Eugenia Lean ,"Public passions: the trial of Shi Jianqiao and the rise of popular sympathy in Republican China," (University of California Press, 2007)

In 1935, a Chinese woman by the name of Shi Jianqiao murdered the notorious warlord Sun Chuanfang as he prayed in a Buddhist temple. This riveting work of history examines this well-publicized crime and the highly sensationalized trial of the killer. In a fascinating investigation of the media, political, and judicial records surrounding this cause célèbre, Eugenia Lean shows how Shi Jianqiao planned not only to avenge the death of her father, but also to attract media attention and galvanize public support. Lean traces the rise of a new sentiment—"public sympathy"—in early twentieth-century China, a sentiment that ultimately served to exonerate the assassin. The book sheds new light on the political significance of emotions, the powerful influence of sensational media, modern law in China, and the gendered nature of modernity. Shi Jianqiao and the Murder of Sun Chuanfang Eugenia Lean on Public Sympathy in China Sensational Media in Early 20th Century China Revenge and Justice in Modern Chinese History Chinese Legal System and Public Sentiment Gender and Modernity in Republican China Political Significance of Emotions in China Media Influence on Chinese Judicial Cases Chinese Assassin Shi Jianqiao Trial Sensational Crime and Public Sympathy in China Modern Law and Gender Dynamics in China Early 20th Century Chinese Political History Chinese Warlord Assassination Case Public Sympathy and Media in Republican China Emotions and Modern Chinese Nationalism