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BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF CHINESE WOMEN: The Qing Period, 1644-1911. Edited by Lily Xiao Hong Lee, A. D. Stefanowska and Clara Wing-chung Ho (The Qing Period editor). Armonk (New York): M. E. Sharpe. 1998. xxxvi, 387pp. US$87.95, cloth. ISBN 0-7656-0043-9.
THIS collaborative work is a most welcome addition to the field of Qing studies, with contributions from more than eighty scholars and translators from several countries. The 175 entries illuminate the varied, and all too often forgotten, activities and experiences of women during the Qing dynasty@ The editors must be congratulated for the wide breadth of profiles encompassing empresses, authors, religious leaders and one pirate. While the dictionary may be considered primarily a research tool, the entries are eminently readable and promise to open many avenues for future research.
The dictionary is organized alphabetically with names in pinyin; characters are provided in pages 377-87. Pages xxv-xxxvi provide a "Finding List by Background or Fields of Endeavor" which is helpful for those seeking women by activity, while a separate section at the end of the book curiously segregates the "Biographies of the Consorts" - they are arranged according to the reign of their emperor-husbands. Each entry contains relevant names (courtesy names, official personal names and "style" names) and dates. Biographical material includes native place...