Women in Qing China (Asian Voices)

Review Women’s history has been one of the most exciting fields of Chinese studies for the past several decades, and no period has received more attention than the Qing with its rich sources. Bret Hinsch draws on this scholarship and his own studies of earlier periods to sketch the many facets of women’s lives in this key period. Concise, readable, and lively, this book makes an excellent introduction to an important subject. -- Patricia B. Ebrey, University of WashingtonIn this well-written study of women’s history during the Qing dynasty—based on a wealth of primary and secondary sources in Chinese, Japanese, and Western languages—Bret Hinsch explores how issues of family and marriage, political and economic power, education, and morality affected female lives. Readers will appreciate Hinsch’s analysis of how the complexities of political events, social problems, and evolving intellectual trends of the last decades of Qing rule influenced the changing ideals of Chinese womanhood in the early twentieth century. This volume is full of rich insights which will not only be appreciated by undergraduates but also by general readers who want to know more about the roles of women in Chinese history. -- Harriet Zurndorfer, Leiden University Product Description This groundbreaking work provides an original and deeply knowledgeable overview of Chinese women and gender relations during the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912). Bret Hinsch explores in detail the central aspects of female life in this era, including family and marriage, motherhood, political power, work, inheritance, education, religious roles, and ethics. He considers not only women’s experiences but also their emotional lives and the ideals they pursued. Drawing on a wide range of Western, Japanese, and Chinese primary and secondary sources—including standard histories, poetry, prose literature, and epitaphs—Hinsch makes an important period of Chinese women’s history accessible to Western readers. About the Author Bret Hinsch is professor of history at Fo Guang University, Yilan, Taiwan. He is the author of Women in Ancient China, Women in Early Medieval China, Women in Early Imperial China, Women in Imperial China, Masculinities in Chinese History, Women in Song and Yuan China, and women in Ming China