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Dangerous Women: Warriors, Grannies, and Geishas of the Ming
Grannies, geishas, warriors, mystics, recluses, and predators_these are the dangerous women of traditional China. Through her exploration of the myth and history of the Ming, Victoria B. Cass brings their world brilliantly to life. In a culture that is resoundingly patriarchal, these women are a vivid counterpoint. Violating state-sponsored orthodoxies, the granny mocks and mimics, the geisha charms with her intellect, the warrior rules in icy superiority. Using new and freshly interpreted sources, the author leads us confidently into this surprising world, bolstering her erudite and engaging text with stunning color and black and white art of the period.
184 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 17, 2012
I must admit the title of this book put me off. I thought it was quite wrong that she was using a Japanese word to describe Chinese women, especially when the Japenese Geisha tradition is quite different to that of the Chinese Ji. I was also dubious as it wasn't published by a university press. However, I decided to get it as it was recommended by both Susan Cahill and Dorothy Ko who are two of the best scholars of Chinese women's history and if they praised it I thought it must be worth reading.
I really did enjoy it. Rather than focus on the traditional elite woman Cass looked at the women whose roles were outside the home, women who earned their living in a variety of professions. These women were courtesans, doctors, midwives, religious women, matchmakers, poets and artists. She drew on a wide variety of sources from historical accounts and essays, poems and fiction. The one criticism I had of the book was that she intermixed "fictional" and "non-fictional" accounts of women with little distinction between them. She also relied very heavily on men's writing about women rather than the writing that the women published. While she talked about the things that these women wrote a lot she didn't seem to quote enough from these sources. The book was only 120 pages which was too short. It would have been nicer if she could have expanded it further with more first hand accounts.
That said it was still very enjoyable and a huge help to me writing my story. Before I'd finished the first chapter I went to amazon and bought my own copy of the book. There were some parts that I found particularly interesting and helpful.
8-9 she talked about the city of Hangzhou and what the cities of Ming China in the south were like.
13 She discusses city life during the various festivals especially the lantern festival.
31 features a detailed description of a courtesan's room.
36-37 talks about courtesan's riding horses and cross dressing
39 talks about the artist Xue Susu who organised attacks on the Japanese
40-42 talks about the woman poet liu shi.
50 describes the work done by "grannies"
72-73 talks about a religious girl who her husband thought was posssessed but who was skilled at Taoist magic. as do 80-81
85 has a picture and a description of two women thieves
110-111 has poetry and descriptions of women travelling together.
There were many interesting passages. I'm really glad I found it.
I really did enjoy it. Rather than focus on the traditional elite woman Cass looked at the women whose roles were outside the home, women who earned their living in a variety of professions. These women were courtesans, doctors, midwives, religious women, matchmakers, poets and artists. She drew on a wide variety of sources from historical accounts and essays, poems and fiction. The one criticism I had of the book was that she intermixed "fictional" and "non-fictional" accounts of women with little distinction between them. She also relied very heavily on men's writing about women rather than the writing that the women published. While she talked about the things that these women wrote a lot she didn't seem to quote enough from these sources. The book was only 120 pages which was too short. It would have been nicer if she could have expanded it further with more first hand accounts.
That said it was still very enjoyable and a huge help to me writing my story. Before I'd finished the first chapter I went to amazon and bought my own copy of the book. There were some parts that I found particularly interesting and helpful.
8-9 she talked about the city of Hangzhou and what the cities of Ming China in the south were like.
13 She discusses city life during the various festivals especially the lantern festival.
31 features a detailed description of a courtesan's room.
36-37 talks about courtesan's riding horses and cross dressing
39 talks about the artist Xue Susu who organised attacks on the Japanese
40-42 talks about the woman poet liu shi.
50 describes the work done by "grannies"
72-73 talks about a religious girl who her husband thought was posssessed but who was skilled at Taoist magic. as do 80-81
85 has a picture and a description of two women thieves
110-111 has poetry and descriptions of women travelling together.
There were many interesting passages. I'm really glad I found it.
May 4, 2014
I do not doubt this book would make a good reference book for someone studying feminism in Ming Dynasty China but I have some quibbles about how this book is laid out and who it is intended for:
* I found a copy of this book in a neighboring public library system. This baffled me because as soon as you start reading it, the book is dense and better suited for an academic library. I can't imagine too many people into this public library asking for information about Ming Dynasty China, let alone how women were treated and portrayed in Chinese literature. With that being said, this book is not for the beginner. There is a lot of assumptions made here. You need more than a little cursory understanding of Chinese history to follow some of the discussion because the author automatically assumes you know already certain facts.
* That last bit really becomes a huge factor when trying to follow some of the author's arguments. She tends to rattle off examples combining real historical figures with idealized portrayals from mythology and folklore that I really had trouble distinguishing who was who.
* Maybe I need the "Dummies" version of this book but I just wanted to know in her conclusion whether women were perceived to be more "dangerous" in the Ming Dynasty than in the previous, especially the Yuan. My rudimentary understanding of Chinese history is that the Ming is considered one of pinnacle dynasties in Chinese civilization and I think I was expecting a bit more of a cultural and historical comparison.
* This last point maybe just a minor quibble here but I really question the authenticity of the photographed woman used on the book cover. Aside from the glaring fact that photography had not been invented during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD), the woman's style of clothing and her headdress did not appear to be from the Ming Dynasty. Check out this photo of Amy Tan's ancestor (http://www.wbur.org/npr/242926707/tan...) from the early 1900s and see if you can spot the similarities. Like I said, it maybe a minor quibble here but I found myself wondering why the book did not feature a woman wearing more authentic Ming Dynasty attire. If the book is meant to be a reference book, should it not be as accurate as possible?
* I found a copy of this book in a neighboring public library system. This baffled me because as soon as you start reading it, the book is dense and better suited for an academic library. I can't imagine too many people into this public library asking for information about Ming Dynasty China, let alone how women were treated and portrayed in Chinese literature. With that being said, this book is not for the beginner. There is a lot of assumptions made here. You need more than a little cursory understanding of Chinese history to follow some of the discussion because the author automatically assumes you know already certain facts.
* That last bit really becomes a huge factor when trying to follow some of the author's arguments. She tends to rattle off examples combining real historical figures with idealized portrayals from mythology and folklore that I really had trouble distinguishing who was who.
* Maybe I need the "Dummies" version of this book but I just wanted to know in her conclusion whether women were perceived to be more "dangerous" in the Ming Dynasty than in the previous, especially the Yuan. My rudimentary understanding of Chinese history is that the Ming is considered one of pinnacle dynasties in Chinese civilization and I think I was expecting a bit more of a cultural and historical comparison.
* This last point maybe just a minor quibble here but I really question the authenticity of the photographed woman used on the book cover. Aside from the glaring fact that photography had not been invented during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD), the woman's style of clothing and her headdress did not appear to be from the Ming Dynasty. Check out this photo of Amy Tan's ancestor (http://www.wbur.org/npr/242926707/tan...) from the early 1900s and see if you can spot the similarities. Like I said, it maybe a minor quibble here but I found myself wondering why the book did not feature a woman wearing more authentic Ming Dynasty attire. If the book is meant to be a reference book, should it not be as accurate as possible?
March 12, 2017
I shouldn't read such intricate material when I'm tired on a night shift, I didn't realise that Dangerous Women: Warriors, Grannies, and Geishas of the Ming was actually about Chinese women until I was fairly late into the Geisha chapter [tired sigh]. But it was an insightful look into the life of a geisha that I'd never have considered looking up, such as the warrior and recluse classes; viewing geisha as tragic heroes (especially in romance) hadn't occurred to me before until this book.
December 24, 2019
I LOVE THIS BOOK.
August 26, 2018
Interesting introduction into the lives of fictional and historical women of the Ming period who lived outside prescribed social roles and thrived.
The writing is overly dramatic and repetitive at times.
The writing is overly dramatic and repetitive at times.
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May 30, 2014305.40951 C343 1999
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews