“Shen Xue and Her Daughter” is a literary novel that follows the lives of a mother and her daughter from the early years of the People’s Republic of China to the period just before the year 2000. Due to their particular family background and social identity, the two women endure prolonged injustice, enforced silence, and personal loss amid decades of political and social turbulence.
Through the personal fates of these two women, the novel depicts China’s transformation from a society dominated by political movements to one increasingly centered on economic development. It portrays how ordinary people strive to live with dignity in an environment shaped by persistent ideology and political campaigns. Rather than focusing solely on grand historical events, Fate presents modern Chinese history through individual humanity and emotional experience.