My Lady of the Chinese Courtyard

Through two series of intimate letters, we enter the world of Kwei-li, wife of a powerful Chinese official, as she navigates the turbulent closing years of the Qing dynasty. The first collection finds her writing to her husband while he accompanies Prince Chung on a world tour, revealing a woman of sharp intelligence and keen observation who absorbs glimpses of modern life even as she remains anchored in ancient tradition. Twenty-five years later, new letters to her mother-in-law capture a China in crisis: revolution brewing, the old order crumbling, and Kwei-li herself caught between worlds she can neither fully leave nor return to. What makes these letters extraordinary is their voice: at once deeply personal and historically invaluable, offering an intimate portrait of a nation and a woman in transformation. Here is the present-day Chinese woman of the old school, educated enough to understand the modern world yet bound by customs and duties that define her very existence.