{"product_id":"women-writers-of-traditional-china-an-anthology-of-poetry-and-criticism-9780804732314","title":"Women Writers of Traditional China: An Anthology of Poetry and Criticism","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis anthology of Chinese womens poetry in translation brings together representative selections from the work of some 130 poets from the Han dynasty to the early twentieth century. To measure the development of Chinese womens poetry  one must take into account not only the poems but also the prose writingsprefaces  biographies  theoretical tractsthat framed them and attempted to shape womens writing as a distinct category of literature. To this end  the anthology contains an extended section of criticism by and about women writers. These poets include empresses  imperial concubines  courtesans  grandmothers  recluses  Buddhist nuns  widows  painters  farm wives  revolutionaries  and adolescent girls thought to be incarnate immortals. Some women wrote out of isolation and despair  finding in words a mastery that otherwise eluded them. Others were recruited into poetry by family members  friends  or sympathetic male advocates. Some dwelt on intimate family matters and cast their poems as addresses to husbands and sons at large in the wide world of mens affairs. Each woman had her own reasons for poetry and her own ways of appropriating  and often changing  the conventions of both mens and womens verse. The primary purpose of this anthology is to put before the English-speaking reader evidence of the poetic talent that flourished  against all odds  among women in premodern China. It is also designed to spur reflection among specialists in Chinese poetry  inspiring new perspectives on both the Chinese poetic tradition and the canon of female poets within that tradition. This partial history both connects with and departs from the established patterns for womens writing in the West  thus complementing current discussions of feminine writing.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67680998490165,"sku":"ByrdShop_0804732310","price":77.35,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780804732314.jpg?v=1792072802","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/women-writers-of-traditional-china-an-anthology-of-poetry-and-criticism-9780804732314","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}