Heroines of the Qing: Exemplary Women Tell Their Stories

245 Pages·2016·2.739 MB·Modern Language Initiative Books

by  Binbin Yang

Heroines of the Qing

Heroines of the Qing
exemplary women tell their stories
Binbin Yang
university of washington press Seattle and London
this book is made possible by a collaborative grant
from the andrew w. mellon foundation.
Publication of this book also was supported by a
Faculty of Arts Research Award from the University
of Hong Kong.
© 2016 by the University of Washington Press
20 19 18 17 16 5 4 3 2 1
All rights reserved. No part of this publication
may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or
by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopy, recording, or any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from
the publisher.
University of Washington Press
www.washington.edu/uwpress
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Yang, Binbin.
Title: Heroines of the Qing : exemplary women tell
their stories / Binbin Yang.
Description: Seattle : University of Washington Press,
2016. | Includes bibliographical references and
index.
Identifiers: lccn 2015042764 | isbn 9780295995496
(hardcover : alkaline paper)
Subjects: lcsh: Women—China—History—18th
century. | Women—China—History—19th
century. | Women authors, Chinese—History.
| Women—China—Intellectual life. |
Femininity—Social aspects—China—History.
| Sex role—China—History. | Power (Social
sciences)—China—History. | Virtue—Social
aspects—China—History. | Confucianism—
Social aspects—China—History. | China—
History—Qing dynasty, 1644–1912.
Classification: lcc hq1767 .y354 2016 | ddc
305.4095—dc23
lc record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015042764
The paper used in this publication is acid-free and
meets the minimum requirements of American
National Standard for Information Sciences—
Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials,
ansi z39.48–1984. ∞
To Fang Liu 方劉

contents
Acknowledgments ix
Note to Readers xiii
Introduction 3
1. Breaking the Silence: Cases of Outspoken
Exemplary Women 16
2. Visualizing Exemplarity: Women’s Portraits and Paintings
for Self-Representation 39
3. Staging Family Drama: Genealogical Writing
as Ritual Authority 87
4. Enacting Guardians of Family Health:
From Exemplary Wife to Reformer 117
Conclusion 155
Chinese Character Glossary 161
Notes 171
Bibliography 205
Index 223

acknowledgments
The completion of this book would be unimaginable without the very
generous help I have been fortunate to receive over the years. The
book is the result of a three-year research project, but my research
interest in “exemplary women” and their writings started over ten
years ago.
Professor Beata Grant has been my inspiration. She opened my
eyes to the extremely rich reservoir of women’s writings in late impe-
rial China and led me into this exciting research field by guiding me in
the key issues and questions raised by scholars and the useful angles
from which to approach these writings. During my long journey of
exploring this material, she was always generous with her time and
support and went out of her way to help me overcome many difficul-
ties. Her insightful mentorship and her powerful intellect are simply
exemplary.
I am tremendously indebted to Professor Robert E. Hegel for his
continuing support. He kindly offered to read my book proposal and
sample chapters several times, providing timely and astute responses.
His encouragement is one of the main reasons this book is now in print.
Professors Miriam L. Bailin, Letty L. Chen, Pauline C. Lee, and
Steven B. Miles were the readers of some of my earlier works, from
which I have drawn a few examples in writing this book. Professor
Bailin stimulated me to think about women’s situations in broader
cultural contexts. Professor Chen offered incisive suggestions about
the framework and organization of book projects in general. Profes-
sor Lee was full of support despite the shortcomings of my earlier
works. Professor Miles pointed out the significance of the histori-
cal sources concerning an exemplary woman from the Qing period,
which laid the first brick for this book project.
ix