The Death of Woman Wang is intended as a microhistory, using the history of a specific time and place to convey broader insights about rural China in the 17th century. Do you think it succeeds in that goal? Or do you think a more traditional, broader history would have been more successful?

Jonathan Spence’s history bases itself on “four small crises” (xi). Which of the crises do you think reveals the most about life in 17th-century rural China and why?

Describe what you think the overall thesis of The Death of Woman Wang is. How does this thesis fit with Jonathan Spence’s decision to write The Death of Woman Wang as a microhistory?

Besides traditional historical sources like the Local History of T’an-ch’eng and the memoir of Huang Liu-hung, Jonathan Spence uses the short stories of P’u Sung-ling as one of his main sources. Spence’s reasoning is that “by combining some of these images in montage form” from P’u’s story, “we might break out beyond the other sources from that lost world” (xv). Taking one of the quotations from P’u as an example, discuss if you find this use of fiction helpful or informative. Why or why not?

Write a brief description of T’an-ch’eng based on the information provided in The Death of Woman Wang. What do you think are the most important details when understanding the challenges the locals of T’an-ch’eng faced?

Discuss the ways in which the widow P’eng meets Chinese ideals about women as described in sources like the Local History of T’an-ch’eng. How do her experiences complicate the Chinese expectations of widows?

One of the longest excerpts from P’u Sung-ling’s stories is the tale of Ts’ui “the wicked.” What insights do you think the story offers about life in 17th-century rural China? What do you think the story has to say about the ideal Chinese man during this time?

What does the story of woman Wang show about the actual experiences of women in 17th-century rural China, as opposed to the idealized stories from the Local History of T’an-ch’eng?

Write a brief story from the perspective of woman Wang. Use details about societal expectations for women and about women’s actual lives in your answer.