short series

1970s: They Asked You to Mediate, But Everyone Divorced

share time: 2025-11-13 00:33:14

In 1978, at the state-owned factory's family compound, Lin Xiaoman, a new women's federation officer, took office with a copy of *Marriage Mediation Manual*, determined to "tie quarreling couples together." But her first case— a stingy husband hiding his wife's private savings— made her stand up for the wife and get the passbook back, only for the husband to slam the table and yell, "I can't live like this!" For the second domestic violence case, she taught the abused wife to write a "divorce application," and the wife actually returned with a red divorce certificate. For the third case of a cold-war teacher couple, she pleaded with them to communicate, but they both said in unison, "We've wanted to split for a long time." In just half a month, all three couples in the compound divorced. Lin Xiaoman was called in by the secretary for a scolding, but saw the divorced women shine: the abused wife opened a tailor shop, the teacher's wife got into normal college, and even the shy farmer's wife set up a street stall. It was then she realized— in 1970s marriages, what needed "mediation" most was never the conflicts, but the courage to tear up the old ledger of fear.

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