This study of poetry by women in late imperial China examines the metamorphosis of the trope of the "inner chambers" (gui), to which women were confined in trad

This literary study examines women-authored poetry and poetic criticism in late imperial China. It provides close readings of original texts to explore the poet

Scholars from the fields of literature, history, and art history apply a range of methodologies to newly discovered works by women writers and to other sources

The book also includes an extended section of criticism by and about women writers.

Most analyses of gender in High Qing times have focused on literature and on the writings of the elite; this book broadens the scope of inquiry to include women