The Birth of Chinese Feminism: Essential Texts in Transnational Theory (Weatherhead Books on Asia)

About this book

He-Yin Zhen (ca. 1884-1920?) was a theorist who figured centrally in the birth of Chinese feminism. Unlike her contemporaries she was concerned less with Chinas fate as a nation and more with the relationship among patriarchy imperialism capitalism and gender subjugation as global historical problems. This volume the first translation and study of He-Yins work in English critically reconstructs early twentieth-century Chinese feminist thought in a transnational context by juxtaposing He-Yin Zhens writing against works by two better-known male interlocutors of her time. The editors begin with a detailed analysis of He-Yin Zhens life and thought. They then present annotated translations of six of her major essays as well as two foundational tracts by her male contemporaries Jin Tianhe (1874-1947) and Liang Qichao (18731929) to which He-Yins work responds and with which it engages. Jin a poet and educator and Liang a philosopher and journalist understood feminism as a paternalistic cause that liberals like themselves should defend. He-Yin presents an alternative conception that draws upon anarchism and other radical trends. Ahead of her time He-Yin Zhen complicates conventional accounts of feminism and Chinas history offering original perspectives on sex gender labor and power that remain relevant today.