In the first decade of this century, the number of books on Chinese women and feminism has risen exponentially, but none of them puts weight on the multi-faceted nature of Chinese feminism. Does this term have plural forms? Ya-Chen Chen is successful in making explicit the plurality of the term. “What is Chinese feminism?” and “What is not Chinese feminism?” are two major questions that The Many Dimensions seeks to address. The book convincingly argues that “Chinese feminism is not one” (pp. 1–2, 213).
Drawing on fifty interviews with feminist scholars, detailed historical and textual analyses, and a wide range of secondary literature and periodicals, the book presents its argument through seven chapters. Chapter 1 briefly highlights a variety of experiences and expressions of Chinese feminism. The term, as Chen ambitiously states, should include “studies or activism about women or gender issues in as many periods and places as possible”...
