Women in Qing China

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

This survey of women’s history during China’s Qing era (1644–1912) is one in a series and follows the pattern that Hinsch has established in works on earlier dynasties and eras. The introduction provides an overview of the Qing era, with attention to changes in gender dynamics. Thematic chapters follow addressing family life, marriage, government policies relating to women, women’s economic status, women’s education, conceptions of female virtue, and predominant cultural images of women. The final chapter examines the transformation in thinking about women that accompanied the collapse of the Qing in the decades around 1900, as Chinese people encountered and promoted new concepts of citizenship and social equality. Concise and well written, this book will be useful in courses on the Qing and on women’s history. Topics such as the cult of chastity, foot-binding, and gynecology are discussed with reference to current scholarship. Translations of primary sources, such as poetry illuminating women’s lives, enliven the text. The excellent bibliography encompasses the most important studies on Qing women’s history in English and Chinese. Recommended. General readers through faculty; professionals.

• Introduction1 Family2 Marriage 3 Government 4 Wealth 5 Education 6 Virtue 7 Image 8 The Late Qing Conclusion Glossary Notes Bibliography Index