Foreign Babes in Beijing
Encyclopedia
Foreign Babes in Beijing, subtitled Behind the Scenes of a New China, is a memoir
published in 2005 by Rachel DeWoskin
. Production is also underway on a movie of the same name based on the book, to be directed by Alice Wu
. The memoir details the author's personal experiences in Beijing
shortly after the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
as an actress in a Chinese soap opera. DeWoskin lived in Beijing from 1994 through 1999, and in that time watched the city grow and change as China modernized its economy.
The soap opera, entitled 'Foreign Babes in Beijing' (Chinese: 洋妞在北京, pinyin: yáng niu zài běi jīng) features two pairs of Chinese men and American women. In one of which, Rachel plays Jiexi, a seductress who lures away her married counterpart, Li Tianming. In another, a more demure and traditional exchange student falls in love and marries Li Tianming's younger brother. But the memoir follows DeWoskin's life as well as her character's plotline, and with an attention to detail and cultural analysis she inherited from her father, Kenneth DeWoskin, who was a noted Sinologist at the University of Michigan
. From romantic interactions to globalization, Rachel DeWoskin observes China from an outsider's perspective with candor and humor.
Memoir
A memoir , is a literary genre, forming a subclass of autobiography – although the terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are almost interchangeable. Memoir is autobiographical writing, but not all autobiographical writing follows the criteria for memoir set out below...
published in 2005 by Rachel DeWoskin
Rachel DeWoskin
Rachel DeWoskin is an American screen actress and author.DeWoskin was raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA, where she attended the alternative Community High School. The daughter of a Sinology professor at the University of Michigan, she majored in English and studied Chinese at Columbia University...
. Production is also underway on a movie of the same name based on the book, to be directed by Alice Wu
Alice Wu
Alice Wu is a Chinese American film director and screenwriter.-Personal life:Alice Wu was born on April 21, 1970 and raised in San Jose, California, then moved to Los Altos, California where she graduated from Los Altos High School at the age of 16. In 1990, she received her B.S. in Computer...
. The memoir details the author's personal experiences in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
shortly after the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, also known as the June Fourth Incident in Chinese , were a series of demonstrations in and near Tiananmen Square in Beijing in the People's Republic of China beginning on 15 April 1989...
as an actress in a Chinese soap opera. DeWoskin lived in Beijing from 1994 through 1999, and in that time watched the city grow and change as China modernized its economy.
The soap opera, entitled 'Foreign Babes in Beijing' (Chinese: 洋妞在北京, pinyin: yáng niu zài běi jīng) features two pairs of Chinese men and American women. In one of which, Rachel plays Jiexi, a seductress who lures away her married counterpart, Li Tianming. In another, a more demure and traditional exchange student falls in love and marries Li Tianming's younger brother. But the memoir follows DeWoskin's life as well as her character's plotline, and with an attention to detail and cultural analysis she inherited from her father, Kenneth DeWoskin, who was a noted Sinologist at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
. From romantic interactions to globalization, Rachel DeWoskin observes China from an outsider's perspective with candor and humor.