The Death of Woman Wang, by Jonathan Spence is an educational historical novel from northeastern China in the 17th century. The author's goal was to enlighten the reader about the Chinese people, their culture and traditions. Spence's use of the provocative stories of China's T'an-ch'eng County, Shantung Province, brings the reader directly into the course of Chinese history. Spence's use of sources such as the Local History of T'an-ch'eng, the manual of official scholar Huang Liu-hung, and the stories of writer P'u Sung-Ling transport the reader directly in Spence's life. poor farmers, their workers and their wives. The intriguing structure of The Death of Woman Wang is to observe these people working the land, their family structure and their local conflicts. The first chapter, The Watchers, in The Death of Woman Wang demonstrates the accuracy of the local historian; Feng K'o-ts'an, who compiled The Local History of T'an-ch'eng in 1673. The descriptive context of the Local History helps the reader understand and literally enter into the lives of the people. Feng's use of records from the 1668 earthquake, the 1622 White Lotus Uprising, and the Rebel Uprising vividly depicts the extent of suffering endured by the people of T'an-ch'eng. Jonathan Spence highlights how miserable the two quarters of the 17th century were for the county's declining population. The earthquake claimed the lives of nine thousand people, many more died due to the rise of the White Lotus, hunger, disease and banditry. P'u Sung-ling's accounts say that after the loss of wheat crops, cases of cannibalism occurred. Added to all this was the massacre of all family lines by the bandits. The incredible stories of women like Yao and Sun in local history introduce the reader to the scale of the bandits' savagery. All these factors have led to an increase in suicides. The clarity of events that Spence gives the reader is overwhelming. On the other hand, Spence loses his reader as he introduces the spread of Confucius and other superstitious beliefs across the land. He states that local history indicates that people became unusually superstitious in parts of T'an-ch'eng. Later, he introduces Confucianism and its influence. The confusion arises especially when he cites many different sources and chapters. By inst...... middle of paper...... to the husband. Yet the reader is confronted with the wife Wang, who has eloped with another of her husband's men, Jen. Some of the reasons for her departure could be her husband's neglect, the fact that her feet were bound, and the fact that she had no children. Her actions contradicted any moral wife at that time. After a relentless search for happiness, the Wang woman returned home and found her death. The Legal Code justifies certain parameters of revenge on the behavior of the husband towards his adulterous wife. However, the law did not allow Jen to simply massacre his wife. Additionally, Jen accused an innocent Kao, for which Jen could have been sentenced to death. It is up to the reader to decide whether the Wang woman's actions were right. Ultimately, The Death of Wife Wang, by Jonathan Spence, is a historical, educational, and timeless novel. Spence's goal of enlightening the reader about Chinese culture, tradition and territory was achieved through the use of sources, such as the Local History of T'an-ch'eng, the manual of the official scholar Huang Liu-hung and the writer's stories. P'u Sung-Ling. The intriguing structure of The Death of the Wang Woman will captivate any reader's attention..