想象我們生活在一個母系社會：那里女人才是主宰。土地歸女人所有，并由女兒繼承。沒有婚姻，更沒有一夫一妻制。在云南省麗江市瀘沽湖畔就有這樣一個部落。

By Rose Bolger

Imagine living in a matriarchal society where women make the important decisions, own and pass on land to their daughters and do not practice marriage or monogamy.

想象我們生活在一個母系社會：那里女人才是主宰。土地歸女人所有，并由女兒繼承。沒有婚姻，更沒有一夫一妻制。

That's what Choo Waihong, a corporate lawyer from Singapore, did for six years, off and on, after building a house among the Mosuo people in Yunnan province.

來自新加坡的企業律師朱偉鴻在云南摩梭部落里安了家，此后6年，她隔三差五地住在那里，就過著這樣的生活。

Most curious tourists spend more time getting to the Mosuo's home around Lugu Lake, a 7-9 hour drive from Lijiang, than they spend visiting. But that wasn't enough for Choo. She made it her second home, even becoming the god mother of a young Mosuo girl.

好奇的游客們大多從麗江開車前往瀘沽湖的摩梭人家。路上要耗時七到九個小時，比他們參觀的時間還長。但是朱偉鴻并不滿足于此。她在那里建了第二個家，甚至做了一位摩梭小女孩的教母。

While there have been documentaries and anthropological studies of the Mosuo tribe, no outsider has spent that much time simply being there and observing their lifestyle.

人們拍攝過關于摩梭部落的紀錄片，發表過相關的人類學研究報告，但沒有一個外地人曾在那里生活這么長的時間，觀察她們的生活方式。

She's written a book, The Kingdom of Women, and spoke recently at The Bookworm in Beijing. Often at the end of these sorts of talk, there's an awkward few moments where no one's brave enough in the audience to ask the first question. Not this time. About 20 hands shot up as Choo wrapped up. Clearly, a lot of people were having trouble imagining a society where the power imbalance is flipped.

她寫了一本書，名為《女兒國》，最近還在北京的“老書蟲”書店作了演講。通常這類演講結束時，總會出現一些很尷尬的時刻，因為觀眾們誰也不敢第一個發問。但這次與以往不同。當朱偉鴻結束演講時，大約有20人舉手提問。很明顯，很多人無法想象這樣一個權力顛倒的社會。

There was, of course, a lot of interest in the concept of the "walking marriage" that Mosuo people practice. Women may invite a man over at night time, but they must walk home by sunrise. The resulting children are raised in the mother's house, while the fathers remain living at their own mother's house.

當然，很多人對摩梭人奉行的“走婚”理念很感興趣。夜里女人可能會邀請男人來家居住，但是他們必須在日出之前走回自己的家。生下的孩子歸母家撫養，而孩子的父親仍住在自己的母親家里。

Interestingly, many of the questions about this matriarchal culture were about the men. Were they content with their second rate position? Have they ever rebelled? Did they do the cooking?

有趣的是，眾多有關母系文化的問題都是圍繞男性的。比如，他們對自己的二等地位滿意嗎？他們反抗過嗎？他們也做飯嗎？

No was Choo's answer to all three. Not surprisingly, she hadn't spent too much time worrying about how the men were faring. But from her observations she believes that they were happy enough to be free of responsibilities. They enjoy the benefits of the walking marriage as much as the women and tend to "strut around like peacocks" to attract the attention of the women.

朱偉鴻對這三個問題的回答都是“不”。不出意料，她沒花太多時間擔心這些男人過得如何。但據她的觀察，她相信他們很高興自己可以不受責任之累。他們和女性一樣享受走婚帶來的好處，努力“像孔雀一樣自我炫耀”來吸引女性的注意。

I'm skeptical that anyone, male or female, would be happier with a lower status based on their gender. Hence, women stood up to discrimination and continue to fight for equality. Why the Mosuo men have apparently not done that, even with a physical advantage, is interesting.

我認為任何人，不論男女，都不會樂意接受因性別而低人一等。因此，女性勇于面對歧視，并一直為平等奮斗。令人感興趣的是，為什么摩梭男性在即使擁有生理優勢的情況下，卻明顯沒有為此奮斗。

Choo noted obvious benefits for the ruling women like confidence, independence and healthy self-esteem. Qualities that are still often hard fought for in patriarchal societies.

朱偉鴻指出了女性處于統治地位時的明顯好處，比如自信、獨立和健康的自尊。在父權社會中，這些品質仍是難以爭取的。

Perhaps more intriguing is not the differences, but similarities between the traditional gender roles in Mosuo culture and patriarchal societies. Women may hold the power, but they still do the majority of cooking and cleaning, while the men are tasked with the physical labor. There is evidence that boys help raise their younger siblings, but women remain the primary carers. Why women still assume the domestic duties even as head of the household is another mystery.

也許最有趣的不是傳統性別角色在摩梭文化和父權社會中的差異，而是他們的相似之處。女性可能會掌權，但是她們仍然承擔著大部分的做飯和清潔工作。而男性還是從事體力勞動。有證據表明，男孩們可以幫助撫養他們的弟弟妹妹，但女性仍是主要的撫養人。為什么女性已是一家之主了，卻仍要承擔家務？這就變成了另一個謎題。

Even with Choo's special insight, she does not pretend to have all the answers. Rather her account is important because it raises these questions about the Mosuos and, in turn, encourages us to scrutinize and challenge our own way of doing things and society's treatment of men and women.

即使朱偉鴻有著自己的獨特見解，她也沒有假裝自己能解釋所有問題。但她講述的東西很重要。因為人們因此對摩梭人產生了疑問，相應地，這些故事還鼓勵我們審視和挑戰我們自己做事的方式，以及男人女人在社會中的待遇問題。

想象我們生活在一個母系社會：那里女人才是主宰。土地歸女人所有，并由女兒繼承。沒有婚姻，更沒有一夫一妻制。在云南省麗江市瀘沽湖畔就有這樣一個部落。

By Rose Bolger

Imagine living in a matriarchal society where women make the important decisions, own and pass on land to their daughters and do not practice marriage or monogamy.

想象我們生活在一個母系社會：那里女人才是主宰。土地歸女人所有，并由女兒繼承。沒有婚姻，更沒有一夫一妻制。

That's what Choo Waihong, a corporate lawyer from Singapore, did for six years, off and on, after building a house among the Mosuo people in Yunnan province.

來自新加坡的企業律師朱偉鴻在云南摩梭部落里安了家，此后6年，她隔三差五地住在那里，就過著這樣的生活。

Most curious tourists spend more time getting to the Mosuo's home around Lugu Lake, a 7-9 hour drive from Lijiang, than they spend visiting. But that wasn't enough for Choo. She made it her second home, even becoming the god mother of a young Mosuo girl.

好奇的游客們大多從麗江開車前往瀘沽湖的摩梭人家。路上要耗時七到九個小時，比他們參觀的時間還長。但是朱偉鴻并不滿足于此。她在那里建了第二個家，甚至做了一位摩梭小女孩的教母。

While there have been documentaries and anthropological studies of the Mosuo tribe, no outsider has spent that much time simply being there and observing their lifestyle.

人們拍攝過關于摩梭部落的紀錄片，發表過相關的人類學研究報告，但沒有一個外地人曾在那里生活這么長的時間，觀察她們的生活方式。

She's written a book, The Kingdom of Women, and spoke recently at The Bookworm in Beijing. Often at the end of these sorts of talk, there's an awkward few moments where no one's brave enough in the audience to ask the first question. Not this time. About 20 hands shot up as Choo wrapped up. Clearly, a lot of people were having trouble imagining a society where the power imbalance is flipped.

她寫了一本書，名為《女兒國》，最近還在北京的“老書蟲”書店作了演講。通常這類演講結束時，總會出現一些很尷尬的時刻，因為觀眾們誰也不敢第一個發問。但這次與以往不同。當朱偉鴻結束演講時，大約有20人舉手提問。很明顯，很多人無法想象這樣一個權力顛倒的社會。

There was, of course, a lot of interest in the concept of the "walking marriage" that Mosuo people practice. Women may invite a man over at night time, but they must walk home by sunrise. The resulting children are raised in the mother's house, while the fathers remain living at their own mother's house.

當然，很多人對摩梭人奉行的“走婚”理念很感興趣。夜里女人可能會邀請男人來家居住，但是他們必須在日出之前走回自己的家。生下的孩子歸母家撫養，而孩子的父親仍住在自己的母親家里。

Interestingly, many of the questions about this matriarchal culture were about the men. Were they content with their second rate position? Have they ever rebelled? Did they do the cooking?

有趣的是，眾多有關母系文化的問題都是圍繞男性的。比如，他們對自己的二等地位滿意嗎？他們反抗過嗎？他們也做飯嗎？

No was Choo's answer to all three. Not surprisingly, she hadn't spent too much time worrying about how the men were faring. But from her observations she believes that they were happy enough to be free of responsibilities. They enjoy the benefits of the walking marriage as much as the women and tend to "strut around like peacocks" to attract the attention of the women.

朱偉鴻對這三個問題的回答都是“不”。不出意料，她沒花太多時間擔心這些男人過得如何。但據她的觀察，她相信他們很高興自己可以不受責任之累。他們和女性一樣享受走婚帶來的好處，努力“像孔雀一樣自我炫耀”來吸引女性的注意。

I'm skeptical that anyone, male or female, would be happier with a lower status based on their gender. Hence, women stood up to discrimination and continue to fight for equality. Why the Mosuo men have apparently not done that, even with a physical advantage, is interesting.

我認為任何人，不論男女，都不會樂意接受因性別而低人一等。因此，女性勇于面對歧視，并一直為平等奮斗。令人感興趣的是，為什么摩梭男性在即使擁有生理優勢的情況下，卻明顯沒有為此奮斗。

Choo noted obvious benefits for the ruling women like confidence, independence and healthy self-esteem. Qualities that are still often hard fought for in patriarchal societies.

朱偉鴻指出了女性處于統治地位時的明顯好處，比如自信、獨立和健康的自尊。在父權社會中，這些品質仍是難以爭取的。

Perhaps more intriguing is not the differences, but similarities between the traditional gender roles in Mosuo culture and patriarchal societies. Women may hold the power, but they still do the majority of cooking and cleaning, while the men are tasked with the physical labor. There is evidence that boys help raise their younger siblings, but women remain the primary carers. Why women still assume the domestic duties even as head of the household is another mystery.

也許最有趣的不是傳統性別角色在摩梭文化和父權社會中的差異，而是他們的相似之處。女性可能會掌權，但是她們仍然承擔著大部分的做飯和清潔工作。而男性還是從事體力勞動。有證據表明，男孩們可以幫助撫養他們的弟弟妹妹，但女性仍是主要的撫養人。為什么女性已是一家之主了，卻仍要承擔家務？這就變成了另一個謎題。

Even with Choo's special insight, she does not pretend to have all the answers. Rather her account is important because it raises these questions about the Mosuos and, in turn, encourages us to scrutinize and challenge our own way of doing things and society's treatment of men and women.

即使朱偉鴻有著自己的獨特見解，她也沒有假裝自己能解釋所有問題。但她講述的東西很重要。因為人們因此對摩梭人產生了疑問，相應地，這些故事還鼓勵我們審視和挑戰我們自己做事的方式，以及男人女人在社會中的待遇問題。