A feminist reading of Chinese actress Liu Xiaoqing’s screen roles and life story

Liu Xiaoqing, a name known in almost every Chinese household,
symbolizes beauty and charm, female strength, avant-garde femininity,
female entrepreneurship, and also rebellion. Through both her on-screen
persona and her off-screen life, Liu Xiaoqing refects changes in the
thinking and behavior of contemporary Chinese women and the transformation of post-socialist Chinese society. From a feminist perspective,
and serving as a social and cultural icon of a “strong woman” in contemporary China, the Liu Xiaoqing phenomenon highlights the many
changes and trends in the lives of women in post-socialist China. As
an avant-garde female fgure in the post-Mao era, during which China
has opened up to the outside world economically and culturally, Liu
Xiaoqing’s case is worthy of an in-depth analysis. Her case illustrates how
Chinese women’s attitudes toward professional career success, love, marriage, and family issues have negotiated these ongoing vicissitudes and
changes; and how transformation of thought has led to an evolution in the development of feminist narratives and discourses in present-day
China.