Exploring issues of gender in Tang-dynasty literature and culture, Jowen R.Tung draws on a comprehensive range of historical, literary, and social texts to unravel the complex mechanisms of one of the world's oldest patriarchal systems. The author reveals the profound damage inflicted by the masculine state ideology on its subjects by illuminating the problematics of male sexuality under the hovering phallus of the emperor, the construct of male and female psyches within the pseudo-monogamous household, the logic of the collective unconscious in the literati's writings, and a female tradition desperately trapped inside the law of the father. Tung poses urgent questions about a civilization that builds itself upon the sacrifice of human lives and arrives at a rather dark interpretation of the Tang_for many the epitome of the Chinese empire. As such, the book moves beyond the confines of gender studies to propose a heightened agenda for feminist studies, which the author argues now stand at a critical conjecture.

About the Author
Jowen R. Tung is assistant professor in the Division of Humanities, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Reviews
An important and provocative book. There are many wonderful moments in the book, where example and analysis produce illumination. This is a book that will repay careful reading, a book that will be good to argue with for years to come. It tackles big questions with verve and originality. * Journal Of Oriental Studies *
A completely engrossing, truly extraordinary work. There exists nothing in English on gender in Tang dynasty literature and culture that even remotely resembles this book, whether in terms of comprehensiveness, originality, or analytic depth. No one before has so confidently and persuasively applied feminist critical theory to the topic. -- Beata Grant, Washington University, St. Louis



Book Information
ISBN 9780847695133
Author Jowen R. Tung
Format Paperback
Page Count 224
Imprint Rowman & Littlefield
Publisher Rowman & Littlefield
Weight(grams) 358g
Dimensions(mm) 228mm * 148mm * 14mm