Keeping the Nation's House

Schneider (Virginia Tech and research, U. of Oxford) offers a new interpretation of the Nationalist period in China in which government and educators sought to create a more stable society by improving the physical and emotional quality of citizens by addressing all elements of their lives to make them better educated and happier. The author notes that the initiative focused in many ways on women who were considered uneducated, superstitious, and filled with bad habits that were bad influences on their children. That led to new schools for girls and teacher training schools to train women in the skills that would suit them for their newly-cast role as household managers. The book will interest readers who are curious about some of the lesser-known aspects of Chinese history and culture. Distributed by UTP Distribution. Annotation c2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)