Records of Gathered Treasures

Name: Records of Gathered Treasures
ISBN: 9787214038791

罗素恩Jiangsu People's Publishing House · ChinaMar 2021

4.3

Word count: 173K words
Chapters: 13
ISBN: 9787214038791

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Summary

Research on Chinese women's history has only just begun outside China, and the treasure trove of works by Chinese women still awaits exploration by scholars around the world. This book offers only a preliminary account of the feelings, beliefs, and everyday practices of these women during a brief historical period.

Editor's review

*Precious Records* is a classic work by the American sinologist Susan Mann. With deep scholarship and a distinctive female perspective, it unveils the lives of elite women in eighteenth-century Jiangnan. Rather than a simple historical narrative, the book draws on poetry, biographies, local gazetteers, and other diverse sources to construct a rich, three-dimensional world of women. Professor Mann skillfully combines macro-level socioeconomic change with micro-level individual experience, exploring how these women sought and established their own value and voice in a male-dominated society through literary creation, household management, and religious activity. Her readings of women's poetry are especially compelling, revealing not only their literary talent but also the multiple functions of poetry as a means of emotional expression and social exchange. Readers will gain professional knowledge of Qing women's history and a sense of humanistic concern that transcends time, offering important insights into gender relations and social structure in traditional Chinese culture.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Researchers and enthusiasts interested in premodern Chinese social history and women's history
Readers seeking to understand gender and power relations from a cross-cultural perspective
Literary scholars, especially those focused on women's literature and poetry
Readers curious about the social and cultural landscape of Jiangnan in the Qing dynasty

Not a good fit for

Readers looking for light entertainment
Readers seeking a systematic, chronologically organized general history

Reading tips

Begin with the introduction to grasp the author's core questions and methodology
Consult the endnotes and bibliography to explore the relevant scholarly context
While reading, consider comparing the circumstances of women in the West or other cultures during the same period

About the publisher

Jiangsu People's Publishing House China · Founded in 1953

Jiangsu People's Publishing House is known for works in history, literature and the social sciences. Judging from its catalog, it focuses on modern Chinese history, classical literary appreciation and scholarly research. Representative titles include historical works such as Kuomintang-Communist Cooperation and the National Revolution, 1924–1927 and A Record of Combat on the Front Lines of China's War of Resistance Against Japan, literary and visual documents such as Sun Wen's Illustrated Complete Dream of the Red Chamber, and scholarly collections such as Chen Yinke's Collected Works of Hanliu Hall. Translations such as The Dust Bowl and Anti-Intellectualism in American Life reflect an interest in overseas social and cultural studies. Its authors include historians Wang Qisheng, Huang Yuzhang and Guo Rugui, as well as figures associated with classical literature such as Cao Xueqin and Sun Wen. Common categories include history, literary appreciation, essays and miscellaneous writings, and social-science and cultural titles, showing a balance between historical scholarship and literature and between academic and popular publishing. Because public information is limited, this overview is based only on the books in the catalog.

版权信息
致谢
第一章引言
第二章社会性别
第三章人生历程
第四章写作
第五章娱乐
第六章工作
第七章虔信
第八章结论：贯穿于不同地域与时期的社会性别关系
附录清代女作家的地域分布
引用书目
译后记

FAQ

Is this book a novel or a scholarly work?

It is a rigorous work of historical scholarship based on extensive primary-source research, but it is elegantly written and vividly narrated, combining readability with intellectual depth.

Do I need a strong background in history to understand it?

The author provides the necessary background, so general readers can follow the analysis into the historical setting. A basic grounding in Chinese history will, of course, aid understanding.

Which period and region's women does the book mainly discuss?

The book focuses on elite women in the lower Yangtze region (especially Jiangnan) of China during the eighteenth century, the High Qing period.

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About the author

罗素恩 Author

Luo Suen is an author about whom little public information is currently available. Basic details such as nationality, dates of birth and death, education, and professional positions are not recorded in our database, and the name itself is the only confirmed identifying clue. Our collection includes one work by this author, a history title called Zhui Zhen Lu. Judging from its existing classification, the book belongs to popular historical writing aimed at general readers. Because relevant introductory materials are scarce, it is not yet possible to assess the author's writing style, use of historical sources, or academic background, nor to evaluate the work's specific influence among scholars or readers. For readers, the more reliable approach is to consult the text and arrangement of Zhui Zhen Lu directly in order to understand its narrative method and scope, while treating information about the author as pending further verification. It is hoped that as more material becomes public, Luo Suen's life and writing can be further clarified and supplemented.