I am currently studying my master’s degree in East Asian Studies and I’m starting to work on my dissertation, which is a comparison of autobiographical writings of Korean and Chinese women from the late 14th to early 19th century. As part of that project I obviously have to do a lot of reading and since I have a habit of writing all over my books when I’m studying, I like to either have a pdf or my own copy of books that I plan on using extensively (as opposed to just reading one or two chapters). This has led me to buy quite a few books about Chinese and Korean women’s writing and history in the past month or so, so I thought I’d share that with you this week.
I’m thinking of maybe doing a recommendations post at some point in the future once I’ve read more of them!
I’m linking this up to the Stacking the Shelves meme hosted by Marlene @Reading Reality, which allows us to share the books we’ve acquired (either bought, gifted or borrowed) each week – even though I don’t post each week, I enjoy being able to see what other people are excited about. Please see my first post for a discussion of why I don’t participate weekly/my concerns about book hauls and over consumerism.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at what I’ve been buying!
I have included links to purchase the books without supporting Amazon wherever possible! If you’re based in the UK, please use the Bookshop.org UK affiliate links and support independent bookshops (where not available on Bookshop.org, I have included an alternative independent bookshop you can buy from directly). If you’re international, Blackwell’s ship all over the world and the cost of delivery is included in the listed price, so no nasty surprises. Books etc. are useful for finding cheaper and rarer books as well, and also ship globally (free delivery in the UK). And of course, you can always request a book from your local library instead!
Herself an Author: Gender, Agency and Writing in Late Imperial China by Grace S. Fong
An examination of late Ming and Qing women’s poetry, travel writing and critical discourse on poetry reveals how women found self-empowerment and community through writing.
Precious Records: Women in China’s Long Eighteenth Century by Susan Mann
A study of gender relations in the Lower Yangzi region of China from the mid-17th to mid-19th century, examining women’s work in the farms, courtesan entertainment, and religion, as well as their use of poetry to express political and moral judgements.
Writing Women in Late Imperial China, edited by Ellen Widmer and Kang-i Sun Chang
A collection of academic essays on the lives of individual Ming and Qing women writers, the poetry of gentrywomen confined to the inner quarters, and how male writers situated women’s poetry in their writing.
Women Writers of Traditional China, edited by Kang-i Sun Chang and Haun Saussy
An anthology of Chinese women’s poetry and the prose writings that framed them (including prefaces, biographies and theoretical texts) from the Han dynasty (c.200 BCE) to the early twentieth century.
Women’s Poetry of Late Imperial China by Xiaorong Li
A study of how women in late imperial China expanded and complicated boudoir theme poetry, de-eroticising the traditionally feminine-voiced but male-written poetic genre to adapt its imagery for their own purposes.
Women and the Literary World in Early Modern China by Daria Berg
An exploration of the changing roles and perception of women in late 16th to 17th century China, which saw women emerging as consumers and producers within a newly booming publishing industry.
The Talented Women of the Zhang Family by Susan Mann
A biography of three generations of literary women from the Zhang family in the 19th century based on study of their poetry and memoirs.
Servants of the Dynasty, edited by Anne Walthall
A collection of essays about the women who lived and served in royal courts around the globe, revealing how royal courts maintained themselves through the reproductive and productive powers of women.
Women and Confucianism in Chosŏn Korea, edited by Youngmin Kim and Michael Pettid
A collection of essays on the strategies women employed to navigate a Confucian world in mid-sixteenth to early twentieth-century Korea.
Amazon UK (If you can find this secondhand locally, please do – I was unable to find it at any other UK retailer.)
Vision of a Phoenix: The Poems of Hŏ Nansŏrhŏn by Yang-Hi Choe-Wall
The biography and writings of one of the most famous premodern women poets from Korea – Ho Nansorhon – with commentary by Yang Hi Choe-Wall.
Shop this list on Bookshop.org UK and support independent bookshops.
If you are based in the UK and want to support independent bookshops, please consider buying the books on this list via my storefront on Bookshop.org UK. If you do, I get 10% commission and so do British independent bookshops (without affecting the price you pay).
If you can’t buy the books right now but want to read them, please check your local library (or request them)! Together we can keep these important community resources alive.
This instalment of Stacking the Shelves is a bit of a niche one, but I hope you enjoyed anyways. I’ve got some reviews in the works, so I’ll see you soon!
Keira x
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Keira's Bookmark 