Women shall not rule
Subtitle: imperial wives and concubines in China from Han to Liao
By: Keith McMahon
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Published: 2013
Language: eng
Number of pages: 295
ISBN-13: 9781442222892
Subjects: Mistresses; Politics and government; Concubinage; Women in politics; Emperors' spouses; Polygamy; Sex role; Biography; History
Description: "Chinese emperors guaranteed male successors by taking multiple wives, in some cases hundreds and even thousands. Women Shall Not Rule offers a fascinating history of imperial wives and concubines, especially in light of the greatest challenges to polygamous harmony--rivalry between women and their attempts to engage in politics. Besides ambitious empresses and concubines, these vivid stories of the imperial polygamous family are also populated with prolific emperors, wanton women, libertine men, cunning eunuchs, and bizarre cases of intrigue and scandal among rival wives. Keith McMahon, a leading expert on the history of gender in China, draws upon decades of research to describe the values and ideals of imperial polygamy and the ways in which it worked and did not work in real life. His rich sources are both historical and fictional, including poetic accounts and sensational stories told in pornographic detail. Displaying rare historical breadth, his lively and fascinating study will be invaluable as a comprehensive and authoritative resource for all readers interested in the domestic life of royal palaces across the world."--Publisher's website.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Prologue: Sexual Politics and State Politics; title: Part I. Early China, 1250 BC-317 CE; title: The Institution and Values of Royal Polygamy; title: Empresses and Consorts of the Former Han, 206 BCE-25 CE; title: The Later Han to the End of the Western Jin, 25-317; title: Conclusion to Part I: A Review of Themes from the Biographies of Empresses and Consorts; title: Part II. The Eastern Jin to the Reign of Wu Zetian, 317-712; title: The Period of Disunity, 317-589; title: The Sui and Early Tang Dynasties to Empress Wu, 581-705; title: Conclusion to Part II: The Question of Female Rulership; title: Part III. The High Tang to the Liao, 712-1125; title: The Tang from Xuanzong to Its Fall, 712-907; title: The Love Affair of an Aging Emperor and his Young Consort; title: The Five Dynasties, Ten Kingdoms, and the Liao, 907-1125; title: Concludion to Part III: Strong Women and Weak Men.