eBook - ePub
The Women Who Ruled China
Buddhism, Multiculturalism, and Governance in the Sixth Century
- 272 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
The Women Who Ruled China
Buddhism, Multiculturalism, and Governance in the Sixth Century
About this book
A free ebook version of this title is available through Luminos, University of California Press’s Open Access publishing program. Visit www.luminosoa.org to learn more.
In the late fifth century, a girl whose name has been forgotten by history was born at the edge of the Chinese empire. By the time of her death, she had transformed herself into Empress Dowager Ling, one of the most powerful politicians of her age and one of the first of many Buddhist women to wield incredible influence in dynastic East Asia. In this book, Stephanie Balkwill documents the Empress Dowager’s rise to power and life on the throne against the broader world of imperial China under the rule of the Northern Wei dynasty, a foreign people from Inner Asia who built their capital deep in the Chinese heartland.
Building on largely untapped Buddhist materials, Balkwill shows that the life and rule of the Empress Dowager is a larger story of the reinvention of religious, ethnic, and gender norms in a rapidly changing multicultural society. The Women Who Ruled China recovers the voices of those left out of the mainstream historical record, painting a compelling portrait of medieval Chinese society reinventing itself under the Empress Dowager’s leadership.
In the late fifth century, a girl whose name has been forgotten by history was born at the edge of the Chinese empire. By the time of her death, she had transformed herself into Empress Dowager Ling, one of the most powerful politicians of her age and one of the first of many Buddhist women to wield incredible influence in dynastic East Asia. In this book, Stephanie Balkwill documents the Empress Dowager’s rise to power and life on the throne against the broader world of imperial China under the rule of the Northern Wei dynasty, a foreign people from Inner Asia who built their capital deep in the Chinese heartland.
Building on largely untapped Buddhist materials, Balkwill shows that the life and rule of the Empress Dowager is a larger story of the reinvention of religious, ethnic, and gender norms in a rapidly changing multicultural society. The Women Who Ruled China recovers the voices of those left out of the mainstream historical record, painting a compelling portrait of medieval Chinese society reinventing itself under the Empress Dowager’s leadership.
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Yes, you can access The Women Who Ruled China by Stephanie Balkwill in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in History & Ancient History. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- Acknowledgments
- Conventions
- Dramatis Personae
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1. Luoyang Reborn
- 2. A Woman of Power, Remembered Poorly
- 3. Brought to Court by a Nun
- 4. A Girl on the Throne
- 5. No Salvation in Buddhism
- Conclusion
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Character Index