(Buy Shanghai Girls: Uncensored & Unsentimental on Amazon U.S. / Buy Shanghai Girls: Uncensored & Unsentimental on Amazon U.K. )
Mina’s Blog: www.shanghaigirlsecrets.com
Mina Hanbury-Tenison is the Shanghai-based American author of Shanghai Girls: Uncensored & Unsentimental. After graduating from Yale University with a degree in Literature, she went to Hollywood. She wrote two screenplays, Billionaire Days, a social satire about greed and ambition in California, and Furies’ End, about a band of female assassins. Since her move to Shanghai, Mina has worked as a freelance journalist and writer. She currently writes a social commentary column for Oriental Weekly. Mina’s hilarious book Shanghai Girls’: Uncensored & Unsentimental is a distillation of stories, anecdotes and tips that Mina has collected over a decade of friendship with her Shanghai girl-friend Lan Lan.
Mina talking about Shanghai Girls on NBC’s Today Programme
Mina Interviewed on NBCs Today Programme
The desire to marry into money may be a fairly universal phenomenon, but in China, it seems new. To a certain extent, that trend reflects the economic boom the country has enjoyed during the past two to three decades and the consequent embrace of materialism. “People have just gone crazy about money,” said Hanbury-Tenison.
On the other hand, a centuries-long tradition of matchmaking also means the Chinese are quite familiar with the concept of making a good match.
“In China, it’s always been about arranged marriages. When people marry it’s a social (and) economic link,” observed Hanbury-Tenison.
In other words, marriage here is sometimes still about more than simply two people falling in love. It’s about the merging of families and adding a certain patina to their social status as a result.
What at first glance looks like a materialistic attitude might also reflect a hard-hearted pragmatism, particularly in modern society, where studies show that often the single biggest source of conflict in relationships is money.
“Nobody just marries guys or girls, because they’re nice or like soul mates,” said Hanbury-Tenison. “But underneath all that language is the hard reality of life, which is: can you survive together at a level of lifestyle you want?”
Shanghai Girls:Uncensored & Unsentimental
“Shanghai is the focus of her risque read… she’s had women creased up with laughter and annoyed some of the husbands.” South China Morning Post
“…offers well-observed insights into how Chinese women in Shanghai move up the socio-economic ladder by marriage.” NBC
This is not for the faint-hearted, those who believe in knights-in-shining-armor, or those waiting for that call from Mr. Perfect. So stop reading if you are looking for tips on how to find the perfect husband or how to improve your love life. This blog is for ambitious women who are ready to take on the tricky, yet not insurmountable, task of marrying up.
For women , here is the book teach you how to make a good use of your own power , which including your beauty,your charming , to attrach men , made them service for you , yet, give you everything you ask for.
For men , this book can let you know more about women. The way how they think , what they really want and need.What’s more , once you know the way how they think , you can capture their heart more easier and handle the relationship between you and her, even every kind of women.
‘You can fall in love, but you must be smart enough to understand the feeling will pass and will always remain secondary to your ultimate goal of marrying up.’ This is just one of many tips in Mina Hanbury- Tenison’s Shanghai Girls: Uncensored and Unsentimental a new 144 page how-to guide that advocates the best ways to use marriage for monetary gain. It is, Tenison says, a ‘tribute to Shanghainese women and their gung-ho, take-no-prisoners attitude to upward mobility’. Read more
South China Morning Post Interview
Mina Hanbury-Tenison has two sons, aged eight and 11. While they are aware their mother has written a book, “they’re not allowed to read it” . she says on a quick trip to Hong Kong from her home in Shanghai. Shanghai is the focus of her risque read, a cheeky, humorour, or alternatively entirely offensive “guide” to how to snag men in order to become rich and then richer and go up in the world. Read more
What is it about those Shanghai Girls? Mina meets Su Fei of ‘Sexy Beijing TV.’