Physicist studying abroad x old-style purdah
"It's not a house they're escaping from.
It is the entire life set for women in an era.
From Shanghai to Hong Kong and then to Kunming,
Beacon fire all the way, string singing all the way.
This is both fleeing and running;
It is parting and reunion;
It's two women,
In the tide of history,
The orchid and dream I built for myself. "
Purpose: A history of the growth of intellectual women in the Republic of China