Lijia Zhang
Thank you for your questions, Jennifer. Yes, I did huge amount of research. Keenly aware that my middle-class urban existence is so removed from that of a migrant-worker, I knew I needed serious research.
I interviewed sex workers in Shenzhen, Dongguang, a neighboring city, Beijing and other cities where my travels took me to. I tried to make friends with them. But it is challenging. Their lives are very transient as they change from one massage parlor to another, from one city to another; they change their mobile numbers or they simply vanish.
My breakthrough came when I met a woman who called herself Lanlan at a conference on sexuality at Renmin University in Beijing. Lanlan, a former-sex-worker, now runs a NGO dedicated to female sex workers. She allowed me to work for her organizations as a volunteer. By doing so, I met and befriended quite a few girls. Some of them slowly opened up to me and shared many insightful details with me. I described this experience for Refinery 29. http://www.refinery29.com/amp/2017/01...
I interviewed sex workers in Shenzhen, Dongguang, a neighboring city, Beijing and other cities where my travels took me to. I tried to make friends with them. But it is challenging. Their lives are very transient as they change from one massage parlor to another, from one city to another; they change their mobile numbers or they simply vanish.
My breakthrough came when I met a woman who called herself Lanlan at a conference on sexuality at Renmin University in Beijing. Lanlan, a former-sex-worker, now runs a NGO dedicated to female sex workers. She allowed me to work for her organizations as a volunteer. By doing so, I met and befriended quite a few girls. Some of them slowly opened up to me and shared many insightful details with me. I described this experience for Refinery 29. http://www.refinery29.com/amp/2017/01...
More Answered Questions
Abigail Esbrook
asked
Lijia Zhang:
Hello, I am a student at the University of Michigan studying women in China 19th and 20th centuries. One thing that always complicates my studies is the lack of voices and recorded history of women in China. I adored Lotus and the ways in which you made the lives of the women in your book come alive. Do you have any advice for me on how to be a successful historian that shares the unheard stories of women in China?
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more