ABSTRACT
A prolific writer, P'an Ch'i-chiin, known by her pen-name, Ch'i-chün, has published several dozen collections of stories, essays, and sketches. Childhood memories of life in her hometown of Yung-chia in Chekiang Province provide many of her favorite themes, but both in style and subject matter. Ch'i-chün draws on the classical literary tradition, which she studied in her youth and majored in at Chih-chiang University in Hangchou. In keeping with the best in the Confucian tradition, Ch'i-chün's mother educates her by being the role model of a proper mother and wife, and a moral human being, and by transmitting what she believes to be practical knowledge. Ch'i-chün highlights humanistic aspects of Chinese culture, and depicts family life in a far more sympathetic vein than most reformers and feminist critics. In the process, she suggests an interpretation of the family as sufficiently flexible to adapt to change, and to provide the emotional support needed in a period of instability and transition.
