Unlike Japan with its long tradition of women writers, poetry by women did not become fashionable in China until the Ch'ing dynasty (1644-1911), although poems from earlier centuries that do in fact survive will quickly dispel any stereotyped views. Included here are samplings from the legendary earliest poetry of courtesans, palace women, and Tao priestesses to works by contemporary Chinese women living in both the East and West. Appendixes include notes on the poems, an introductory essay on Chinese women and literature, a table of historical periods, and a bibliography.

    

    

    

    Born in China during the last days of the empire, the author served as an American diplomat in the midst of the Chinese-Japanese conflict, acted as political adviser to General “Vinegar Joe” Stilwell during World War II, dealt with Chou En-lai and Mao Tse-tung, and from the American Embassy at Moscow observed the end of the war against Japan and the beginning of what he had foretold—the Communist conquest of China and the emergence in the Far East of a balance of power unfavorable to the United States. Two major themes interweave through this narrative. One is the collapse of traditional China and the fusion therefrom of a new, a Communist, China. A second theme is the American intrusion into East Asia, at first to trade with, enlighten, and baptize the Chinese, “open” Japan, “liberate” the Philippines, and assume the role of an imperial power in the Far East.