Death of Woman Wang, The [Paperback]

Jonathan D. Spence (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 014005121X | ISBN-13: 978-0140051216 | Publication Date: September 1, 1996 | Edition: Edition Unstated

Award-winning author Jonathan D. Spence paints a vivid picture of an obscure place and time: provincial China in the seventeenth century. Life in the northeastern county of T'an-ch'eng emerges here as an endless cycle of floods, plagues, crop failures, banditry, and heavy taxation. Against this turbulent background a tenacious tax collector, an irascible farmer, and an unhappy wife act out a poignant drama at whose climax the wife, having run away from her husband, returns to him, only to die at his hands. Magnificently evoking the China of long ago, The Death of Woman Wang also deepens our understanding of the China we know today.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An unforgettable book of historical re-creation"
—The New Republic

"Whether judged as fiction or as historical reconstruction, [this] is a masterpiece of style and narration."
—Harold Bloom

About the Author

Jonathan Spence's eleven books on Chinese history include The Gate of Heavenly Peace, Treason by the Book, and The Death of Woman Wang. His awards include a Guggenheim and a MacArthur Fellowship. He teaches at Yale University.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics); Edition Unstated edition (September 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 014005121X
• ISBN-13: 978-0140051216
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #19,458 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #26 in Books > History > Asia > China

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unconventional Approach that Succeeds in Bringing History to Life, December 14, 2008

By 

Brad Hoevel (Saginaw) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Death of Woman Wang, The (Paperback)

Jonathan D. Spence is the Sterling Professor of History at Yale University and is an expert on modern Chinese History (~1600-present). In _The Death of Woman Wang_ Spence explores many facets of Chinese society during the later part of the 17th century.

The book examines three sources that focus on what in all honesty are historically insignificant events that took place in the obscure T'an-ch'eng county (Shandong province) over a span of four years (1668-1672). Each of the three sources allow Spence to illuminate certain different aspects of Chinese society. The sources and what they each reveal are as follows:
(1) A Gazetteer compiled by an elite neo-Confucian scholar-bureaucrat (Jinshi) that recieved the highest possible...think of the gazetteer as state propaganda. Spence draws from a section of the gazetteer entitled "Biographies of Virtuous Women." The biographies contain accounts of chaste women, some of whom committ suicide in order to preserve their virtue--the government praised them for doing so.

(2) A diary of the county's magistrate. The gazetteer, because it is propaganda, is highly skewed. The writings of the magistrate allow us to see how the laws and expectations of elite society translate to a rural reality.

(3) Third, are various works of fiction by the well known author P'u Sung-ling. The most unorthodox of Spence's sources, P'u Sung-ling's stories allow insights into Chinese society that are not found in the more traditional sources.

Unlike most histories, this book focuses on people, events, and places that are unremarkable. This approach ultimately allows the author to present a relatively complete view of Chinese society, including many of its problems. Among the aspects that are present here are: Gender relations; knowledge about neo-Confucianism; the relationship between family and society; social problems such as natural disasters and banditry; and inner workings of the Chinese bureaucracy--notably tax collection.

If you are interested in Chinese society then you really need to read this book. In apx 160 pages this book paints a complex and accurate picture of Chinese society in the late 17th century.


Follow this link to learn more about Spence:
http://www.historians.org/info/AHA_History/spencebio.cfm

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good historical references, March 15, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Death of Woman Wang, The (Paperback)

The book is a little slow and rather boring at times, yet it is quite inforamtive. As a reader, you see into T'an ch'eng county in the 1700's. The book revolves around woamn's roles. I liked it. It's not a classic but it is worth some time and effort.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A powerful book, January 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Death of Woman Wang (Paperback)

Spence has an impeccable way of juxtaposing fantasy and reality using sources from 17th century local history, personal memoirs, and fiction written by a famous 17th century novelist, Pu Song-ling. He effectively teases the readers' imagination with captivating stories from Pu's novels,just to strike them with the sharp contrast of the harsh reality faced by the nameless, forgotten people in rural China. The result is a touching book rich in humanity and thought provoking insight. The first two chapters may be slow, but they provide pertinent background information for a deeper appreciation of the rest of the book. The dream scene was a powerful literary device, although I have some reservation about its apperance in a book of history.