Research Catalog

Title

Celestial women : imperial wives and concubines in China from Song to Qing / Keith McMahon.

Author

McMahon, Keith

Publication

Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield, [2016]

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xxxiii, 277 pages; 24 cm

Summary

"This volume completes Keith McMahon's acclaimed history of imperial wives and royal polygamy in China. Avoiding the stereotype of the emperor's plural wives as mere victims or playthings, the book considers empresses and concubines as full-fledged participants in palace life, whether as mothers, wives, or go-betweens in the emperor's relations with others in the palace. Although restrictions on women's participation in politics increased dramatically after Empress Wu in the Tang, the author follows the strong and active women, of both high and low rank, who continued to appear. They counseled emperors, ghostwrote for them, oversaw succession when they died, and dominated them when they were weak. They influenced the emperor's relationships with other women and enhanced their aura and that of the royal house with their acts of artistic and religious patronage. Dynastic history ended in China when the prohibition that women should not rule was defied for the final time by Dowager Cixi, the last great monarch before China's transformation into a republic"--Provided by publisher.

Subject

• Emperors' spouses > China > History
• Mistresses > China > History
• Polygamy > Political aspects > History. > China
• Concubinage > China > History
• Emperors' spouses > China > Biography
• Mistresses > China > Biography
• Women > Political activity > History. > China
• Sex role > China > History
• China > Politics and government > 960-1644
• China > Politics and government > 1644-1912

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents

Prologue: After Wu Zetian -- Part 1. The Song, Jin, and Yuan dynasties, 960-1368 -- The Song dynasty -- The Jin and Yuan dynasties, 1115-1368 -- Part 2. The Ming dynasty, 1368-1644 -- From founder to 1505 -- Three intemperate rulers, 1506-1572 -- The last Ming emperors, 1573-1644 -- Conclusion: Giving reign to imperial will -- Part 3. The Qing dynasty, 1644-1911 -- The founding of the Qing, 1636-1722 -- From Yongzheng to Xianfeng (1722-1861) -- Empress Dowager Cixi (1835-1908) -- Conclusion: The lack of good sons -- Conclusion to part 3 -- Appendix.

Call Number

JFE 16-9445

ISBN

• 9781442255012
• 1442255013

LCCN

2015048441

OCLC

928606357

Author

McMahon, Keith, author.

Title

Celestial women : imperial wives and concubines in China from Song to Qing / Keith McMahon.

Publisher

Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield, [2016]

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Form:

Online version: McMahon, Keith. Celestial women. Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield, 2016 9781442255029 (DLC) 2016006597

Research Call Number

JFE 16-9445