Dear Beverly (If I may), A 2005 MA study of this text by Chen Wenhe from Fengjia University in Taiwan is available online, though I cannot access the whole study. However, in the abstract the author states that based on his study, he believes that the former 10 chapters of the extant text should be the commentaries to the text completed by Song Ruozhao, and since the content of the last two chapters is quite different from that of the former 10 chapters he believes they should have been produced after the rise of Song Neo-Confucianism. You can check the abstract through this link: https://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/cgi-bin/gs32/gsweb.cgi/login?o=dnclcdr&s=id=%22094F... Hope this is helpful, and best wishes, Josephine Josephine Chiu-Duke Professor, Asian Studies Department University of British Columbia 1871 West Mall Vancouver, BC chiuduke@mail.ubc.ca<mailto:chiuduke@mail.ubc.ca> On Jun 8, 2021, at 12:42 PM, Beverly Bossler via tangstudies <tangstudies@mailman.xmission.com<mailto:tangstudies@mailman.xmission.com>> wrote: [CAUTION: Non-UBC Email] Dear Colleagues: In a 1994 article on Wu Zhao that appears in Imperial Rulershp and Cultural Change in Traditional China, Chen Joshui mentions the late Tang Song sisters and the composition of the 女論語. Then in a footnote he says, "This text is apparently a later forgery," explaining that the Xin Tangshu and Jiu Tangshu both say the work was "written in the form of dialogues between ancient learned and virtuous women," (which is not true of the existing version) and adding that the "present version contains twelve chapters, whereas the original work had ten." Does anyone know more about this? I have looked online (in English and Chinese) and in sourcebooks that include translations of the 女論語, and have seen no other mention that it may be a forgery. But I have to say that, looking at it that with that perspective, there are some good reasons (especially its emphasis on chastity) to think it might well be. Any insights would be appreciated! Best, Beverly -- Beverly Bossler Chair, Department of East Asian Studies Professor of East Asian Studies and History Brown University Box 1850 (401) 863-9764 Providence, RI 02912 _______________________________________________ T'ang Studies Society admin@tangstudies.org<mailto:admin@tangstudies.org>