Chinese Femininities/Chinese Masculinities: A Reader (Asia: Local Studies / Global Themes) (Volume 4)

The past two centuries have witnessed tremendous upheavals in every aspect of Chinese culture and society. At the level of everyday life, some of the most remarkable transformations have occurred in the realm of gender. __Chinese Femininities/Chinese Masculinities__ is a mix of illuminating historical and ethnographic studies of gender from the 1700s to the present. The essays in this highly creative collection are organized in pairs that alternate in focus between femininity and masculinity, between subjects traditionally associated with feminism (such as family life) and those rarely considered from a gendered point of view (like banditry). The chapters provide a wealth of interesting detail on such varied topics as court cases involving widows and homosexuals; ideal spouses of early-twentieth-century radicals; changing images of prostitutes; the masculinity of qigong masters; sexuality in the era of reform; and the eroticization of minorities. While most of the essays were specifically written for this volume, a few are reprinted as a testament to their enduring value. Exploring the central role of gender as an organizing principle of Chinese social life, __Chinese Femininities/ Chinese Masculinities__ is an innovative reader that will spark new debate in a wide range of disciplines. pt. 1. Gender and the law (Qing dynasty). Femininity in flux: gendered virtue and social conflict in the mid-Qing courtroom -- Janet M. Theiss. Dangerous males, vulnerable males, and polluted males: the regulation of masculinity in Qing dynasty law -- Matthew H. Sommer -- pt. 2. Ideals of marriage and family (mid-Qing dynasty and early Republican era). Grooming a daughter for marriage: brides and wives in the mid-Qing period -- Susan Mann. "The truths I have learned": nationalism, family reform, and male identity in China's New Culture Movement, 1915-1923 -- Susan L. Glosser -- pt. 3. Gender in literary traditions (May fourth era to Reform era). Invention and intervention: the making of a female tradition in modern Chinese literature -- Lydia H. Liu. -- The self loving the self: men and connoisseurship in modern Chinese literature -- Wendy Larson -- pt. 4. Dangerous women and dangerous men (late Ming dynasty to early Communist period). Modernizing sex, sexing modernity: prostitution in early-twentieth-century Shanghai -- Gail Hershatter. Approximations of Chinese bandits: perverse rebels, romantic heroes, or frustrated bachelors? -- David Ownby -- pt. 5. The gender of rebels (Cultural Revolution). Maoist mappings of gender: reassessing the Red Guards -- Emily Honig. "Little brothers" in the Cultural Revolution: the worker rebels of Shanghai -- Elizabeth J. Perry, -- Nara Dillon -- pt. 6. Blood, qi, and the gendered body (Qing dynasty and Reform era). Blood, body, and gender: medical images of the female condition in China, 1600-1850 -- Charlotte Furth. Embodying qi and masculinities in post-Mao China -- Nancy N. Chen -- pt. 7. Shifting contexts of gender and sexuality (Reform era). Past, perfect or imperfect: changing images of the ideal wife -- Harriet Evans. Proper men and proper women: parental affection in the Chinese family -- William Jankowiak -- pt. 8. Gender, sexuality, and ethnicity (Reform era). Gender and internal Orientalism in China -- Louisa Schein. Tradition and the gender of civility -- Ralph Litzinger -- Afterword: putting gender at the center-- Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom,-- Susan Brownell. Contents List of Illustrations Foreword Introduction: Theorizing Femininities and Masculinities PART I . GENDER AND THE LAW (QING DYNASTY) Introduction 1. Femininity in Flux: Gendered Virtue and Social Conflict in the Mid–Qing Courtroom 2. Dangerous Males, Vulnerable Males, and Polluted Males: The Regulation of Masculinity in Qing Dynasty Law PART II . IDEALS OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY (MID–QING DYNASTY AND EARLY REPUBLICAN ERA) Introduction 3. Grooming a Daughter for Marriage: Brides and Wives in the Mid–Qing Period 4. “The Truths I Have Learned”: Nationalism, Family Reform, and Male Identity in China’s New Culture Movement, 1915–1923 PART III . GENDER IN LITERARY TRADITIONS (MAY FOURTH ERA TO REFORM ERA) Introduction 5. Invention and Intervention: The Making of a Female Tradition in Modern Chinese Literature 6. The Self Loving the Self: Men and Connoisseurship in Modern Chinese Literature PART IV . DANGEROUS WOMEN AND DANGEROUS MEN (LATE MING DYNASTY TO EARLY COMMUNIST PERIOD) Introduction 7. Modernizing Sex, Sexing Modernity: Prostitution in Early-Twentieth-Century Shanghai 8. Approximations of Chinese Bandits: Perverse Rebels, Romantic Heroes, or Frustrated Bachelors? PART V . THE GENDER OF REBELS (CULTURAL REVOLUTION) Introduction 9. Maoist Mappings of Gender: Reassessing the Red Guards 10. “Little Brothers” in the Cultural Revolution: The Worker Rebels of Shanghai PART VI . BLOOD, QI, AND THE GENDERED BODY (QING DYNASTY AND REFORM ERA) Introduction 11. Blood, Body, and Gender: Medical Images of the Female Condition in China, 1600 –1850 12. Embodying Qi and Masculinities in Post-Mao China PART VII . SHIFTING CONTEXTS OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY (REFORM ERA) Introduction 13. Past, Perfect or Imperfect: Changing Images of the Ideal Wife 14. Proper Men and Proper Women: Parental Affection in the Chinese Family PART VIII . GENDER, SEXUALITY, AND ETHNICITY (REFORM ERA) Introduction 15. Gender and Internal Orientalism in China 16. Tradition and the Gender of Civility Afterword: Putting Gender at the Center Contributors Index

The past two centuries have witnessed tremendous upheavals in every aspect of Chinese culture and society. At the level of everyday life, some of the most remarkable transformations have occurred in the realm of gender. Chinese Femininities/Chinese Masculinities is a mix of illuminating historical and ethnographic studies of gender from the 1700s to the present.
The essays in this highly creative collection are organized in pairs that alternate in focus between femininity and masculinity, between subjects traditionally associated with feminism (such as family life) and those rarely considered from a gendered point of view (like banditry). The chapters provide a wealth of interesting detail on such varied topics as court cases involving widows and homosexuals; ideal spouses of early-twentieth-century radicals; changing images of prostitutes; the masculinity of qigong masters; sexuality in the era of reform; and the eroticization of minorities. While most of the essays were specifically written for this volume, a few are reprinted as a testament to their enduring value.
Exploring the central role of gender as an organizing principle of Chinese social life, Chinese Femininities/ Chinese Masculinities is an innovative reader that will spark new debate in a wide range of disciplines.

Historians have long described notions of womanhood and the social conditions of women during the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) with reference to the so-called cult of female chastity.