Lexington Books
Pages: 396
•
Trim: 6⅜ x 9¼
978-0-7391-4514-2 • Hardback • June 2014 • $162.00 • (£125.00)
978-0-7391-9840-7 • Paperback • March 2017 • $72.99 • (£56.00)
978-0-7391-4516-6 • eBook • June 2014 • $69.00 • (£53.00)
Hsieh Bao Hua is professor of history at Western Oregon University.
PART I: CONCUBINES AND SERVANTS IN THE GENERAL POPULACE
Chapter One: The Dimension of Human Trafficking
Chapter Two: The Path of a Concubine
Chapter Three: Domestic Servants, Office Attendants, and Apprentices
PART II: IMPERIAL CONSORTS AND SERVANTS
Chapter Four: Booi Elite and Harangga
Chapter Five: Ming Serving-Women
Chapter Six: Qing Serving-Women and Eunuchs
Chapter Seven: Ritual Canon and Imperial Harem
Conclusion
Hsieh’s book examines concubinage and servitude in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, first among Chinese society in general and then in the imperial court…. In this study, however, Hsieh ambitiously expands her discussions to include the Qing, which means necessarily addressing the issues involving not only Han Chinese, but also Manchu and other ethnic groups, especially men and women in the banner system. Moreover, she addresses not only concubinage but a wide variety of servitude involving women, men, and eunuchs…. In fact, some of the best discussions in the book come from Hsieh’s comparison of how the differences between the Ming and Qing palace women would have contributed greatly to understanding the functioning of the inner courts of the two dynasties and the political power struggles that affected the entire country.
— Nan Nü: Men, Women and Gender in China