Illustration: Lu Ting/GT

It is common to see a husband hurt a wife during a violent family dispute, but rarely do we see wives hurt their husbands. Chinese female celebrity Zhang Yuqi, who starred in the 2016 box office smash The Mermaid, was recently reported to have wounded her husband Yuan Bayuan with a fruit knife during a squabble.

The incident was confirmed by Shanghai police, and soon went viral online. The very next day the couple reportedly filed for divorce. The scandal was expected to become a public crisis for Zhang, as hurting one's own spouse with a knife is a shameful act of domestic violence regardless of gender.

Indeed, I too thought netizens would mock and criticize Zhang, as the scandal was exactly the kind of juicy gossip that Chinese netizens crave. But to my surprise, the dominant voices on Chinese social media did not blame Zhang.

On the contrary, many were impressed with Zhang's "courage" and "boldness," with even more individuals praising her clear-cut attitude to break up with Yuan - her second husband - immediately after the incident.

One Weibo blogger commented, "Though the men Zhang chooses [to marry] are not good, Zhang herself is good enough." Likewise, another netizen said, "I appreciate Zhang's character; she is so cool! She is beautiful and rich and she marries and divorces based on her own feeling; she doesn't care about how other people judge her."

Why have so many Chinese netizens, especially females, stood up for Zhang? A key reason, in my opinion, is that with the rising economic and social status of Chinese women, many are fed up with traditional Chinese values that say that women must endure an unpleasant husband rather than get a divorce.

An increasing number of Chinese women want to enjoy more decision-making power in their marriage, including who to marry, when to marry and when to end it. In this regard, Zhang fighting against her husband and then quickly ending her unhappy marriage are in accordance with the values and demands of a large proportion of modern Chinese women.

Zhang did what many Chinese women want to do but dare not; she therefore became an unwitting and unexpected role model for women who want to end the old, outdated values that say they must stay quiet and obedient.

Personally, I appreciate Zhang filing for her second divorce. Unlike in the West, divorce is still a deep shame in Chinese society, so many women place themselves in a passive position for their entire lives.

It is common to see Chinese female celebrities publicly forgive their philandering husbands after the men are caught cheating on them. For instance, Zhang Zetian, wife of JD.com founder Liu Qiangdong, posted on her WeChat after her husband was arrested in the US in September for allegedly raping a female university student that "as long as my family is together, it is completeness for me."

But unlike ordinary women, Zhang said no to any unhappy relationships and refused to play the role of good Chinese wife. She followed her heart and did what many other women dare not.

It is also noteworthy that, soon after the scandal, Zhang went right back to work. The failure of her marriage didn't seem to affect the mood and career of the 32-year actress. On September 27, Zhang appeared on a TV program looking as attractive and upbeat as usual.

I must say that I do not support Zhang's violent behavior. It is irrational to resort to any violent methods to deal with disputes. Regardless of one's gender, it is illegal to hurt someone with knives.

To conclude, what has made Zhang popular in China after her second divorce is her independent attitude toward marriage. She has inspired countless modern Chinese women to put themselves in an active position and end their unhappy relationships.

The opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Global Times.