Winner 1987

Small Happiness: Women of a Chinese Village

Long Bow Group, Inc.

While the crack in the Great Wall has widened in the wake of “ping-pong diplomacy,” what has been missing is a detailed examination of the daily life and customs of Chinese culture. This is precisely what is provided by Small Happiness: Women of a Chinese Village. Carma Hinton, an American born and raised in China, makes use of more than ten years experience to earn the trust and confidence of women in a rural farming village, far from the realm of “official” statements and staged events. The result is a multifaceted inquiry into the persistent sexism of Chinese society, despite government reforms regarding marriage and birth control. For a program of exceptional merit (which recalls the landmark anthropological inquiries of Dr. Margaret Mead) a Peabody to Long Bow Group, Inc. for Small Happiness: Women of a Chinese Village.