Description

Book Synopsis
This revelatory book shows how the influential and controversial Empress Dowager Cixi used art and architecture to establish her authority

Trade Review
“Artful Subversion offers a strikingly new picture of one of the most intriguing women rulers in Chinese history. Ying-chen Peng’s genius is to turn the conventional image of Cixi on its head by examining her art and building projects not as frivolous distractions but as the very means to effective rulership.”—Dorothy Y. Ko, author of The Social Life of Inkstones: Artisans and Scholars in Early Qing China

“Artful Subversion presents a panoramic view of imperial women’s history and art making and allows us to understand late Qing history from a woman’s perspective.”—Yuhang Li, author of Becoming Guanyin: Artistic Devotion of Buddhist Women in Late Imperial China

Artful Subversion

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    A Hardback by Ying-chen Peng

    £38.00

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    RRP £40.00 – you save £2.00 (5%)

    Order before 4pm tomorrow for delivery by Thu 29 Oct 2026.

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      Book details

      Publisher Yale University Press
      Published 14 February 2023
      ISBN-13 9780300263435
      978-0300263435
      ISBN-10 0300263430
      Also in:
      History of art Biography: royalty Asian history

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      This revelatory book shows how the influential and controversial Empress Dowager Cixi used art and architecture to establish her authority

      Trade Review
      “Artful Subversion offers a strikingly new picture of one of the most intriguing women rulers in Chinese history. Ying-chen Peng’s genius is to turn the conventional image of Cixi on its head by examining her art and building projects not as frivolous distractions but as the very means to effective rulership.”—Dorothy Y. Ko, author of The Social Life of Inkstones: Artisans and Scholars in Early Qing China

      “Artful Subversion presents a panoramic view of imperial women’s history and art making and allows us to understand late Qing history from a woman’s perspective.”—Yuhang Li, author of Becoming Guanyin: Artistic Devotion of Buddhist Women in Late Imperial China

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