Oral traditions are historical sources of a special nature. Their special nature derives from the fact that they are "unwritten" sources couched in a form suitable for oral transmission, and that their preservation depends on the powers of memory of successive generations of human beings. In many parts of the world inhabited by peoples without writing, oral tradition forms the main available source for a reconstruction of the past.

Chinese history, institutions, and thought from 500 BC to 1949, with particular emphasis on sociology and economic history of ancient China.

This book is unique in its approach in that each chapter covers women in their everyday lives and the problems, which concern them.