Yu Chien-ming, 2009, On and Off the Playing Fields: A Modern History of Physical Education for Girls in Eastern China (1895-1937), 431 pages, Taipei: Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica.

Drawing on the perspective of gender, this book investigates the links between female physical education, the state, and the socio-cultural sphere during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Instead of adopting a conventional state-centered approach to study the history of physical education for girls, the book uses written and non-written sources to shed new light on the impact of its meanings on public opinion, student lives, sports competitions, the mass media, visual culture, etc. At the same time, the author also elucidates debates that emerged during this time period. All in all, this book not only broadens our understanding of women in modern Chinese history but also brings into clearer focus the complementary and reflexive nature of histories of physical education, women, and modern China.