Red Is Not The Only Color, Part II

Summary: Red Is Not The Only Color is a collections of short stories, organized by Patricia Sieber, which depict and examine various relationships among women in modern-day China and displays the struggles they face with identity and same-sex intimacy.

Register: Lian Hanyi’s Lips (pg. 143- 147), translated by Kimberly Besio, is a story that displays the struggles Shuiping faces over her sexual identity, and her sexual past. The story opens with a very peculiar tone that depicts Shuiping’s insecurities about intimacy with another human being, particularly men. On page 143 it states, “A wave of uncleanliness swept through her” (143) .  This was her initial reaction when a man tried to get too close to her in an intimate way. The fact that the story starts off this way leads the reader to believe she has a strange fear of men and being intimate with them, but then goes on to describe her sexual past and her sexual partners and we find out that a fear of men is not exactly the case.

Qingwu is described as a very genuine and caring friend to Shuiping. She seems to cherish their friendship and would do just about anything for her. “Shuiping and Qingwu had been in the same class, “one the class president, one the vice president, they had sat, eaten, and lined up together” (145). This tight bond reminded me a lot of SaiSai and Jihang’s friendship in She’s A Young Woman and So Am I. They too had a very tight bond, where SaiSai fell for the Jihang in an intimate way.  This seems to be the case with Shuiping and Qingwu as well. As a reader, I could instantly tell that Qingwu held stronger feelings for Shuiping than just friendship, feelings perhaps that Shuiping was not aware of. I believe they saw their friendships in different lights, similar to SaiSai and Jihang’s relationship. Shuiping looked at Qingwu as a comfort and someone to rely on, a best friend. They studied together, ate lunch together and did what normal best friends do together.

However, Qingwu’s true feelings for Shuiping come out when she takes the plunge and kisses Shuiping – “Qingwu’s lips had already slid down Shuiping’s temple and fastened themselves tightly on her lips” (146).  Shuiping’s initial reaction was shock and disbelief. She could not believe what Qingwu had done and was outright disgusted by the intimate act between two friends. “You’re disgusting” (146) was the first thing out of Shuiping’s mouth, and “Qingwu is filthy” (146). This is what led to her obsession with her lips, and her whole mouth area in general. In the beginning of the story it describes that “Shuiping would brush her teeth five times a day…refuse to wear lipstick” (143), anything to draw attention away from where this shameful act was committed. It is as though she believed people could see the encounter between her and Qingwu through her lips and was determined to make her lips, and the whole incident, disappear.

The color of Qingwu’s lips near the end was also an interesting detail. They were explained as “dark red lips that radiated heat” (146). To me this convey’s an image of poisonous lips, lips full of shame and immoral actions – actions that Shuiping wants nothing more than to just rid herself of.  This is perhaps why she cannot hold an intimate relationship with a man because she believes that Qingwu has tainted her, has taken away her innocence.

I question whether Shuiping is obsessing over the cleanliness of her mouth and the avoidance of her lips to cover up what she truly feels inside. Perhaps the reason she is so shamed by what occurred between her and Qingwu on her lips is because she had the same feelings inside, which could also explain her timidness towards men. I think this would be a great topic to explore further.