Birth of Chinese Feminism

He-Yin Zhen (ca. 1884-1920?) was a theorist who figured centrally in the birth of Chinese feminism. Unlike her contemporaries, she was concerned less with China's fate as a nation and more with the relationship among patriarchy, imperialism, capitalism, and gender subjugation as global historical problems. This volume, the first translation and study of He-Yin's work in English, critically reconstructs early twentieth-century Chinese feminist thought in a transnational context by juxtaposing He-Yin Zhen's writing against works by two better-known male interlocutors of her time.

The editors begin with a detailed analysis of He-Yin Zhen's life and thought. They then present annotated translations of six of her major essays, as well as two foundational tracts by her male contemporaries, Jin Tianhe (1874-1947) and Liang Qichao (1873-1929), to which He-Yin's work responds and with which it engages. Jin, a poet and educator, and Liang, a philosopher and journalist, understood feminism as a paternalistic cause that liberals like themselves should defend. He-Yin presents an alternative conception that draws upon anarchism and other radical trends. Ahead of her time, He-Yin Zhen complicates conventional accounts of feminism and China's history, offering original perspectives on sex, gender, labor, and power that remain relevant today.
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The Birth of Chinese Feminism: Essential Texts in Transnational Theory is less a broad collection of essays than it is a well-argued case for the transnational and radical origins of Chinese feminism.--MCLC
A powerful discussion highly recommended for college-level Chinese culture and women's studies collections alike.--Midwest Book Review
An invaluable contribution to anyone interested in Chinese intellectual history or the history of feminism across nations and across time periods.--Books & Culture
In resuscitating He-Yin Zhen's work, [the editors and translators] have produced a volume that challenges long-established views about the birth of Chinee feminism and repositions it as a pluralist and global event, the theoretical significance of which continues to resonate today.--Radical Philosophy
A terrific book.--Tani Barlow "Modern Chinese Literature and Culture "
A well-argued case for the transnational and radical origins of Chinese feminism.--Shaoling Ma "Modern Chinese Literature & Culture "