The Kingdom of Women
Life, Love and Death in China's Hidden Mountains
Nonfiction, Travel, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, History
| Author: | Choo WaiHong | ISBN: | 9781786721709 |
| Publisher: | Bloomsbury Publishing | Publication: | April 27, 2017 |
| Imprint: | I.B. Tauris | Language: | English |
| Author: | Choo WaiHong |
| ISBN: | 9781786721709 |
| Publisher: | Bloomsbury Publishing |
| Publication: | April 27, 2017 |
| Imprint: | I.B. Tauris |
| Language: | English |
In a mist-shrouded valley on China's invisible border with Tibet is a place known as the 'Kingdom of Women', where a small tribe called the Mosuo lives in a cluster of villages that have changed little in centuries. This is one of the last matrilineal societies on earth, where power lies in the hands of women. All decisions and rights related to money, property, land and the children born to them rest with the Mosuo women, who live completely independently of husbands, fathers and brothers, with the grandmother as the head of each family. A unique practice is also enshrined in Mosuo tradition - that of 'walking marriage', where women choose their own lovers from men within the tribe but are beholden to none. Choo Waihong, a corporate lawyer who yearned for escape, ended up living with the Mosuo for seven years - the only non-Mosuo to have ever done so. She tells the remarkable story of her time in the remote mountains of China and gives a vibrant, compelling glimpse into a way of life that teeters on the knife-edge of extinction
In a mist-shrouded valley on China's invisible border with Tibet is a place known as the 'Kingdom of Women', where a small tribe called the Mosuo lives in a cluster of villages that have changed little in centuries. This is one of the last matrilineal societies on earth, where power lies in the hands of women. All decisions and rights related to money, property, land and the children born to them rest with the Mosuo women, who live completely independently of husbands, fathers and brothers, with the grandmother as the head of each family. A unique practice is also enshrined in Mosuo tradition - that of 'walking marriage', where women choose their own lovers from men within the tribe but are beholden to none. Choo Waihong, a corporate lawyer who yearned for escape, ended up living with the Mosuo for seven years - the only non-Mosuo to have ever done so. She tells the remarkable story of her time in the remote mountains of China and gives a vibrant, compelling glimpse into a way of life that teeters on the knife-edge of extinction
