Disgraceful Matters: The Politics of Chastity in Eighteenth-Century China

“An important contribution to the rapidly growing Chinese gender studies field. No other work has so persuasively demonstrated the significance of chastity in High Qing political, social and cultural lives as Theiss’s investigation has done. The author’s analyses are nuanced and her conclusions compelling. This is a particularly enlightening read.”—Martin Huang, author of Desire and Fictional Narrative in Late Imperial China

“Outstanding and timely, this book significantly advances our understanding of late imperial Chinese history on several fronts. Theiss tells us a great deal that is new about cultural attitudes of this era. Clear and lively, this is research of very high quality.”—William T. Rowe, author of Saving the World: Chen Hongmou and Elite Consciousness in Eighteenth-Century China