DOCSLIB.ORG

A Comparison of the Representations of Women

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
A Comparison of the Representations of Women A COMPARISON OF THE REPRESENTATIONS OF WOMEN IN ZUOZHUAN AND SHIJI by XIUCAI ZHENG A DISSERTATION Presented to the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures and the Graduate School of the University of Oregon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy June 2012 DISSERTATION APPROVAL PAGE Student: Xiucai Zheng Title: A Comparison of the Representations of Women in Zuozhuan and Shiji This dissertation has been accepted and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in the Department of East Asian Languages and Literature by: Stephen Durrant Chairperson Maram Epstein Member Yugen Wang Member Ina Asim Outside Member and Kimberly Andrews Espy Vice President for Research & Innovation/Dean of the Graduate School Original approval signatures are on file with the University of Oregon Graduate School. Degree awarded June 2012 ii © 2012 Xiucai Zheng iii DISSERTATION ABSTRACT Xiucai Zheng Doctor of Philosophy Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures June 2012 Title: A Comparison of the Representations of Women in Zuozhuan and Shiji From Chunqiu and Zuozhuan to Shiji, women have experienced a downgrade of their formal status in historical records. In Shiji, women, the wives of dukes, lost their formal equality with their duke husbands in terms of being written into state history, as we see in Chunqiu. Their activities, including marriage, returning home, visits, and death, disappeared from Sima Qian’s history for the Spring and Autumn period, which focuses on the activities of male members of ruling lineages. A positive representation of women’s wisdom, eloquence, and authority is no longer in the interest of nor taken as a ritual part of history writing in Shiji. In the terms of representation of women, especially those from the Spring and Autumn period, in Zuozhuan and Shiji, Zuozhuan gave fuller representation of women than Shiji and its attitude toward women was more positive in comparison to the latter. First, Zuozhuan in many examples presented women as having authority, agency and initiative; in the Shiji versions of these stories, the roles of women were reduced in order to strengthen the agency of and focalization through the male members of a ruling lineage toward a goal of a linear logic of succession. Second, Shiji stressed the disruptive role of women in state affairs by intensively preserving the stories in Zuozhuan that associated women with political disasters and emergencies. Third, Zuozhuan had a non-gendered iv approach to the effect of women’s wisdom, knowledge and eloquence; it left space for complexity of characterization for women. In contrast, Shiji and Lienü Zhuan, where these stories in Zuozhuan were transmitted, emphasized a patterned understanding of women and produced gender role types. With the representation of women in Shiji, the effect of the agency of women in history is patterned. In Shiji, women’s agency is more closely connected to political disasters and negative political situations. In the limited representation of positive heroines, their good roles came from their virtue in being self-restrictive and submissive. It implies as a historical teaching in Shiji that the limitation of the political autonomy of women is a way to promise the success of lineage and tradition. v CURRICULUM VITAE NAME OF AUTHOR: Xiucai Zheng GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOLS ATTENDED: University of Oregon, Eugene Tsinghua University, Beijing, China DEGREES AWARDED: Doctor of Philosophy, East Asian Languages and Literatures, 2012, University of Oregon Master of Arts in Literary Theories, 2006, Tsinghua University Bachelor of Arts in Chinese Literature, 2003, Tsinghua University AREAS OF SPECIAL INTEREST: Early Chinese History Modern Chinese Poetry PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Diversity Fellow in Chinese, Western Washington University, 2011-2012 Graduate Teaching Fellow, Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures, University of Oregon, 2006-2011 GRANTS, AWARDS, AND HONORS: Research Grant, University of Oregon, 2006 vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to express sincere appreciation to the faculty in Chinese at the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures and the Department of History at University of Oregon for their assistance in the preparation of this manuscript. My deepest gratitude is due to Professor Stephen Durrant. This project would not begin without Professor Durrant. Professor Durrant has guided me through every stage of this project and has painstakingly edited my manuscript in its every version. Professor Maram Epstein and Professor Yugen Wang also have given me critical comments and helped edit my manuscripts. I am really appreciative of their valuable input and enlightening suggestions. I also thank Professor Ina Asim for her guide and encouragement. She taught me how to do research in the field of history which was completely new to me before the time that I took her class. At last, I sincerely thank Professor Tze-Lan Sang for her help on my English writing when I first came to University of Oregon. I take this opportunity to thank all of you for helping me along my research career at University of Oregon. vii Dedicated to my mentors, Professor Luo Gang and Professor Stephen Durrant viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 1 Introduction of Zuozhuan and Its Relation with Shiji ............................................ 1 The yin-yang Theory and Sima Qian ..................................................................... 11 A Summary of Chapters......................................................................................... 28 II. FROM WENJIANG TO EMPRESS LÜ ................................................................. 31 Women in the Spring and Autumn Period ............................................................. 32 The Image of Wen Jiang in Chunqiu ..................................................................... 47 Palace Women in the Early Han ............................................................................ 62 The Case of Li Ling and Two Witchcraft Incidents .............................................. 76 III. EMPLOTMENT AND AGENCY ......................................................................... 86 Replacement of Motivators .................................................................................... 89 Replacement of Actors ........................................................................................... 103 Replacement of the Power ..................................................................................... 117 IV. THEMES AND VARIATIONS ............................................................................ 129 Women’s Indiscreet Behavior and Political Disasters ........................................... 130 Women’s Partiality and Political Disasters ............................................................ 144 Rulers’ Favoritism of Women and Succession Upheavals .................................... 170 V. WOMEN’S ATTRACTIVENESS AND SPEECH ............................................... 197 The Discourse of Female Disaster in Shiji and Lienüzhuan .................................. 201 Women’s Attractiveness in Zuozhuan ................................................................... 218 Women’s Speeches in Zuozhuan ........................................................................... 237 ix Chapter Page VI. CONCLUSION..................................................................................................... 264 REFERENCES CITED ................................................................................................ 268 x CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Zuozhuan 左傳 (Zuo Tradition) and Sima Qian’s Shiji史記 (Records of the Grand Historian) are two of the most important historical works from early China.1 It has long been recognized that Sima Qian adopted abundant historical materials from Zuozhuan while writing the part of his history which concerns the Spring and Autumn period, but few people recognize how greatly Sima Qian deviated from this source text in his rewriting of the past. This dissertation is an attempt to discover differences between Zuozhuan and Shiji in tackling the same stories or topics in terms of the representations of women. Introduction of Zuozhuan and its relation with Shiji Shiji was composed by the Western Han historian Sima Qian司馬遷 (145-86? BCE). Some scholars, such as Wang Guowei王國維 and Gu Jiegang顧頡剛, have argued that some chapters in Shiji might have been composed by Sima Tan, but these disputed chapters are not in the focus of my dissertation.2 In my dissertation, I will take Sima Qian 1 The reference of the Chinese texts of Zuozhuan and Chunqiu is Yang Bojun 楊伯峻, Chunqiu Zuozhuanzhu 春秋左傳注 (Beijing: Zhonghua Shuju, 1990). This work will be referred to as CQZZZ in this dissertation hereafter. All the translations of Zuozhuan and Chunqiu in this dissertation come from a not-yet-published manuscript completed by Stephen Durrant, Wai-yee Li and David Schaberg with some minor changes. This manuscript is going to be published by University of Washington Press. My great thanks to these authors and especially to my advisor, Stephen Durrant, for offering me access to it.The referece of Chinese text of Shiji is the 1959 version of Shiji 史記 published by Zhonghua shuju 中華書局. 2 See Wang Guowei, “Taishigong xingnian kao”太史公行年考, in Guantang jilin (Shanghai: Shanghai 1 as
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Memorial on Annexation of Feudal States and Memorial on the Burning of Books, by Li Si (As Recorded by Sima Qian)
    Primary Source Document with Questions (DBQs) M E M O R I A L O N A N N E X A T I O N O F F E U D A L S T A T E S A N D M E M O R I A L O N T H E B U R N I N G O F B O O K S B y L i S i ( a s r e c o r d e d b y S i m a Q i a n ) Introduction Li Si (d. 208 BCE) was, along with the Legalist philosopher Han Fei (d. 233 BCE), a student of Xunzi (c. 310-c. 219 BCE) and an official for the kingdom of Qin. When Qin conquered the remaining feudal states of the Zhou dynasty and built a new, centralized empire, Li Si was prime minister to the first emperor, Qin Shihuang. As prime minister, Li Si had the opportunity to bring Legalist political philosophy to bear on the task of uniting and ruling the patchwork of now-conquered feudal states of the former Zhou kingdom. The memorials below are two examples of the policies that Li Si successfully urged Qin Shihuang to follow. The memorials, in the form that we have them, are recorded by the Han dynasty historian Sima Qian (145?-86? BCE). They may, therefore, reflect Han bias in either the choice made or the accuracy of the record. However, we have no alternative sources from which to compare the record and investigate the nature and extent of whatever bias may be present.
    [Show full text]
  • 2020-Commencement-Program.Pdf
    One Hundred and Sixty-Second Annual Commencement JUNE 19, 2020 One Hundred and Sixty-Second Annual Commencement 11 A.M. CDT, FRIDAY, JUNE 19, 2020 2982_STUDAFF_CommencementProgram_2020_FRONT.indd 1 6/12/20 12:14 PM UNIVERSITY SEAL AND MOTTO Soon after Northwestern University was founded, its Board of Trustees adopted an official corporate seal. This seal, approved on June 26, 1856, consisted of an open book surrounded by rays of light and circled by the words North western University, Evanston, Illinois. Thirty years later Daniel Bonbright, professor of Latin and a member of Northwestern’s original faculty, redesigned the seal, Whatsoever things are true, retaining the book and light rays and adding two quotations. whatsoever things are honest, On the pages of the open book he placed a Greek quotation from the Gospel of John, chapter 1, verse 14, translating to The Word . whatsoever things are just, full of grace and truth. Circling the book are the first three whatsoever things are pure, words, in Latin, of the University motto: Quaecumque sunt vera whatsoever things are lovely, (What soever things are true). The outer border of the seal carries the name of the University and the date of its founding. This seal, whatsoever things are of good report; which remains Northwestern’s official signature, was approved by if there be any virtue, the Board of Trustees on December 5, 1890. and if there be any praise, The full text of the University motto, adopted on June 17, 1890, is think on these things. from the Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Philippians, chapter 4, verse 8 (King James Version).
    [Show full text]
  • The Zuozhuan Account of the Death of King Zhao of Chu and Its Sources
    SINO-PLATONIC PAPERS Number 159 August, 2005 The Zuozhuan Account of the Death of King Zhao of Chu and Its Sources by Jens Østergaard Petersen Victor H. Mair, Editor Sino-Platonic Papers Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305 USA [email protected] www.sino-platonic.org SINO-PLATONIC PAPERS FOUNDED 1986 Editor-in-Chief VICTOR H. MAIR Associate Editors PAULA ROBERTS MARK SWOFFORD ISSN 2157-9679 (print) 2157-9687 (online) SINO-PLATONIC PAPERS is an occasional series dedicated to making available to specialists and the interested public the results of research that, because of its unconventional or controversial nature, might otherwise go unpublished. The editor-in-chief actively encourages younger, not yet well established, scholars and independent authors to submit manuscripts for consideration. Contributions in any of the major scholarly languages of the world, including romanized modern standard Mandarin (MSM) and Japanese, are acceptable. In special circumstances, papers written in one of the Sinitic topolects (fangyan) may be considered for publication. Although the chief focus of Sino-Platonic Papers is on the intercultural relations of China with other peoples, challenging and creative studies on a wide variety of philological subjects will be entertained. This series is not the place for safe, sober, and stodgy presentations. Sino- Platonic Papers prefers lively work that, while taking reasonable risks to advance the field, capitalizes on brilliant new insights into the development of civilization. Submissions are regularly sent out to be refereed, and extensive editorial suggestions for revision may be offered. Sino-Platonic Papers emphasizes substance over form.
    [Show full text]
  • The First Emperor: Selections from the Historical Records (Oxford
    oxford world’s classics THE FIRST EMPEROR Sima Qian’s Historical Records (Shiji), from which this selection is taken, is the most famous Chinese historical work, which not only established a pattern for later Chinese historical writing, but was also much admired for its literary qualities, not only in China, but also in Japan, where it became available as early as the eighth cen- tury ad. The work is vast and complex, and to appreciate its nature it is necessary to make a selection of passages concerning a particu- lar period. To this end the short-lived Qin Dynasty, which unified China in the late third century bc, has been chosen for this transla- tion as a key historical period which well illustrates Sima’s method. Sima himself lived from 145 bc to about 86 bc. He inherited the post of Grand Historiographer from his father, and was so deter- mined to complete his work that he suffered the penalty of castra- tion rather than the more honourable alternative of death when he fell foul of the Emperor. Raymond Dawson was an Emeritus Fellow of Wadham College, Oxford. He was Editor of The Legacy of China (1964) and his other publications include The Chinese Chameleon: An Analysis of European Conceptions of Chinese Civilization (1967), Imperial China (1972), The Chinese Experience (1978), Confucius (1982), A New Introduction to Classical Chinese (1984), and the Analects (Oxford World’s Classics, 1993). K. E. Brashier is Associate Professor of Religion (Chinese) and Humanities (Chinese) at Reed College. oxford world’s classics For over 100 years Oxford World’s Classics have brought readers closer to the world’s great literature.
    [Show full text]
  • Adaptive Fuzzy Pid Controller's Application in Constant Pressure Water Supply System
    2010 2nd International Conference on Information Science and Engineering (ICISE 2010) Hangzhou, China 4-6 December 2010 Pages 1-774 IEEE Catalog Number: CFP1076H-PRT ISBN: 978-1-4244-7616-9 1 / 10 TABLE OF CONTENTS ADAPTIVE FUZZY PID CONTROLLER'S APPLICATION IN CONSTANT PRESSURE WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM..............................................................................................................................................................................................................1 Xiao Zhi-Huai, Cao Yu ZengBing APPLICATION OF OPC INTERFACE TECHNOLOGY IN SHEARER REMOTE MONITORING SYSTEM ...............................5 Ke Niu, Zhongbin Wang, Jun Liu, Wenchuan Zhu PASSIVITY-BASED CONTROL STRATEGIES OF DOUBLY FED INDUCTION WIND POWER GENERATOR SYSTEMS.................................................................................................................................................................................9 Qian Ping, Xu Bing EXECUTIVE CONTROL OF MULTI-CHANNEL OPERATION IN SEISMIC DATA PROCESSING SYSTEM..........................14 Li Tao, Hu Guangmin, Zhao Taiyin, Li Lei URBAN VEGETATION COVERAGE INFORMATION EXTRACTION BASED ON IMPROVED LINEAR SPECTRAL MIXTURE MODE.....................................................................................................................................................................18 GUO Zhi-qiang, PENG Dao-li, WU Jian, GUO Zhi-qiang ECOLOGICAL RISKS ASSESSMENTS OF HEAVY METAL CONTAMINATIONS IN THE YANCHENG RED-CROWN CRANE NATIONAL NATURE RESERVE BY SUPPORT
    [Show full text]
  • The Poetic Theory and Practice of Huang Tingjian
    THE POETIC THEORY AND PRACTICE OF HUANG TINGJIAN BY LIANG DU B.A., HUNAN NORMAL UNIVERSITY, 1982 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS i IN THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Department of Asian Studies) We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA JULY, 1991 (C) LIANG DU, 1991 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Department of ^,A-A! S>Tc/P>/gS The University of British Columbia Vancouver, Canada DE-6 (2/88) ABSTRACT Huang Tingjian ffKpK<1045-1105) is one of the most important poets of the Song Dynasty. He is often associated with his contemporary Su Shi|||^ , just as the Tang Dynasty's most important poets Du Fu and Li Bai ^ are linked. Huang founded the Jiangxi School which exerted 150 years of influence _ i upon the creative theory and practice of succeeding generations of poets. Huang is also one of the most controversial poets in Chinese history. His position in poetic history and the controversy surrounding him, make it worthwhile to analyze his poetic theory and practice.
    [Show full text]
  • Constructing and Reconstructing Images of Chinese Women in Lin Yutang's Translations, Adaptations and Rewritings
    CONSTRUCTING AND RECONSTRUCTING IMAGES OF CHINESE WOMEN IN LIN YUTANG'S TRANSLATIONS, ADAPTATIONS AND REWRITINGS by Fang Lu B.A., Beijing Normal University, 1987 M.A., Beijing Normal University, 1990 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Under Special Arrangement Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences © Fang Lu 2008 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Spring 2008 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. Library and Bibliotheque et 1*1 Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-46812-8 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-46812-8 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par Plntemet, prefer, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans loan, distribute and sell theses le monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non­ sur support microforme, papier, electronique commercial purposes, in microform, et/ou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in et des droits moraux qui protege cette these.
    [Show full text]
  • The Paradigm of Hakka Women in History
    DOI: 10.4312/as.2021.9.1.31-64 31 The Paradigm of Hakka Women in History Sabrina ARDIZZONI* Abstract Hakka studies rely strongly on history and historiography. However, despite the fact that in rural Hakka communities women play a central role, in the main historical sources women are almost absent. They do not appear in genealogy books, if not for their being mothers or wives, although they do appear in some legends, as founders of villages or heroines who distinguished themselves in defending the villages in the absence of men. They appear in modern Hakka historiography—Hakka historiography is a very recent discipline, beginning at the end of the 19th century—for their moral value, not only for adhering to Confucian traditional values, but also for their endorsement of specifically Hakka cultural values. In this paper we will analyse the cultural paradigm that allows women to become part of Hakka history. We will show how ethical values are reflected in Hakka historiography through the reading of the earliest Hakka historians as they depict- ed Hakka women. Grounded on these sources, we will see how the narration of women in Hakka history has developed until the present day. In doing so, it is necessary to deal with some relevant historical features in the construc- tion of Hakka group awareness, namely migration, education, and women narratives, as a pivotal foundation of Hakka collective social and individual consciousness. Keywords: Hakka studies, Hakka woman, women practices, West Fujian Paradigma žensk Hakka v zgodovini Izvleček Študije skupnosti Hakka se močno opirajo na zgodovino in zgodovinopisje.
    [Show full text]
  • The Analects of Confucius
    The analecTs of confucius An Online Teaching Translation 2015 (Version 2.21) R. Eno © 2003, 2012, 2015 Robert Eno This online translation is made freely available for use in not for profit educational settings and for personal use. For other purposes, apart from fair use, copyright is not waived. Open access to this translation is provided, without charge, at http://hdl.handle.net/2022/23420 Also available as open access translations of the Four Books Mencius: An Online Teaching Translation http://hdl.handle.net/2022/23421 Mencius: Translation, Notes, and Commentary http://hdl.handle.net/2022/23423 The Great Learning and The Doctrine of the Mean: An Online Teaching Translation http://hdl.handle.net/2022/23422 The Great Learning and The Doctrine of the Mean: Translation, Notes, and Commentary http://hdl.handle.net/2022/23424 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION i MAPS x BOOK I 1 BOOK II 5 BOOK III 9 BOOK IV 14 BOOK V 18 BOOK VI 24 BOOK VII 30 BOOK VIII 36 BOOK IX 40 BOOK X 46 BOOK XI 52 BOOK XII 59 BOOK XIII 66 BOOK XIV 73 BOOK XV 82 BOOK XVI 89 BOOK XVII 94 BOOK XVIII 100 BOOK XIX 104 BOOK XX 109 Appendix 1: Major Disciples 112 Appendix 2: Glossary 116 Appendix 3: Analysis of Book VIII 122 Appendix 4: Manuscript Evidence 131 About the title page The title page illustration reproduces a leaf from a medieval hand copy of the Analects, dated 890 CE, recovered from an archaeological dig at Dunhuang, in the Western desert regions of China. The manuscript has been determined to be a school boy’s hand copy, complete with errors, and it reproduces not only the text (which appears in large characters), but also an early commentary (small, double-column characters).
    [Show full text]
  • Proof of Investors' Binding Borrowing Constraint Appendix 2: System Of
    Appendix 1: Proof of Investors’ Binding Borrowing Constraint PROOF: Use the Kuhn-Tucker condition to check whether the collateral constraint is binding. We have h I RI I mt[mt pt ht + ht − bt ] = 0 If (11) is not binding, then mt = 0: We can write the investor’s FOC Equation (18) as: I I I I h I I I I i Ut;cI ct ;ht ;nt = bIEt (1 + it)Ut+1;cI ct+1;ht+1;nt+1 (42) At steady state, we have bI (1 + i) = 1 However from (6); we know bR (1 + i) = 1 at steady state. With parameter restrictions that bR > bI; therefore bI (1 + i) < 1; contradiction. Therefore we cannot have mt = 0: Therefore, mt > 0; and I h I RI thus we have bt = mt pt ht + ht : Q.E.D. Appendix 2: System of Steady-State Conditions This appendix lays out the system of equilibrium conditions in steady state. Y cR + prhR = + idR (43) N R R R r R R R UhR c ;h = pt UcR c ;h (44) R R R R R R UnR c ;h = −WUcR c ;h (45) 1 = bR(1 + i) (46) Y cI + phd hI + hRI + ibI = + I + prhRI (47) t N I I I h I I I h [1 − bI (1 − d)]UcI c ;h p = UhI c ;h + mmp (48) I I I h I I I r h [1 − bI (1 − d)]UcI c ;h p = UcI c ;h p + mmp (49) I I I [1 − bI (1 + i)]UcI c ;h = m (50) bI = mphhI (51) 26 ©International Monetary Fund.
    [Show full text]
  • The Later Han Empire (25-220CE) & Its Northwestern Frontier
    University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations 2012 Dynamics of Disintegration: The Later Han Empire (25-220CE) & Its Northwestern Frontier Wai Kit Wicky Tse University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations Part of the Asian History Commons, Asian Studies Commons, and the Military History Commons Recommended Citation Tse, Wai Kit Wicky, "Dynamics of Disintegration: The Later Han Empire (25-220CE) & Its Northwestern Frontier" (2012). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 589. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/589 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/589 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Dynamics of Disintegration: The Later Han Empire (25-220CE) & Its Northwestern Frontier Abstract As a frontier region of the Qin-Han (221BCE-220CE) empire, the northwest was a new territory to the Chinese realm. Until the Later Han (25-220CE) times, some portions of the northwestern region had only been part of imperial soil for one hundred years. Its coalescence into the Chinese empire was a product of long-term expansion and conquest, which arguably defined the egionr 's military nature. Furthermore, in the harsh natural environment of the region, only tough people could survive, and unsurprisingly, the region fostered vigorous warriors. Mixed culture and multi-ethnicity featured prominently in this highly militarized frontier society, which contrasted sharply with the imperial center that promoted unified cultural values and stood in the way of a greater degree of transregional integration. As this project shows, it was the northwesterners who went through a process of political peripheralization during the Later Han times played a harbinger role of the disintegration of the empire and eventually led to the breakdown of the early imperial system in Chinese history.
    [Show full text]
  • Hebei Women's Normal Education Pioneers
    Hebei Women’s Normal Education Pioneers Hebei Women’s Normal Education Pioneers: One Century’s Fragrant Trace of Wisdom By Jianbing Dai and Yongyan Wang Translated by Sumin Zhang Hebei Women’s Normal Education Pioneers: One Century’s Fragrant Trace of Wisdom By Jianbing Dai and Yongyan Wang Translated by Sumin Zhang This book first published 2019 Cambridge Scholars Publishing Lady Stephenson Library, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2PA, UK British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Copyright © 2019 by Jianbing Dai and Yongyan Wang All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. ISBN (10): 1-5275-2209-1 ISBN (13): 978-1-5275-2209-1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface ....................................................................................................... vii Chapter One ................................................................................................. 1 Chinese Traditional Women 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Assisting One’s Husband 1.3 Educating One’s Children 1.4 Bearing Filial Piety to One’s Parents-in-Law Chapter Two .............................................................................................. 31 Modern Chinese Women’s Education 2.1 Introduction 2.2 The Development of Modern Women’s Education 2.3 Hebei Women’s Normal Education
    [Show full text]