S. Mann's "The Talented Women of the Zhang Family" Book Review by Peter Pen

This paper explains that, in Susan Mann's "The Talented Women of the Zhang Family", the Zhang family sustains trial after trial while moving to different provinces in nineteenth century China. The author points out that, as the empire is made vulnerable by attacks from both foreign nations and domestic rebels, the Zhang women must overcome cultural, economic, and social devastation. Each woman, in this matrilineal genealogy, finds strength in her ability to cope with struggles adversely affecting her natal family or her married-into family. The author highlights the life of Zhang Yaoqing, or Tang Yaoqing as she is referred to in her maiden years, because of the six women detailed in this historical family narrative, she is believed to face the greatest challenges.