I received a free digital copy from the author/publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

The Kingdom of Women is a non-fiction book about author Choo Wai-Hong’s life living with the Moseo people in a mountainous region of China. Originially from Singapore, Choo Wai-Hong came across the Mosuo people when she was travelling and learned about their matrilineal society - meaning the unlike the rest of China, and a majority of the world, bloodlines are tracked through the female line rather than the man’s, and the eldest woman in a household is the head of the family.

“A Mosuo girl is born free from cultural and societal restrictions to party, laugh, lead, toil and love. She has no need to fight for empowerment because she is empowered from birth. She comes from a long line of empowered mothers, grandmothers and beyond, all revered as vital members of the community, headed at the pinnacle by their Mountain Goddess. In a way, she is so used to the idea of an empowered existence that she accepts it all ‘as is’,"

This was a fantastic and easy to read tale of one woman’s encounter with a different type of people. They were very separated from China’s normal society and definitely lived within their own set of rules - such as men and women taking lovers or axia’s with a long-term axia given the term a ‘walking marriage’ or sese instead of a legally bound marriage. The men lived with the women in their family their entire lives for the most part, and did not live with their axia’s - even if they had children. The men would help with nieces and nephews in their home but one often not have a huge role in their actual children’s lives because all children belonged to the females. And while this sounds harsh, it’s actually not.

“Understanding that the wellspring of new life resides in women, this society believes in the sanctity of women as representing life and light.”

I loved Choo Wai-Hong’s account of her time spent in the village from the way she became godmother to the entire Mosuo tribe to how she was able to experience their festivals, births and deaths as well as witness how the developed world and modern-day society slowly began to creep in and change the traditional way of life even in the six years she herself spent with them.

"I could at last settle in to what would become the spiritual home for my feminine soul”

The comparisons Choo Wai-Hong was able to give to how the Mosuo customs and traditions differerd between them and Chinese society - were women are looked down upon and not treated the same as men - was really interesting from an outsiide perspective and I liked that as an Asian woman, she could really spell out the differences and wonders that were the Mosuo people.

“In this female-dominated bubble, no one thinks it strange that I am a lone female who goes about happily on my own.”

I did feel sad at the end that things were changing, and I wished that hadn’t been the last chapter as it seemed like a downer to end on. I would have also loved to have seen commentary of sexual assault and if the Mosuo way of life, and their ideas about lovemaking, made it so very little assaults happened. That is just something I wondered about, with the way the community was with each other. I also would have loved to have know about the Mosuo people treated women who might not want children as it is definitely a norm that all women have children. It seemed for the most part a happy, peaceful place and one I would love to experience.

“I feel cocooned within a cosmos that allows and encourages me as a woman to be me without asking for more.”