Charting the literary works and life journeys of eight leading women writers in modern China, Haiping Yan presents an examination of the politics and poetics of Chinese transcultural feminism within the boundaries of bourgeois feminist selfhood. Drawing on these women's vast works and dramatic lives, the book illuminates the range of Chinese women's literary and artistic achievements and explores the degree to which Chinese women writers re-invent their lives along with their writings. This impressive and fascinating study investigates vital sources for exploring the history and legacy of twentieth-century Chinese feminist consciousness, and as such will be of interest to scholars of feminist theory, cultural studies and theatre studies.