems.
　　they feel very helpless.
　　( wok sizzling )
　　but it hasn't always been easy.
　　interpreter for xiao zhang:
　　i was quite upset at the time.
　　i'd lived all my life
　　with my own mom and dad,
　　and here i was expected to
　　call his parents mom and dad.
　　very strange--
　　i couldn't do it.
　　it's much better now.
　　time's passed
　　and we've got the children,
　　so it's okay now.
　　( sizzling )
　　interpreter for xie lihua:
　　if a woman goes to live
　　with her husband's family
　　and they treat her well,
　　or if she's found someone
　　who loves and respects her,
　　she'll be all right.
　　if not, things will be
　　very difficult for her.
　　this is because
　　there's a saying among men:
　　"marrying a woman
　　is like buying a horse:
　　i can ride you and beat you
　　whenever i like."
　　men feel that, "i've spent money
　　on bringing you into my family,
　　so i have the right
　　to order you around."
　　and a manwillbeat a woman
　　if she has a mind of her own.
　　narrator:
　　the biggest landmark
　　in xiao zhang's new year
　　is a wedding in the family.
　　her cousin has married
　　a girl from another village,
　　cao wennian, who looks out
　　from her new in-laws' house.
　　her husband, zhang rushun,
　　is below with his family.
　　xiao zhang and xiao huang
　　are there,
　　with dandan and jinhui.
　　they are all waiting
　　for the dowry to arrive.
　　within the traditions
　　of country weddings,
　　there's a relationship
　　between the dowry
　　and the bride's value.
　　interpreter for zhang mingchuan:
　　usually the woman specifies
　　what gifts she wants,
　　then the man's side gives her
　　the money to pay for them.
　　it's done
　　in two separate stages.
　　first, she takes
　　one wad of money,
　　then she takes the second.
　　once the couple have the money,
　　they buy the things
　　for their dowry.
　　that's how we do it.
　　narrator:
　　the groom's father has also
　　paid the bride's family
　　in cigarettes,
　　to carry the dowry
　　fromherhouse.
　　by tradition,
　　they must bring it
　　to the edge
　　of the bridegroom's village
　　where his family
　　will take over.
　　but for some reason,
　　her family has set the dowry
　　down in the mud,
　　and they won't budge.
　　interpreter for xie lihua:
　　the business
　　of making betrothal gifts
　　is, in fact,
　　a form of bride-buying.
　　in the old days,
　　they were business deals:
　　i give you my daughter,
　　whom i've brought up
　　for 20 years,
　　and i want to get back the money
　　i've spent on her over 20 years.
　　narrator: the groom's family
　　comes back with a compromise
　　offer,
　　but the bride's father
　　takes it all as a gross insult.
　　narrator:
　　the groom's father
　　and xiao zhang's mother
　　try to calm him.
　　interpreter for zhang mingchuan:
　　it was a misunderstanding.
　　all that fuss
　　was a misunderstanding.
　　just kids fooling.
　　they wanted cigarettes,
　　wanted to have a laugh.
　　it was meant as a joke.
　　we apologized,
　　gave them the cigarettes.
　　that solved the whole thing.
　　no big deal.
　　( laughing )
　　narrator:
　　the two families meet mid-field
　　and carry the dowry
　　into the village.
　　( excited chatter )
　　( firecrackers popping )
　　the argument over the dowry
　　may have been just a joke,
　　feels the need
　　to make a public apology.
　　( loud popping )
　　( applause )
　　narrator:
　　cao wennian
　　finally gets hold of her dowry.
　　narrator:
　　but this arrangement
　　of furniture, tv and hi-fi,
　　is only temporary.
　　narrator:
　　when the new year is over,
　　she and zhang rushun
　　will cart everything
　　back to their home in beijing.
　　for the prosperous family
　　she has now joined,
　　the village is a place to visit
　　for special occasions,
　　not to live in.
　　interpreter for zhang guoyuan:
　　it'll be all right.
　　the house won't fall down.
　　we've just got to lock the door.
　　everyone will be in beijing.
　　of course,
　　they'll be in beijing.
　　they've been there for years.
　　why would they move back?
　　(?? strings ??)
　　narrator: flights of stairs poke
　　up through the roofs of houses
　　in dayang village.
　　they were built in anticipation
　　of adding another story
　　for married children,
　　but the children
　　have gone to the cities
　　and the stairs lead nowhere.
　　(?? strings continue ??)
　　( dog barking )
　　after the new year,
　　the village changes character.
　　it's left to the women now,
　　looking after young and old,
　　running household and farm.
　　interpreter for wang tailian:
　　we plant cotton in early april.
　　and for that
　　we have to dig little holes.
　　you put the seeds into the hole,
　　18,000 an acre,
　　and add soil.
　　interpreter for huang yigui:
　　i get up at 4 in the morning
　　and work till 7 pm.
　　interpreter for wang tailian:
　　my daughter's been away
　　for three years.
　　my husband's been working away
　　for over ten.
　　when my husband's off
　　in the city, i worry--
　　what he's eating,
　　how hard he's working.
　　who'll wash his clothes,
　　who's cooking for him?
　　i worry about all these things.
　　interpreter for huang yigui:
　　we worry about them;
　　our husbands in the city
　　worry about us.
　　plus we look after the children.
　　we live like this to survive.
　　for the men,
　　it's even tougher being away
　　than for us left behind.
　　in some ways
　　we've got it easier at home.
　　interpreter for wang tailian:
　　i don't know...
　　it's so long to be apart.
　　i miss him.
　　i do miss him.
　　(?? strings ??)
　　narrator:
　　palding village, tibet.
　　there's hardly a man
　　to be seen.
　　what concerns the women here,
　　depends in part on what stage
　　they're at in their lives.
　　interpreter for tenzin dolkar:
　　mom does the work.
　　dad just gets up, drinks tea,
　　and sits on his butt.
　　interpreter for tsesum lhamo:
　　sometimes he splits rocks.
　　interpreter:
　　not today he isn't.
　　narrator:
　　some talk of getting jobs
　　in the city,
　　but need
　　their parents' approval.
　　interpreter for sonam dolkar:
　　they'll let us leave the village
　　for a decent job.
　　but girls have taken work
　　in bars and have gone astray,
　　so that sort of work
　　isn't allowed.
　　decent jobs are okay.
　　interpreter for tsesum lhamo:
　　i want to be a nun.
　　interpreter for tenzin dolkar:
　　she wants to be a nun
　　to cleanse
　　all her bad karma.
　　( laughs )
　　( women talking and laughing )
　　narrator:
　　a key to changing one's life
　　is education,
　　but many don't get
　　the opportunity.
　　interpreter for pema dolkar:
　　we do farm work;
　　we don't have any other skills.
　　well, that's how it seems
　　to us.
　　even if i wanted to do more,
　　i'm a bit past it,
　　and when you don't have
　　any education or skills,
　　then the only option is
　　to get stuck doing farm work.
　　( straw rustles )
　　interpreter for choezin:
　　i want knowledge;
　　i really do.
　　even if you wanted to learn
　　reading and writing
　　you didn't have
　　the right to.
　　these days we have the right,
　　but because of my old age
　　and my eyesight--
　　i'm completely blind
　　in my left eye, you know--
　　my time for learning
　　has passed me by.
　　interpreter for pema dolkar:
　　so long as you can work,
　　you do work.
　　and as long as you can work
　　you have to work.
　　after that,
　　when you can't work anymore,
　　the state's set up
　　old people's homes.
　　they look after the aged.
　　( cat meows )
　　interpreter for choezin:
　　deep down, i trust and hope
　　my children will look after me.
　　but when you become
　　really old
　　and unable to bear
　　your own weight,
　　it's hard to tell
　　how things might turn out;
　　because my children
　　have their own lives to lead.
　　from time to time
　　that raises doubts in my mind.
　　(?? music ??)
　　narrator:
　　these women in palding village
　　are shifting the straw as part
　　of a barter arrangement.
　　in exchange for the work,
　　the owner of the straw, tsokyi,
　　is cooking them all dinner.
　　(?? music continues ??)
　　interpreter for tsokyi:
　　before, when my husband
　　was here,
　　he'd bring in some hard cash.
　　is that we haven't got
　　anyone with earning power.
　　apart from selling
　　a few potatoes,
　　we've no other sources
　　of income.
　　( fire crackles )
　　narrator:
　　with a population
　　of just 2 1/2 million,
　　tibet is not subject
　　to strict birth-planning rules.
　　tsokyi has a son
　　and two daughters,
　　and education
　　has to be paid for.
　　interpreter for tsokyi:
　　i've already taken
　　the eldest out of school.
　　he wasn't learning anything.
　　i hope to keep
　　the two younger ones there
　　as long as possible,
　　no matter what sacrifices
　　i have to make.
　　i thought my husband
　　was a wonderful, honest man.
　　i trusted him working away
　　as a truck driver.
　　i was busy with farmwork here.
　　we talked on the phone,
　　and i agreed
　　to him staying on there.
　　he was away a long time,
　　but i trusted him,
　　because i thought
　　he was an honest man.
　　but then i learned from others
　　that he'd been having an affair.
　　since then,
　　i can't trust any man.
　　i try to make light of life
　　by socializing with others,
　　but inside i'm very unhappy.
　　my heart continues to ache.
　　this year, my mother fell ill
　　and i went to look after her
　　in the hospital.
　　when i came home,
　　he confessed to me,
　　"while you were away,
　　i did something bad."
　　he was holding me in his arms
　　and crying.
　　so i told him,
　　"if you leave her and come home,
　　i'll forgive you."
　　but he said he couldn't do that
　　and insisted
　　that the three of us
　　should all live together.
　　i refused to accept
　　any such arrangement
　　and stubbornly stuck
　　to my position,
　　that if that were the case,
　　i'd rather be alone.
　　it wasn't as if
　　we used to fight.
　　that's why i feel so strange,
　　so sad.
　　if we'd had problems
　　with the relationship
　　and argued a lot,
　　then it would be
　　much easier to get over.
　　i don't really know
　　what's going to happen.
　　he gives the impression
　　he might come back,
　　that he can't see
　　their relationship lasting.
　　but now he's gone back to her
　　because she says
　　she's pregnant.
　　i don't know whether
　　she really is pregnant or not,
　　but she claims she is,
　　and he's gone to her.
　　i can't tell how things
　　will turn out in the end.
　　( women talking and laughing )
　　( cow bell ringing )
　　have to take care of the old,
　　the sick, the young.
　　they must look after
　　the household
　　as well as work in the fields.
　　they are completely
　　burdened down.
　　that's why 85% of women
　　suffer from bad health,
　　and mentally, they're not
　　in great shape either.
　　(?? music ??)
　　narrator: china has one of the
　　highest suicide rates for women
　　in the world:
　　150,000 a year.
　　one every four minutes.
　　and china is the only country
　　in the world
　　where more women
　　kill themselves than men.
　　and most victims
　　aren't ground down
　　by the stresses of urban life;
　　they're rural women.
　　interpreter for xu rong:
　　the majority are women
　　aged between 15 and 35.
　　they're quite young.
　　most use pesticides.
　　it's all too easy
　　to get hold of pesticide.
　　some women
　　commit suicide impulsively.
　　a husband and wife
　　may have a bitter fight.
　　when it's over, the woman just
　　grabs some poison and drinks it.
　　narrator: facing a bleak, lonely
　　future with a domineering
　　husband,
　　many country women
　　feel hopeless and helpless.
　　one and a half million a year
　　are desperate enough
　　to attempt suicide, but fail.
　　china'srural women magazine
　　runs a school near beijing
　　to teach practical skills
　　and self-confidence.
　　there are classes
　　in hairdressing and computing,
　　along with suicide prevention,
　　gender awareness,
　　and women's participation
　　in politics.
　　interpreter for xie lihua:
　　the whole point of the training
　　is to teach young girls
　　to discover their potential.
　　we're focusing on girls
　　who are 16 or 17.
　　i think they'll be okay.
　　but they normally get married
　　very young, at 18.
　　so i think it's better
　　to educate them
　　beforethey get married.
　　once married, they come under
　　their husbands' control.
　　it'll be difficult for them
　　to break away.
　　narrator:
　　mothers, too,
　　are a key influence:
　　either pushing their daughters
　　towards independence
　　or trying to rein them in.
　　interpreter for wang haijuan:
　　before i came here,
　　my mom said that if you work
　　for a year or two,
　　you'll be over 20--
　　you best get married.
　　she said that it was better
　　to marry well than study well.
　　after i came here,
　　i didn't think my aim
　　should be to get myself
　　a good husband.
　　i'd do better fighting
　　for a career of my own.
　　interpreter for jia caiping:
　　when i left, my mom told me:
　　"you must study hard.
　　"this is your chance
　　to get out of the countryside...
　　and it's your last chance."
　　( male instructor speaking )
　　narrator:
　　but there are few schools
　　like this one;
　　(?? music ??)
　　the daunting problems
　　of women's status and rights
　　are compounded
　　in china's muslim regions.
　　the lives of xinjiang's
　　4 million uyghur women
　　are tightly circumscribed.
　　they're subordinate to fathers,
　　brothers, husbands.
　　they're not allowed
　　to pray in mosques.
　　the communist party promotes
　　women's interests and equality
　　through the all-china
　　women's federation.
　　interpreter for chang zhen:
　　for a long time,
　　it's been very rare
　　for uyghur women
　　to go much further
　　than their own front doors.
　　they live in a small world,
　　like frogs sitting
　　at the bottom of a well.
　　all they can see
　　is a tiny bit of sky,
　　so their outlook
　　is very narrow.
　　a woman is treated
　　as a man's possession.
　　it's the duty of a woman
　　to look after him;
　　whether it's work in the fields
　　or in the house.
　　she might bring in some money,
　　but she has no share in it.
　　it's taken as her duty.
　　only by giving women
　　financial independence,
　　can their status in society
　　and in the family be improved.
　　narrator:
　　the women's federation
　　tries to recruit village women
　　to earn money picking cotton.
　　but they'll have to leave
　　husband and family
　　for perhaps two months.
　　the road to emancipation
　　lies through a minefield
　　of prohibitions
　　and inhibitions.
　　narrator:
　　the women are
　　clearly uncomfortable.
　　and the reason is the presence
　　of their menfolk
　　staring at them.
　　some women
　　instinctively inch away
　　to sit with their men.
　　the men are then asked
　　to leave the courtyard
　　and that changes everything.
　　narrator:
　　the women now talk freely,
　　and horigul a腗a腡
　　seems to change
　　her position completely.
　　(?? music ??)
　　music ??)
　　t-paced
　　narrator:
　　the exodus of country women
　　to the high-tech cities
　　of china's southeast
　　is driven by factories' need
　　for labor,
　　not any policy of emancipation.
　　but for wu zhaoxia from hubei,
　　the result is the same.
　　she feels free
　　for the first time in her life.
　　interpreter for wu zhaoxia:
　　back home,
　　it gets so dark at night
　　that we can't see a thing.
　　you've got to have a torch.
　　but there's more going on
　　here in the evening
　　than during the day,
　　with bright lights,
　　hustle and bustle.
　　we can go to the disco.
　　with no work on sundays,
　　we can stay out
　　till 4 in the morning,
　　enjoying ourselves.
　　narrator:
　　wu zhaoxia is killing time
　　till 7 in the evening
　　when she'll go on night shift
　　for 12 hours.
　　she lives and works
　　at an electronics factory
　　in sanxiang,
　　guangdong province.
　　with overtime she can earn
　　the equivalent
　　of around $26 a week.
　　interpreter for wu zhaoxia:
　　if i can save up enough
　　from what i'm making here,
　　i'd like to go into business.
　　going home to work in the fields
　　like my parents?
　　they work from dawn to dusk
　　all year
　　with only 2,000 or 3,000 yuan
　　to show for it.
　　they wind up with a houseful
　　of crops and nothing else.
　　i don't think that beats
　　what i'm doing.
　　narrator:
　　her factory looks
　　and feels like a college campus
　　with shops,
　　library, coffee bar.
　　interpreter for wu zhaoxia:
　　i really like it here.
　　the facilities are much better
　　than at home.
　　we don't have a hot-water boiler
　　at home,
　　so it takes ages
　　to heat water for washing.
　　so i prefer it here.
　　i don't
　　like going home.
　　narrator:
　　relationships are formed here
　　without interference
　　by marriage brokers or parents,
　　anxious for a good match
　　close to home.
　　interpreter for wu zhaoxia:
　　i've got a boyfriend.
　　he's from shaanxi...
　　a long way from my home.
　　my parents aren't too happy.
　　they think it's a bit far away.
　　( speaking chinese )
　　( laughing )
　　narrator:
　　but not all employers
　　in guangdong province
　　are enlightened.
　　some factories
　　are sweatshops...
　　and not all workers are happy.
　　interpreter for qu ning:
　　they're away from
　　their families and relatives.
　　they don't have
　　a social support network,
　　so they're under
　　a lot of stress.
　　we hope our projects
　　can provide a support network
　　at community level
　　for women workers.
　　only to be cheated, kidnapped
　　and sold, or harmed.
　　it's happened because
　　they're not streetwise.
　　so we give them training.
　　on top of this,
　　we've also set up
　　a performance group
　　to stimulate and entertain them.
　　narrator:
　　the performers are drawn
　　from factory and workplace.
　　pang xijia is on
　　a production line making shoes.
　　interpreter for pang xijia:
　　i told my mom i've joined
　　the entertainment troupe here
　　and have a chance
　　to better myself.
　　i told her that i'm sometimes
　　unhappy working in the factory,
　　but things lighten up
　　once we all get together
　　for a show.
　　any stress just vanishes.
　　( lively chatter )
　　narrator:
　　on saturday nights
　　they put on a show
　　for 10,000 workers
　　in need of spectacle and escape
　　after an exhausting week,
　　assembling
　　the world's computers,
　　stitching the world's sneakers.
　　(?? women singing ??)
　　( applause )
　　the show
　　also contains propaganda--
　　made palatable by humor--
　　for an audience on the brink
　　of marriage and parenthood.
　　( laughter )
　　( laughter )
　　( loud yelling )
　　( man blowing whistle )
　　( laughter )
　　( man howling )
　　( laughter )
　　( applause )
　　narrator:
　　women's new lives
　　bring new tensions,
　　as they balance work
　　and family pressures
　　against their own health
　　and happiness.
　　interpreter for huang qiuli:
　　i've been here two years
　　and wanted to go home
　　the whole time.
　　i'm really homesick.
　　my mom phones,
　　asking me to come home,
　　but i can't
　　because i have to perform.
　　( crying )
　　i work in a kindergarten
　　and my voice has gone.
　　i've a cold
　　but no time to see the doctor.
　　i must apologize
　　for my performance
　　because i couldn't do it
　　as well as usual.
　　interpreter for yang xiaofang:
　　i work on the assembly line.
　　( suppresses a sob )
　　i'm sorry.
　　it's tough...
　　very tough.
　　( sniffs )
　　interpreter for peng jian:
　　i had never touched her hands.
　　but then i did once
　　when we were rehearsing a dance.
　　they're very rough
　　compared with ours,
　　as she has to grip
　　a cutting knife.
　　the back of the blade
　　rubs the palms of her hands
　　all the time.
　　that's why her hands
　　are so rough.
　　interpreter for yang xiaofang:
　　where i work,
　　we're not allowed to talk
　　between 6:08 in the morning
　　and 6:08 in the evening.
　　we can't talk.
　　that's why i can barely
　　string a sentence together.
　　interpreter for huang qiuli:
　　work's no less boring
　　since i joined
　　the performance group,
　　but when i think
　　of all the friends we've made
　　across the country...
　　we're at our happiest
　　in the evenings--
　　rehearsing, singing, dancing.
　　this is our best time.
　　(?? strings ??)
　　narrator:
　　back in beijing,
　　a month after the new year,
　　it's xiao zhang's day off.
　　she's gone to her sister's
　　restaurant in the suburbs,
　　where her husband,
　　xiao huang, works.
　　it's the only time in the week
　　they have together.
　　parting from their children
　　after the new year
　　is still fresh in their minds.
　　still raw.
　　interpreter for xiao zhang:
　　i was very upset.
　　i didn't let the children know
　　when we were going.
　　jinhui thought we were leaving
　　the day before,
　　so he kept following us around.
　　it was very upsetting.
　　our daughter
　　also tagged along behind.
　　she's older so that annoyed me
　　and i kept telling her off.
　　of course, she was very upset.
　　she just trailed around
　　after me.
　　i asked her
　　to take care of jinhui,
　　but she wouldn't.
　　she didn't say a thing,
　　but she must have been
　　very sad, deep down.
　　she just followed us around,
　　saying nothing.
　　interpreter for xiao huang:
　　jinhui called me
　　when we arrived in beijing.
　　i felt really bad.
　　he thought i'd phone him
　　when i got here.
　　he said,
　　"dad, when did you leave?"
　　"in the morning," i told him,
　　"you were still asleep."
　　he said, "you tricked me!
　　"you told me you'd take me
　　with you to beijing,
　　to go to school,
　　but you haven't!"
　　i felt awful.
　　interpreter for xiao zhang:
　　our children
　　need taking care of.
　　at least one of us
　　should stay at home.
　　(?? music ?? )
　　( child's voice calling )
　　( child calling louder )
　　( child calling louder )
　　( child's voice calling )
　　announcer:
　　visitpbs.org
　　for more on politics
　　and daily life in china,
　　environments at risk,
　　and behind the scenes
　　perspectives
　　with the filmmaker,
　　all atpbs.org.
　　caption technologies inc.
　　www.captiontech.com
　　(?? music ??)
　　major funding for
　　china from the inside
　　has been provided by
　　the corporation
　　for public broadcasting;
　　additional funding
　　is provided by:
　　...individuals, foundations
　　and corporations
　　committed to the production
　　and acquisition
　　of quality programs;
　　by:
　　a complete list
　　is available frompbs.
　　and by contributions
　　to yourpbsstation from:
　　
　　

2008-06-13 19:18:14 匿涔 (南昌) 　　LZ很强大啊,谢了