Jing M. Wang's When “I” Was Born describes Chinese women's autobiographies in modern China. Most of the works examined in this book were written between the late 1920s and the 1940s. Wang proclaims that a genre – women's autobiography in China – emerged during this particular period, that is, in wartime.

The author graduated from Hebei Normal University in 1982 and received a master's degree from Beijing Foreign Studies University in 1988. After moving to the United States, she received a master's degree in 1995 and a PhD in 2000, both from Ohio State University, and is now an assistant professor of Chinese literature and language at Colgate University. When “I” Was Born is her first work, although before this, she had published a translation Jumping through Hoops: Autobiographical Stories by Modern Chinese Women Writers.

Wang begins this book by explaining the status of biography and autobiography in Chinese literary history. Biography was a genre within dynastic history; hence, in traditional China, biography dominated autobiography. The notion of selfhood in Confucian ideas also limited the growth of autobiography. From the mid-nineteenth century, the concept of the individual as a sense of self began to emerge in response to the traditional Confucian ethic, and it came to fruition in the May Fourth period. The May Fourth movement enabled Chinese women to become writers, and also laid the foundation on which they could write autobiographies. In other words, autobiography was a perfect new literary mode that was introduced into Chinese literary history at the time of China's modernization.

In my view, and in accordance with the above premise, Wang tries to clarify two literary currents throughout the book. The first current concerns how the translation of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Confessions contributed to the establishment of a confessional style in modern Chinese literature. The translator of Rousseau's Confessions was Zhang Jingsheng, who was persecuted because of his sensational work Xing shi (Sexual Records). Wang observes that Zhang obviously connects his personal misfortune with the persecution of Rousseau. Wang also refers to Su Xuelin (1897–1999), who was among the first generation of women writers and teachers in modern China. She has been unfairly neglected in Chinese literary circles because she was antagonistic to Lu Xun. Su Xuelin recognized that she had been influenced by Confessions. Because Wang cites only one instance – Su Xuelin – I would say that there are insufficient examples and evidence to support her hypothesis about the importance of the influence of Rousseau's Confessions on modern Chinese literature. Still, with due regard to the absence of confessional style in Chinese literature before modern times, I would assume that this is a very fascinating and possible perspective.

The other literary current concerns how Lin Yutang and his cohort played a decisive role in nurturing Chinese women's autobiographies in modern China. Lin Yutang and his cohort published many translations of western writings on life, mostly in their periodicals Yuzhoufeng (Cosmic Wind), Xifeng (West Wind), and Xishu jinghua (Western Book Digest). On one hand, they introduced Western writings on life; on the other, they called on their readers to write autobiographies and contribute to their periodicals. The result was the publication of four anthologies: Tamen de shenghuo, 1936 (Their Lives); Tiancai meng, 1940 (My Dream of Being a Genius); Fan long, 1941 (Prison House); and Gong zhuang, 1941 (Confessions). Nearly all of these short autobiographies were written by non-professional female readers. Needless to say, these writers were influenced by Western writings on life which had appeared in those periodicals.

Wang also emphasizes that Isadora Duncan's My Life served as a catalyst for the birth of Chinese women's autobiographies. First to introduce Duncan's My Life to China was Lin Yutang, who was definitely a perceptive observer. Su Xuelin (mentioned in the fifth chapter) and Xie Binying (mentioned in the seventh chapter) held My Life in high esteem.

The sixth chapter of this book examines Bai Wei's (1894–1987) Beiju shengya, 1936 (Tragic Life). Lin Yutang asked Bai Wei to write about her married life, and Tragic Life was the result. The seventh chapter examines Xie Bingying's (1906–2000) works. She is famous for Congjun riji, 1927 (War Diary), Yige nübing zizhuan, 1936 (Autobiography of a Female Soldier), and Xin congjun riji, 1938 (New War Diary). A part of Autobiography of a Female Soldier was published in Cosmic Wind. In this way, Lin Yutang had close relationships with the Chinese women writers who wrote autobiographies between the late 1920s and the 1940s.

Wang points out that, in those days, it was impossible for women writers to focus on self-representation in their writing because of the rise of leftist literary ideology and collective concerns. Nevertheless, the historical situation of the war decades gave rise to women's autobiography. Wang interprets this phenomenon a result of the ideological differences between liberalism and the leftist mainstream, as well as of the wartime economy. Moreover, she places a high value on Lin Yutang and his cohort's contribution to liberalism and individualism.

Wang's investigation of Lin Yutang's contribution and impact on the development of Chinese women's autobiographies is important work. She interprets these autobiographies as a product of the confrontation between the liberal intellectual's individualism and the left's wartime ideology, and her view is justifiable and convincing. Thus I think Wang is successful in clarifying one literary current in modern China.

However, I cannot accept the way in which she seems to expand her view to the general situation of Chinese women's autobiographies in this period, because it is common knowledge that left-wing writers also expressed autobiographical narratives. It is incorrect to say that they were concerned only with the collective, as Wang claims. For example, it is regrettable that the author does not consider Ding Ling, who is an important subject of feminist criticism. Ding Ling suffered from the conflict between the ideal model of the communist activist and her private life as an ordinary woman, and grappled directly with this problem. Her autobiographical narratives and her autobiography Wangliang shijie, 1987 (Monster World) deserve mention.

In my view, Su Qing's Jiehun shi nian, 1943 (Marriage of Ten Years) is another remarkable work. It presents simultaneously the private and social life of a woman who lived in the Japanese occupation area. The problem of the individual under occupation should not be explained by liberalism. Rather, I think it is a compelling kind of individualism, and is worth examining from a different perspective.

Reading this book, I was very impressed by the fact that female intellectuals sometimes avoid discussing their private life. Lu Yin (1898–1934) is famous for her novels in which characters plunge into free love, and throughout her Lu Yin zizhuan, 1934 (Autobiography of Lu Yin) importance of free love is emphasized. However, her actual marriage often proved an obstacle to her career, and her autobiography rarely refers to her private life. Su Xuelin and Xie Bigying are much the same. Although Su Xuelin married and had children, she isolated herself from her family and devoted her life to writing, research, and teaching. Xie Bingying regarded marriage as a revolutionary union. She seldom talks about her child who was born out of a failed marriage.

Writing itself was their true identity. It is true that the literacy that modernity gave them enabled them to express themselves. However, at the same time, it was difficult to connect their private life with the modern “self.” This fact probably shows that Chinese women's identity in modern times is very ideological and distant from their practical life, and also far from women's history.