Abstract
Zhan Kai’s 詹垲 (c. 1860–c. 1910) two novels about women’s liberation of 1907 (Zhongguo xin nühao中国新女豪 andNüzi quan女子权) are compared with each other and with three slightly earlier novels that could have been influences:Nü yuhua女狱花 of 1904,Nüwa shi女娲石 of 1904, andHuang Xiuqiu黄绣球 of 1905–7. An effort is made to show what he might have borrowed and what were the most original points in Zhan’s writing. One further issue is the reason he might have written two such similar novels. Finally his guidelines for readerly behavior are explored.