“There are many aspects of this inspiring work that are worthy of recommendation. To begin, the book is the first comprehensive monograph on the subject of masculinity in late imperial China. Second, the study does an exemplary job in drawing upon works of diverse genres and different levels of literary formality. Third, the book covers some fascinating primary materials that had not received adequate scholarly attention in the West. . . . Fourth, the book is written in a lucid and engaging style and with sound organization. Broadly informed by modern gender theories, the writing is at the same time free of theoretical jargon.” —Ming Studies (2007)

“An excellent work that enhances our understanding of late imperial China.” —Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies (70:1, 2007)

“This fascinating book offers new and fruitful ways of looking at gender relations in traditional China. By focusing on elite discourse, vernacular fiction, and advice literature by the Chinese literati in late Imperial China, Martin W. Huang shows how and why male writers in this period were so intent on using women to negotiate their masculinities. His analyses of texts ranging from classics such as Sanguo Yanyi to little-known household instruction guides are masterful and rewarding. No one interested in Chinese gender, literature, or history can afford to miss this stimulating and informative work.” —Kam Louie, Hong Kong University

“This book is an extremely valuable contribution to the history of sexuality in China. The author’s presentation of the major definitions of manhood from early times to the late imperial era will be essential reading. Centering on the Ming and Qing from the 16th to the 19th centuries, the coverage is impressive in range and depth and the discussions are illuminating.” —Keith McMahon, University of Kansas

Why did traditional Chinese literati so often identify themselves with women in their writing? What can this tell us about how they viewed themselves as men and how they understood masculinity? How did their attitudes in turn shape the martial heroes and other masculine models they constructed? Martin Huang attempts to answer these questions in this valuable work on manhood in late imperial China. He focuses on the ambivalent and often paradoxical role played by women and the feminine in the intricate negotiating process of male gender identity in late imperial cultural discourses.

Two common strategies for constructing and negotiating masculinity were adopted in many of the works examined here.The first, what Huang calls the strategy of analogy, constructs masculinity in close association with the feminine; the second, the strategy of differentiation, defines it in sharp contrast to the feminine. In both cases women bear the burden as the defining “other.” In this study,“feminine” is a rather broad concept denoting a wide range of gender phenomena associated with women, from the politically and socially destabilizing to the exemplary wives and daughters celebrated in Confucian chastity discourse.

Martin W. Huang is professor of Chinese at the University of California, Irvine.

Read the introduction (PDF).