Precious RecordsThis first book length study of gender relations in the Lower Yangzi region during the High Qing era (c. 1683 1839) challenges enduring late nineteenth century perspectives that emphasized the oppression and subjugation of Chinese women. Placing women at the center of the High Qing era shows how gender relations shaped the economic, political, social, and cultural changes of the age, and gives us a sense of what women felt and believed, and what they