Women's Studies Colloquium

The Women of Liulichang: Female Collectors and Bibliophiles in Late-Qing China ---co-sponsored by the Center for Chinese Studies---

Abstract: During the late nineteenth century many educated Chinese women began to challenge their traditional roles as "teachers of the inner chambers," secluded within the domestic sphere, and instead began to push for more participation in public life through education, publication, and other intellectual activities. One route to greater visibility was art- and book-collecting, as elite women claimed male prerogatives in frequenting neighborhoods like Liulichang, the antiques market of the Qing capital. This paper describes how collecting art, antiques, and rare books helped Chinese women establish intellectual parity with men, and was an important step in a longer-term process of achieving greater public visibility.

Bio: Shana Brown teaches modern China in the History Department at UH Manoa. She is finishing a book project which discusses art and antiques collecting and its influence on modern Chinese historical studies.

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Women's Studies, Manoa Campus

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