He-Yin Zhen (ca. 1884-1920?) was a theorist who figured centrally in the birth of Chinese feminism. Unlike her contemporaries, she was concerned less with China's fate as a nation and more with the relationship among patriarchy, imperialism, capitalism, and gender subjugation as global historical problems. This volume, the first translation and study of He-Yin's work in English, critically reconstructs early twentieth-century Chinese feminist thought in a transnational context by juxtaposing He-Yin Zhen's writing against works by two better-known male interlocutors of her time.

The editors begin with a detailed analysis of He-Yin Zhen's life and thought. They then present annotated translations of six of her major essays, as well as two foundational tracts by her male contemporaries, Jin Tianhe (1874-1947) and Liang Qichao (1873–1929), to which He-Yin's work responds and with which it engages. Jin, a poet and educator, and Liang, a philosopher and journalist, understood feminism as a paternalistic cause that liberals like themselves should defend. He-Yin presents an alternative conception that draws upon anarchism and other radical trends. Ahead of her time, He-Yin Zhen complicates conventional accounts of feminism and China's history, offering original perspectives on sex, gender, labor, and power that remain relevant today.

Acknowledgments
List of Chinese Dynasties and Note on Translation
Introduction: Toward a Transnational Feminist Theory
The Historical Context: Chinese Feminist Worlds at the Turn of the Twentieth Century
He-Yin Zhen Biography
He-Yin Zhen, "On the Question of Women's Liberation"
He-Yin Zhen, "On the Question of Women's Labor"
He-Yin Zhen, "Economic Revolution and Women's Revolution"
He-Yin Zhen, "On the Revenge of Women"
He-Yin Zhen, "On Feminist Antimilitarism"
He-Yin Zhen, "The Feminist Manifesto"
Liang Qichao Biography
Liang Qichao, "On Women's Education"
Jin Tianhe Biography
Jin Tianhe, "The Women's Bell"
Bibliography
Index

A powerful discussion highly recommended for college-level Chinese culture and women's studies collections alike.

An invaluable contribution to anyone interested in Chinese intellectual history or the history of feminism across nations and across time periods.

A well-argued case for the transnational and radical origins of Chinese feminism.

In resuscitating He-Yin Zhen's work, [the editors and translators] have produced a volume that challenges long-established views about the birth of Chinee feminism and repositions it as a pluralist and global event, the theoretical significance of which continues to resonate today.

A terrific book.

The Birth of Chinese Feminism: Essential Texts in Transnational Theory is less a broad collection of essays than it is a well-argued case for the transnational and radical origins of Chinese feminism.