The Women Who Ruled China : Buddhism, Multiculturalism, and Governance in the Sixth Century

Stephanie Balkwill

ISBN 10: 0520401816 / ISBN 13: 9780520401815

Published by University Of California Press Aug 2024, 2024

About this Item

Neuware - 'This book is truly groundbreaking in its focus, theoretical contributions, and methodological innovations. Stephanie Balkwill's deft treatment of Buddhism, gender, and ethnic difference in the Northern Wei court of Empress Dowager Ling will surely serve as a model for other scholars.'--Megan Bryson, author of Goddess on the Frontier: Religion, Ethnicity, and Gender in Southwest China.

Seller Inventory # 9780520401815

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Women Who Ruled China : Buddhism, Multiculturalism, and Governance in the Sixth Century
• Publisher: University Of California Press Aug 2024
• Publication Date: 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0520401816
• ISBN 13: 9780520401815
• Binding: Taschenbuch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 229W x 151H x 17D millimeters 229 millimeters width by 151 millimeters height by 17 millimeters depth
• Weight: 396 grams

About this title

Synopsis

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.
 

About the Author

Stephanie Balkwill is Assistant Professor of Chinese Buddhism in the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she is also Associate Director of the Center for Buddhist Studies.