Description

Book Synopsis

Untamed Shrews traces the evolution of unruly women in Chinese literature, from the reviled shrew to the celebrated new woman. Notorious for her violence, jealousy, and promiscuity, the character of the shrew personified the threat of unruly femininity to the Confucian social order and served as a justification for punishing any woman exhibiting these qualities. In this book, Shu Yang connects these shrewish qualities to symbols of female empowerment in modern China.

Rather than meeting her demise, the shrew persisted, and her negative qualities became the basis for many forms of the new woman, ranging from the early Republican suffragettes and Chinese Noras, to the Communist and socialist radicals. Criticism of the shrew endured, but her vicious, sexualized, and transgressive nature became a source of pride, placing her among the ranks of liberated female models.

Untamed Shrews shows that whether male writers and the state hate, fear, or lov

Untamed Shrews

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    A Hardback by Shu Yang

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    Order before 4pm today for delivery by Tue 20 Oct 2026.

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      Book details

      Publisher Cornell University East Asia Program
      Published 15 July 2023
      ISBN-13 9781501770616
      978-1501770616
      ISBN-10 1501770616

      Description

      Book Synopsis

      Untamed Shrews traces the evolution of unruly women in Chinese literature, from the reviled shrew to the celebrated new woman. Notorious for her violence, jealousy, and promiscuity, the character of the shrew personified the threat of unruly femininity to the Confucian social order and served as a justification for punishing any woman exhibiting these qualities. In this book, Shu Yang connects these shrewish qualities to symbols of female empowerment in modern China.

      Rather than meeting her demise, the shrew persisted, and her negative qualities became the basis for many forms of the new woman, ranging from the early Republican suffragettes and Chinese Noras, to the Communist and socialist radicals. Criticism of the shrew endured, but her vicious, sexualized, and transgressive nature became a source of pride, placing her among the ranks of liberated female models.

      Untamed Shrews shows that whether male writers and the state hate, fear, or lov

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