A Cultural History of the Chinese Character "Ta (¿, She)"

This book offers a thorough examination of the history of a Chinese female pronoun - the Chinese character "Ta (-, She)" and demonstrates how the invention and identification of this new word is inextricably intertwined with matters of sociocultural politics. The Chinese character Ta for the third-person feminine singular pronoun was introduced in the late 1910s when the voices of women's liberation rang out in China. The invention and dissemination of this word not only reflected an ideological gendering of the Chinese script but also provoked heated academic and popular debate well into the 1930s. Thus, the history of Ta provides a prism through which to explore modern Chinese history. The author provides an ambitious and informed examination of how Ta was invented and promoted in relation to the gender equality movement, the politics of neologism, and other domestic elements and international catalysts. This book is the first major work to survey Ta's creation. It draws on diverse sources, including interviews with eight historians who experienced the popularisation of Ta as youths in the 1930s and 40s. This book will be an essential read for students and scholars of East Asian Studies, Chinese Cultural History, and those who are interested in the history of China.

Huang Xingtao is Executive Director of the Institute of Qing History of Renmin University and Dean of the Department of History at Renmin University, China. He was a visiting scholar at Harvard-Yenching Institute and Kobe University in Japan. His research interests include the history of the Qing Dynasty and the history of China in modern and contemporary times. His research focuses on the history of Chinese social culture, ideology, and the relations between China and western countries. Professor Huang was awarded the Excellent Achievements Prize for Human and Social Sciences Research in National Normal High Education Institutions.

1. The Conundrum of the English Term "She"- A New Problem Arising from Contact with Western Languages 2. The Emergence of the Character Ta -, plus Ta'nü -- and Ta/To --- The New Youth «---» Editorial Group's Early Discussions and the Experimentation Which It Engendered 3. An Account of the Early Written Use of the Character Ta - before April 1920- A Survey of the Literary World 4. The Debate over Preserving or Rejecting the Character ta - and the Rivalry between ta - and yi --Adopters and Adoptees in the Linguistic Competition 5. Gender Confusion: Sensitivity over "Female"-related Terms-Concepts of gender equality and the fortunes of the character ta - 6. Ta (-, she) and Ta (-, he), Ta (-, it), Ta (-, it)-The Formation and Establishment of a New Pronoun Regime 7. The Course of the Socialisation of the Character Ta - after April 1920-An Examination of Its Deepening Acceptance and Popularisation 8. The Quest for Modernity and the Interaction between Foreign Language Factors and Chinese Language Traditions-The Roots of Ta -'s Victory and Its Historical and Cultural Impact