Moving beyond familiar narratives of abolition, Xia Shi introduces the contentious public presence of concubines in Republican China. Drawing on a rich variety of historical sources, Shi highlights the shifting social and educational backgrounds of concubines, showing how some served as public companions of elite men in China and on the international stage from the late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century. Shi also demonstrates how concubines' membership in progressive women's institutions was fiercely contested by China's early feminists, keen to liberate women from oppression, but uneasy with associating with women with such degraded social status. Bringing the largely forgotten stories of these women's lives to light, Shi argues for recognition of the pioneering roles concubines played as social wives, their impact on the development of gender politics, and on the changing relationship between the domestic and public for women during a transformative period of modern Chinese history.

‘Xia Shi introduces us to Republican-era concubines and shows the complicated (and sometimes unexpected) ways in which some women navigated the changing legal and social environment. This book adds nuance to the ways in which we think about the role of women in early 20th century China.'

Ann Waltner - Professor of History, University of Minnesota

‘Concubines in Public is an authoritative, engaging analysis of a cohort of long-derided women who changed the course of twentieth-century Chinese politics and international diplomacy through their newly valued roles as 'social wives'. This book is a 'must read' for those seeking to fully understand the forces that shaped Chinese politics and social history in the twentieth century.'

Louise Edwards - Emeritus Professor, UNSW