Nübeijing 女卑經

Nübeijing 女卑經 is a book on the low position of women written by Gu Zhengxiang 顧正祥 (1578-1634), courtesy name Changrui 常瑞, from Hangzhou 杭州, Zhejiang. His biography in the local gazetteer of Hangzhou says that he decided to castrate himself in order to enter the inner service of the secondary capital Nanjing of the Ming dynasty 明 (1368-1644). He is also mentioned as a high-ranking eunuch in the unofficial palace chronicle Xuanwu zhi 玄武志 (1635). It is said that Gu Zhengxiang exerted a tight-fisted regime over the court ladies in the imperial palace of Nanjing and humiliated, tortured and even killed many of them. This character inspired the anonymous novella Xuanwu mingyu 玄武冥語, which gives accounts of the many psychological and physical injuries the eunuch inflicted on the court ladies and female servants. The preface of the Nübeijing, dated 1604, dedicates the book to Zhu Changxu 朱常溆 (1585-1614), the Prince of Wunan 吳南.

The Nübeijing is listed in the bibliographical chapter of the local gazetteer of Nanjing of the late Ming period, (Wanli) Yingtian zhi 萬曆應天志, where a length of 2 juan is indicated. The surviving version, included in Zhang Xuedong's 張學懂 (fl. 1732) series Mingmo jingshi ji 明末經史集 from the early 18th century, has no fascicle counting. The original arrangement in two fascicles, however, is reflected by the two different aspects the book deals with, namely first, reasons why females were inferior than men, and second, recommendations on how to treat women. The first part is based on Neo-Confucian ideology and metaphysics and explains the inferior status of women as caused by a kind of natural law. The second part is not explicitly cruel, but leaves not doubt at how the author suggested the prince to treat the women of his entourage.