Yunnanese Matriarchy: Author Choo Waihong Talks About Her Stay With the Mosuo People, Aug 3 at The Bookworm

By nearly any standard, Choo Waihong appeared to be a successful, modern young woman. She had a prestigious degree. She worked in corporate law in Singapore. And she usually logged 15-hour days in a highly demanding and competitive environment. And yet she had to travel to a rustic Chinese locale and become acquainted with one of the world’s most isolated civilizations to experience a level of female empowerment beyond any she could ever imagine.

Indeed, her visit to the Mosuo community in Yunnan – as part of a trip to help Choo become more familiar with her Chinese heritage – lead her to become transfixed with those traditional villagers’ matriarchal lifestyle. Shockingly enough, Choo went on to spend six years there, become the godmother of a Mosuo girl, and incorporate that community’s multi-millennia of traditions into her life. That’s because the Mosuo, according to an official statement from Choo, “worship the female spirit, celebrate every aspect of womanhood and structure their social hierarchy according to maternal bloodlines” all of which “was a stark contrast to the male-dominated world of corporate law through which [I] had navigated for decades.”

Choo wrote a book about the experience, deriving its title from the moniker that many have given the Mosuo community. Indeed, The Kingdom of Women is an apt title for that memoir, which serves as the first such in-depth account of life in this one-of-a-kind Chinese matriarchal society. What’s more: Choo will visit The Bookworm on August 3 for a talk about her journey and the book that was borne from her experience there.      

Upon its publication this past spring, The Kingdom of Women was covered by outlets like The Guardian which called it “an accessible and sympathetic” account of a once richly traditional culture that is, sadly, transforming into a “tourist trap” as outsiders come to snap photos, pay to watch the locals to perform ritualistic dances and even greater, more tragic infringements on the Mosuo way of life.

“I believe the Mosuo women are strong enough to say, 'I demand the same thing of you that you demand of me,’” Choo said in a Q&A with The Straights Times about the unique matriarchs she met on her journey. Attendees of her Bookworm talk are sure to hear even more inspiring quotes from Choo as she recounts her experiences with these resilient female leaders in a remote corner besieged by encroaching, meddling tourists.

Choo will give a talk at The Bookworm on August 3 at 7.30pm. Tickets are RMB 50. For more information, click here. 

Photos: The Straights Times