The Death of the Wang Woman, by Jonathan Spence is an educational historical novel of northeastern China during the 17th century. The author's goal was to enlighten the reader about Chinese people, culture, and traditions. Spence's use of the provocative stories of China's T'an-ch'eng county, Shantung province, takes the reader directly into the course of Chinese history. The use of sources available to Spence, such as the Local History of T'an-ch'eng, the manual of the scholar-official Huang Liu-hung and the stories of the writer P'u Sung-Ling transport the reader directly into the lives of the poor farmers, their workers and their wives. The intriguing structure of The Death of Donna Wang is to observe these people working the land, their family structure and their local conflicts. The first chapter, The Observers, in The Death of Donna 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 penetrate the lives of the people. Feng's use of records of the 1668 earthquake, the 1622 White Lotus Revolt, and the rebel revolt vividly described the extent of suffering the people of T'an-ch'eng went through. Jonathan Spence points out how miserable the two-quarters of the seventeenth century were for the county's dwindling population. The earthquake cost the lives of nine thousand people, many others died in the rising of the white lotus, from hunger, disease and banditry. P'u Sung-ling stories convey that cases of cannibalism occurred after the loss of grain crops. Added to all this was the massacre of entire families by bandits. The incredible records of women like Yao and Sun in local history show the reader the extent of ferocity the bandits possessed. All these factors have led to the increase in suicides. The clarity of events that Spence provides to the reader is overwhelming. On the other hand, Spence loses his reader as he introduces the spread of Confucius and other superstitious beliefs throughout the country. He states that local history states that people became unusually superstitious in some parts of T'an-ch'eng. He then presents Confucianism and its influence. Confusion occurs especially when quoting from many different sources and chapters. For example... half a sheet... to the husband. Yet the reader is introduced to the woman Wang, who has run away with another man from her husband, Jen. Some of the reasons for her departure may have been her husband's negligence, the fact that she had bound feet, and that she had no children. Her actions contradicted any moral wife of the time. After the incessant pursuit of happiness, the Wang woman returned home, there she met death. The Legal Code justified certain parameters of revenge on the husband's behavior towards his adulterous wife. However, Jen was not allowed by law to simply slaughter his wife. Furthermore Jen accused an innocent Kao, for which Jen could have been sentenced to death. It is up to the reader to decide whether the woman Wang's actions were right. Ultimately, The Death of Donna Wang by Jonathan Spence is a historical, educational and timeless novel. Spence's aim of enlightening the reader about Chinese culture, tradition and her homeland was achieved through the use of sources, such as the Local History of T'an-ch'eng, the manual of the scholar-official Huang Liu- hung and the stories of the writer P'u Sung-Ling. The intriguing structure of The Death of Donna Wang will capture every reader's attention.