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The Textual History of Liu Xiang's Lienüzhuan

Synopsis Lienüzhuan 列女傳, a collection of moralistic biographies of women, is one of the most important works by the Western Han 西漢 dynasty scholar Liu Xiang 劉向 (79–8 B.C.E.). Due to the rising interest in women's history, this book has recently attracted considerable attention. However, the text has an extremely complex and convoluted history. After Liu Xiang composed Lienüzhuan, generations of copiers expanded it by adding new stories. By the Song 宋 dynasty, the work had grown from seven to fifteen chapters. Song dynasty editors cut down the text and rearranged it, trying to recapture Liu Xiang's original organization. The extent of Song dynasty editorial work means that we should regard the transmitted version we have today as a Song dynasty reconstruction. It might differ somewhat from Liu Xiang's original manuscript in organization and content. This article traces the complicated textual evolution of Lienüzhuan, and also discusses the lost commentaries and illustrations that once accompanied it.