Table of contents : frontmatter illustration acknowledgements preface glossary 1 Moral Indoctrination and imperial encouragement 2 Social, economic and demograpahic conditions 3 Sudden prevelence of the cult of female marital fidelity in the late ming period 4 regional differences in the occurrence of female self-immolation 5 scholar's frustration and roundabout way of emotional expression 6 emotional vulnerability of females 7 widespread nature of the cult of female marital fidelity in the ch'ing period appendix-self-mutilating behvior of ko-ku abbreviations bibliography list of chinese characters