Each story is remarkably direct and poignant, as when one woman reveals that she was deceived into marriage with a much older man she is traveling to meet. Is she happy now? "You can never be happy when you've been deceived," she says, the smiling voice breaking into grief.
Another interviewee, a middle-aged peasant, when asked what happiness is, replies with clarity, "Autonomy ... not being looked down on by others, not being afraid to be bullied, living honestly and in dignity, even modestly working hard to support oneself, all this can be happiness." His calm, resilient attitude goes far in explaining what makes it possible for thousands, millions of Chinese who continue to work so hard for what may seem to us sub-minimal standards of living.
