Local Gazetteers and Bodily Experiences: Maternal Health in Late Qing Shandong (1861-1911)
Abstract:
The reproductive health among women in Shandong during the late Qing dynasty (1861–1911) exhibited pronounced class-based disparities. Drawing on 679 valid cases documented in local gazetteers and integrating perspectives from medical and gender history, this study employs quantitative and qualitative methods to examine reproductive patterns, health risks, and medical resource allocation across different social strata. Findings reveal that impov erished women, suffering from malnutrition and excessive labor, experienced a high incidence of acute conditions during pregnancy and childbirth; Commoners relied on folk herbal remedies, with widespread chronic fatigue; Officials’ wives, though accessing professional care, still faced risks like advanced maternal age. Local gazetteers attributed structural health inequalities to individual morality through moralizing narratives, obscuring the un derlying regional disparities in healthcare distribution. This interplay of geography, class, and discursive power determined women’s health outcomes. Finally, this study reconstructs the historical reality of pregnant women in late Qing Shandong, providing crucial regional empirical evidence for understanding the history of reproductive health among Chinese women.
