Women shall not rule : imperial wives and concubines in China from Han to Liao /

Includes bibliographical references( pages 277-279) and index.Prologue: Sexual Politics and State Politics -- Part I. Early China, 1250 BC-317 CE -- The Institution and Values of Royal Polygamy -- Empresses and Consorts of the Former Han, 206 BCE-25 CE -- The Later Han to the End of the Western Jin, 25-317 -- Conclusion to Part I: A Review of Themes from the Biographies of Empresses and Consorts -- Part II. The Eastern Jin to the Reign of Wu Zetian, 317-712 -- The Period of Disunity, 317-589 -- The Sui and Early Tang Dynasties to Empress Wu, 581-705 -- Conclusion to Part II: The Question of Female Rulership -- Part III. The High Tang to the Liao, 712-1125 -- The Tang from Xuanzong to Its Fall, 712-907 -- The Love Affair of an Aging Emperor and his Young Consort -- The Five Dynasties, Ten Kingdoms, and the Liao, 907-1125 -- Concludion to Part III: Strong Women and Weak Men