Reproducing Women
About this book
This innovative book uses the lens of cultural history to examine the development of medicine in Qing dynasty China. Focusing on the specialty of "medicine for women"( fuke ), Yi-Li Wu explores the material and ideological issues associated with childbearing in the late imperial period. She draws on a rich array of medical writings that circulated in seventeenth- to nineteenth-century China to analyze the points of convergence and contention that shaped people's views of women's reproductive diseases. These points of contention touched on fundamental issues: How different were women's bodies from men's? What drugs were best for promoting conception and preventing miscarriage? Was childbirth inherently dangerous? And who was best qualified to judge? Wu shows that late imperial medicine approached these questions with a new, positive perspective.
Frequently asked questions
- Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
- Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1. Late Imperial Fuke and the Literate Medical Tradition
- 2. Amateur as Arbiter: Popular Fuke Manuals in the Qing
- 3. Function and Structure in the Female Body
- 4. An Uncertain Harvest: Pregnancy and Miscarriage
- 5. “Born Like a Lamb”: The Discourse of Cosmologically Resonant Childbirth
- 6. To Generate and Transform: Strategies for Postpartum Health
- Epilogue: Body, Gender, and Medical Legitimacy
- Notes
- Glossary
- Bibliography
- Index
