"Who am I? What is my purpose? What is my life all about?" These are questions Christian men are asking all over the world. Why is this? It is because there is something stirring deep within their being, telling them that there is more that God wants to show them about Himself and there is more of Him that they desperately need in order to answer those questions. The Journey to the Inner Chamber is a creative novel that introduces a path of discovery that will lead the reader to the answer for many of those questions.

This pathbreaking work argues that literate gentry women in 17th-century Jiangnan, far from being oppressed or silenced, created a rich culture and meaningful existence within the constraints of the Confucian system. Momentous socioeconomic and intellectual changes in 17th-century Jiangnan provided the stimulus for the flowering of women's culture. The most salient of these changes included a flourishing of commercial publishing, the rise of a reading public, a new emphasis on emotions, the promotion of women's education, and, more generally, the emergence of new definitions of womanhood. The author reconstructs the social, emotional and intellectual worlds of 17th-century women, and in doing so provides a new way to conceptualize China's past, one offering a more realistic and complete understanding of the values of Chinese culture and the functioning of Chinese society.

Ienobu's heir is still just a child, and with few official functions to perform, the men of the Inner Chamber find themselves with much time on their hands. Some find ways to make the most of their rare trips outside the palace, while others turn their minds to bloody intrigue... -- VIZ Media

Taneatsu’s shogun Iesada has died, but unlike previous bereaved consorts, he has been denied the refuge of taking Buddhist vows. Stuck in the Inner Chambers, he has instead thrown himself into supporting the new shogun, Iemochi. But salacious rumors about the nature of their relationship and the arrival of Iemochi’s new consort threaten to make a mockery of his noble intentions! -- VIZ Media

"In Edo period Japan, a strange new disease called the Red Pox has begun to prey on the country's men. Within eighty years of the first outbreak, the male population has fallen by seventy-five percent. Women have taken on all the roles traditionally granted to men, even that of the Shogun. The men, precious providers of life, are carefully protected. And the most beautiful of the men are sent to serve in the Shogun's Inner Chamber"--Page 4 of cover.

With the death of her monstrous father, Iesada is finally assured that she can have a consort who will survive life in the Inner Chambers. And she is delighted that the new spouse chosen for her is intelligent, kind and considerate of her past trauma. But the consort Taneatsu comes to the court with a past of his own—and an assignment from his liege lord that could pit him against his beloved shogun. -- VIZ Media

The Inner Chamber and the Inner Life by Andrew Murray, first published in 1905, is a rare manuscript, the original residing in one of the great libraries of the world. This book is a reproduction of that original, which has been scanned and cleaned by state-of-the-art publishing tools for better readability and enhanced appreciation. Restoration Editors' mission is to bring long out of print manuscripts back to life. Some smudges, annotations or unclear text may still exist, due to permanent damage to the original work. We believe the literary significance of the text justifies offering this reproduction, allowing a new generation to appreciate it.