Women and Concubines

AnonymousBashu Publishing House · ChinaJun 2024

2.0

Word count: 420 words
Chapters: 2

Summary

Concubine. From the Mao Commentary on “Lü Yi” in the Airs of Bei section of the Book of Songs: “what the woman made”; Zheng Xuan’s Han-dynasty commentary: “The woman is a concubine who usurps her rank.” From the Treatise on the Five Phases in the Book of Han: “Within, harm from palace women and concubines; without, disaster from rebellions among the various Xia states.”

Editor's review

This book takes the ancient status term nüqie (concubine) as its focus, beginning with commentaries and records in the Book of Songs, the Book of Han, and other classics to trace the term’s usage in classical and historical contexts. The cited passages from Zheng Xuan’s commentary and the Treatise on the Five Phases point respectively to ritual order and to the politics of portents: the former concerns the usurpation of status, while the latter links inner-palace identity to order and disorder in the realm, showing that nüqie was not merely a domestic role but a concept carrying ritual, ethical, and political meanings. The book’s value lies in using a single term as an entry point to show how ancient commentary traditions constructed an imagination of order through forms of address. It suits readers interested in classical studies, ancient gender, and institutional culture. Readers should place the commentary material back in the context of the original texts and note differences in what the term denotes across sources, rather than directly applying modern family concepts. Published by Bashu Press in 2024, this is closer to textual organization and conceptual inquiry than to popular storytelling, and it requires patience with Classical Chinese.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers of literature and history interested in ancient classical commentaries and ritual concepts
Researchers concerned with ancient gender identity and family status
Enthusiasts accustomed to reading Classical Chinese and willing to consult original sources

Not a good fit for

General readers expecting popular stories or character plots
Beginners without Classical Chinese who are unwilling to consult annotations
Readers hoping for direct conclusions on modern gender issues

Reading tips

First read the relevant passages in “Lü Yi” from the Airs of Bei in the Book of Songs and in the Treatise on the Five Phases in the Book of Han, then compare them with the commentaries to understand the meaning of the term.
Keep a notebook and excerpt uses of nüqie by source, comparing the ritual-order and portent-politics strands.
When encountering unfamiliar terms of address, consult dictionaries of Ancient Chinese and reference works on ritual institutions to avoid taking the words too literally.
After reading, restate the concept within ancient family and palace institutions to test whether your understanding is coherent.

About the publisher

Bashu Publishing House China · Founded in 1983

Bashu Publishing House is a publisher centered on collating and publishing classical Chinese cultural texts, with its main publishing areas covering classical literature, Eastern philosophy, ancient poetry, and educational classics. Its library currently holds 1,075 titles, including representative works such as Dream of the Red Chamber, the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Gathering, Renjian Cihua, and Out to the Frontier, involving authors such as Cao Xueqin, Wang Xizhi, Wang Guowei, Wang Changling, Liu Xie, and Yan Yu. These reflect the publisher's focus on literary classics, poetry criticism, and philosophical readings. Its publishing character lies in working around ancient texts and canonical works, with attention to textual collation and presentation. Public information on its more detailed publishing background and series plans is limited; this introduction is based only on the library's book information.

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FAQ

Is this book a story about the lives of concubines in ancient times?

No. According to the materials, the book focuses on classical usages of the term nüqie and on commentaries; it emphasizes textual and conceptual organization rather than narrating the lives of specific people, so readers should not expect a popular history.

Can I read it without any foundation in Classical Chinese?

You can try, but you will need reference works. The book involves Zheng Xuan’s commentary on the Book of Songs and records from the Book of Han, and Classical Chinese commentary poses certain difficulties. It is advisable to read modern translations and annotations of the original texts first, then turn to this book’s discussion; read slowly rather than quickly.

Are “Nüqie” and “On Warfare” related?

Both are anonymous, edited 2024 Bashu Press booklets of organized source materials, but their themes are independent: the former focuses on an ancient status term and its ritual and political meanings, while the latter centers on the view of war in the Methods of the Sima. They can be read separately according to interest.

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About the author

Anonymous Author

Anonymous is not a real personal name but a general Chinese designation for authors whose names are unknown, lost, or unsigned. Neither nationality nor dates of birth and death can be verified, and available public information is limited, so the works attributed to this name are the only basis for description. The collection holds 2,078 works under Anonymous, spanning medicine, classics, historical readings, ancient poetry, classical literature, and philosophy. Representative works include The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon: Lingshu, Mencius, The Book of Documents, Nineteen Old Poems, Complete Song Ci, and The Peacock Flies Southeast. Most of these works took shape through long transmission and editing, emerging either from collective folk creation or from authors whose names were lost over time. In ancient China, the Book of Songs, the Great Learning, and many popular storybooks and plays were signed Anonymous because their authors could not be traced. Anonymous works cross the classics, histories, philosophical writings, medical texts, and poetry; their subjects are broad, and their styles vary from archaic simplicity to clear naturalness, making them important and influential sources for understanding ancient Chinese thought, medicine, and literature.