Qingcheng

The history of Chinese women is not just a record of the past-it is the key to understanding their hopes, their struggles, and their enduring spirit. To know her story is to know her heart.¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿Women in ancient China have always captivated the imagination. Yet the historical record tells us little about their lives-except for a few select groups: imperial consorts, literary ladies, celebrated courtesans, and, from the mists of mythology, divine maidens. It is a curious fact of Chinese history that these women, though belonging to worlds apart-some inside the palace, some beyond its walls-shared destinies that were strikingly alike. This book tells their stories from a woman's perspective, with honesty, insight, and lyrical grace. Though the figures it brings to life are separated from us by millennia, their joys and sorrows feel immediate, intimate, and achingly familiar.¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿