Manchu women in transition: Gender, ethnicity, and acculturation in the 17th--18th century China

This dissertation is about gender and ethnicity in Qing dynasty—the last dynasty in Chinese history, established by the Manchus, a non-Chinese ethnic group in northeast China. Over the years, scholars of Chinese history dispute against each other about whether the Manchus became Chinese after they entered China Proper. This study supports the arguments that the Manchus maintained their ethnic identities until the end of the dynasty. The Manchu culture was not assimilated by Chinese although it differed from the traditional culture of Manchuria as the result of acculturation.; This study departs from the existing scholarships by examining the acculturation from a new perspective—the interaction of gender and ethnicity. It discusses the roles the Manchu women played in the construction of Manchu ethnicity and the way in which their participation was different from that of men in the process of acculturation. The conclusion is that women changed more slowly and more superficially than men. When Manchu men gradually accepted many Chinese Confucian values, women still lived in an old Manchu way and thus helped many traditions to pass on.; This dissertation is heavily based on Qing archival materials, housed in the First Historical Archive Museum in Beijing and in the Academia Sinica in Taipei. These primary sources provide previously unknown information about Manchu women's lives and experience after the conquest. Some primary sources from literature and interviews are also used as supplementary materials in the dissertation.; This study has five chapters, plus an introduction part and a conclusion. The topics it discusses include Manchu women's roles and positions in family, widowhood and remarriage; intermarriage between the Manchus and Chinese; and gender relations and sexuality. It also discusses some problems with the definition of the Manchu ethnicity, and the ethnicity issue in China in general.