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.
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The narrative is fast paced, the stories gripping, the accompanying illustrations quite lavish. Most strikingly, the language of the book itself pulsates with life, rendering history immediate and figures of bygone times almost tangible. Locating the portraitures of Ming women within patterns of myth and culture, the book provides a taxonomy of feminine types (or antifeminine types, as the case may be). This is a very useful book to students of Chinese history, especially for those interested in the representation of the feminine in late imperial China. (Journal Of Asian Studies )
A fascinating read. This book makes Ming history come alive. Vicky Cass shows these extraordinary women full of energy and complexity. (Dorothy Ko )
Who could have imagined such a world of powerful women—read this book! (Lynn Freed The Mirror )
Anyone who is interested in learning more about the history of women should read these colorful portraits. (Booklist )
An important, original work. The scholarship is meticulous and thorough, the translations are both accurate and beautiful. The author has a wonderful way of connecting primary sources and ideas as she weaves a spellbinding tale out of literature, historical documents, art, popular culture, and religious texts. Dangerous Women provides a rare combination of academic excellence and a compelling narrative voice. (Suzanne Cahill )
The gems of insight Cass extracts from her radical rereading of the language and the imagery of Chinese women's lives in the Ming period, bolstered by her authoritative mastery of classical Chinese prose, make her book essential reading for anyone seeking ispiration for a feminist rewriting of Chinese history. (Pacific Affairs )
This book will be indispensable to serious students of the region and should be made available in college, university, and major public libraries. (American Historical Review )
The findings of Dangerous Women are convincing and informative, providing us with a more fine-tuned picture of women in the late imperial period. The argument is substantiated by elucidative and engaging translations of primary sources and is illustrated with contemporary prints making it an easy and enjoyable read, suitable for both scholars and students. Voices from a wide range of sources, such as literature, art, gazetteers, journals, and religious texts, are interwoven skillfully by Cass to restate old concepts and reveal new perceptions of "troublesome" women. (Nan; Brill, Leiden )
An excellent introductory text for undergraduates. (Journal Of Asian and African Studies )
A fascinating read. This book makes Ming history come alive. Vicky Cass shows these extraordinary women full of energy and complexity. (Dorothy Ko )
Who could have imagined such a world of powerful women—read this book! (Lynn Freed The Mirror )
Anyone who is interested in learning more about the history of women should read these colorful portraits. (Booklist )
An important, original work. The scholarship is meticulous and thorough, the translations are both accurate and beautiful. The author has a wonderful way of connecting primary sources and ideas as she weaves a spellbinding tale out of literature, historical documents, art, popular culture, and religious texts. Dangerous Women provides a rare combination of academic excellence and a compelling narrative voice. (Suzanne Cahill )
The gems of insight Cass extracts from her radical rereading of the language and the imagery of Chinese women's lives in the Ming period, bolstered by her authoritative mastery of classical Chinese prose, make her book essential reading for anyone seeking ispiration for a feminist rewriting of Chinese history. (Pacific Affairs )
This book will be indispensable to serious students of the region and should be made available in college, university, and major public libraries. (American Historical Review )
The findings of Dangerous Women are convincing and informative, providing us with a more fine-tuned picture of women in the late imperial period. The argument is substantiated by elucidative and engaging translations of primary sources and is illustrated with contemporary prints making it an easy and enjoyable read, suitable for both scholars and students. Voices from a wide range of sources, such as literature, art, gazetteers, journals, and religious texts, are interwoven skillfully by Cass to restate old concepts and reveal new perceptions of "troublesome" women. (Nan; Brill, Leiden )
An excellent introductory text for undergraduates. (Journal Of Asian and African Studies )
About the Author
Victoria B. Cass received her doctorate in Chinese language and literature from the University of California, Berkeley. She is associate professor of Chinese Language and Literature at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
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More About the Author
Victoria Cass
Victoria Cass specializes in the religions and literature of China. She received her Masters in Far Eastern Languages and Literatures from Yale University and her Doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley. Her book Dangerous Women, Warriors, Grannies and Geishas of the Ming was published in 1999 by Rowman and Littlefield to considerable review attention, and is used currently in college courses. It is in its second printing. Her most recent book is In the Realm of the Gods, Lands Myths and Legends of China. Victoria Cass has contributed to scholarly journals, as well as textbooks and encyclopedias, including the lead essay on women in religion for the Encyclopedia of Religion. She wrote the prefaces for two recent collections of Chinese myth and fantasy: Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, by Pu Songling and Chinese Ghost Stories, by Lafcadio Hearn.
She has given public presentations at a variety of venues: universities, museums, workshops, television and radio programs and bookstore events. She lectures on the subjects of women in traditional Chinese culture, especially the infamous women of China-- female mystics, courtesans, healers and women warriors-- as well as on urban popular culture of traditional China and on the popular religions of China. She has taught the Mandarin Chinese Language sequence as well as Classical Chinese Language, and has taught courses on Chinese literature and courses on Chinese culture. She received from the University of Minnesota the Distinguished Teacher Award in 1984. She was Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota in the Department of East Asian Civilizations for nine years and Associate Professor at the University of Colorado in the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations for nineteen years. She currently teaches Chinese literature and culture at Johns Hopkins University.
She has studied and worked in China since 1963, when she first studied Mandarin Chinese at the Mandarin Language Institute in Taibei and lived with a Chinese family. Since then she has completed additional language studies, graduate work, research projects and employment in China. For her book, In the Realm of the Gods she traveled to Shanghai, Beijing, Suzhou and Chongqing to meet with photographers to gather images.
Please see her website: victoriacass.com, or contact her at Victoria.cass@colorado.edu.
Victoria Cass specializes in the religions and literature of China. She received her Masters in Far Eastern Languages and Literatures from Yale University and her Doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley. Her book Dangerous Women, Warriors, Grannies and Geishas of the Ming was published in 1999 by Rowman and Littlefield to considerable review attention, and is used currently in college courses. It is in its second printing. Her most recent book is In the Realm of the Gods, Lands Myths and Legends of China. Victoria Cass has contributed to scholarly journals, as well as textbooks and encyclopedias, including the lead essay on women in religion for the Encyclopedia of Religion. She wrote the prefaces for two recent collections of Chinese myth and fantasy: Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, by Pu Songling and Chinese Ghost Stories, by Lafcadio Hearn.
She has given public presentations at a variety of venues: universities, museums, workshops, television and radio programs and bookstore events. She lectures on the subjects of women in traditional Chinese culture, especially the infamous women of China-- female mystics, courtesans, healers and women warriors-- as well as on urban popular culture of traditional China and on the popular religions of China. She has taught the Mandarin Chinese Language sequence as well as Classical Chinese Language, and has taught courses on Chinese literature and courses on Chinese culture. She received from the University of Minnesota the Distinguished Teacher Award in 1984. She was Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota in the Department of East Asian Civilizations for nine years and Associate Professor at the University of Colorado in the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations for nineteen years. She currently teaches Chinese literature and culture at Johns Hopkins University.
She has studied and worked in China since 1963, when she first studied Mandarin Chinese at the Mandarin Language Institute in Taibei and lived with a Chinese family. Since then she has completed additional language studies, graduate work, research projects and employment in China. For her book, In the Realm of the Gods she traveled to Shanghai, Beijing, Suzhou and Chongqing to meet with photographers to gather images.
Please see her website: victoriacass.com, or contact her at Victoria.cass@colorado.edu.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dangerous Women: Warriors, Grannies, and Geishas of the Ming,
By Isaac Dunham (New York, New York) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Dangerous Women (Hardcover)
"Dangerous Women," by Dr. Victoria Cass, is a fascinating exploration of important and contemporary subjects involving power structures and women's issues, set in the mysterious and powerful Ming Dynasty of China. I liked the combination of academic analysis with colorful storytelling, making the book interesting and informative, a rare accomplishment. The most difficult aspiration for a histrical analysis, though, is to relate the people and their norms with modern day cultures. Dr. Cass performs these duties with great success and the reader often feels directly connected to the cut throat politics, class issues, and power dynamics as they are described in this book. Whether male or female, any reader can empathize with the struggles and triumphs in the stories of this book, as I did.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An enlightening and enjoyable read.,
By
This review is from: Dangerous Women: Warriors, Grannies, and Geishas of the Ming (Paperback)
Dr. Cass has written a thoroughly enjoyable and informative book about women during the Ming Dynasty in China. Most important, she demonstrates with a wide range of historical examples that there is much more to Chinese history and culture than its Confucian legacy. Aside from eliminating the China doll myth, Dr. Cass shows that there is a facet to Chinese civilization that is still connected to the earth, magic, and more feminine worldview. Moreover, Dr. Cass makes the case that you can not truly understand Chinese society without appreciating the crucial role that Chinese women, who found genuine means of self-empowerment (including shamanism), played in the world of the Ming.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dangerous!,
By "monkeeeee" (Burlington, VT USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Dangerous Women: Warriors, Grannies, and Geishas of the Ming (Paperback)
With topics ranging from cult of qing, dramatis personae, Taoist eccentrics, Ming loyalists, Medicine women, matchmakers, to alme literati, etc, etc, Dangerous Women is unequivocally an indispensable resource for those who have an interest in Ming culture. I think it is one of the most rare inquisitions ever done in English on Chinese women.
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