Images of Women in Chinese Literature. Volume 1. REPORT NO ISBN-1-880938-008 PUB DATE 94 NOTE 240P
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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 385 489 SO 025 360 AUTHOR Yu-ning, Li, Ed. TITLE Images of Women in Chinese Literature. Volume 1. REPORT NO ISBN-1-880938-008 PUB DATE 94 NOTE 240p. AVAILABLE FROM Johnson & Associates, 257 East South St., Franklin, IN 46131-2422 (paperback: $25; clothbound: ISBN-1-880938-008, $39; shipping: $3 first copy, $0.50 each additional copy). PUB TYPE Books (010) Reports Descriptive (141) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC10 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Chinese Culture; *Cultural Images; Females; Folk Culture; Foreign Countries; Legends; Mythology; Role Perception; Sexism in Language; Sex Role; *Sex Stereotypes; Sexual Identity; *Womens Studies; World History; *World Literature IDENTIFIERS *Asian Culture; China; '`Chinese Literature ABSTRACT This book examines the ways in which Chinese literature offers a vast array of prospects, new interpretations, new fields of study, and new themes for the study of women. As a result of the global movement toward greater recognition of gender equality and human dignity, the study of women as portrayed in Chinese literature has a long and rich history. A single volume cannot cover the enormous field but offers volume is a starting point for further research. Several renowned Chinese writers and researchers contributed to the book. The volume includes the following: (1) Introduction (Li Yu- Wing);(2) Concepts of Redemption and Fall through Woman as Reflected in Chinese Literature (Tsung Su);(3) The Poems of Li Qingzhao (1084-1141) (Kai-yu Hsu); (4) Images of Women in Yuan Drama (Fan Pen Chen);(5) The Vanguards--The Truncated Stage (The Women of Lu Yin, Bing Xin, and Ding Ling) (Liu Nienling); (6) New Woman vs. Old Mores: A Study of Woman Characters in Ba Jin's Torrents Trilogy (Tsung Su);(7) Desire and Desperation: An Analysis of the Female Characters in Cao Yu's Play The Thunderstorm (Wan Ning); and (8) The Single Woman as Seen in the Writings of Contemporary Chinese Women Writers (Liu Nienling). A glossary of Chinese names in Chinese and pinying is appended. (EH) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * from the original document. ************;.;,AA;:********AAA**************.A*******.i,******** Si $ DEPARTMENT Of EDUCATION Ottrce ol Este-atonal Rearch and Impressment EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION XCENTER (ERIC) This dOcument has Dion reproducedes Kinser:I trorn the person or otgenashon orIginseng d. C Moto( changes nese been mad*to trnocove rOrOduction Quality Pointe 0 vs* of 000nons staled .nint* doctr mint orto not nscesasnly represent°thou! OERI poSrtiOn or oOlicy "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCETHIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTEDBY n/-) TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)." (I) it) cts BEST COPY AVAI LE 2 I Jr' Images of Women in Chinese Literature 3 Nu Wa smelts stones to repair the sky (myth) by the Qing painter Ren Yl. 4 BEST COPY AVAILABLE Images of Women in Chinese Literature Edited by Li Yu-fling University of Indianapolis Press 1994 5 UNIVERSITY OF INDIANAPOLIS PRESS Address for publication correspondence and orders: Phylis Lan Lin, Director Asian Programs University of Indianapolis Indianapolis, Indiana 46227-3697 317-788-3264 or 317-788-3275 (Fax) ©1994 by Outer Sky Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or writing without permission from Outer Sky Press. Chapter 2, "The Poems of Li Qingzhao (1084-1141)" first appeared as "The Poems of Li Chi'ing-chao," by Kai-yu Hsu, in Publications of the Modern Language Association of America, Vol. LXXVII, No. 5, December 1962, and is reprinted by permission of the Modern Language Association of America from PMLA (1962):521-28. 97 96 95 3 2 1 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 93-060284 ISBN 1-880938-008 Cover & Book design, layout and typesetting by Johnson Associates, Franklin, Indiana 46131-2422. PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 6 To All my excellent teachers in Chinese language and literature 7 Contents Illustrations xiii Major Periods of Chinese History xv Preface and Acknowledgments xvii Introduction Li Yu-ning 1 Diversity 1 Heralds For Equality 9 The Emergence of New Women 10 Single Women in Contemporary China 16 Notes 18 Chapter 1 23 Concepts of Redemption and Fall Through Woman as Reflected in Chinese Literature Tsung Su 23 Historical Review 24 Positive Image: Theory of Chastity and Sacrifice Sutteeism 30 Negative Image: Huoshui-ism 44 The 1930s 52 Conclusion 64 Notes 67 Chapter 2 The Poems of Li Qingzhao (1084-1141) Kai-yu Hsu 73 Notes 92 Chapter 3 Images of Women in Yuan Drama Fan Pen Chen 97 Notes 116 x Chapter 4 The Vanguards The Truncated Stage (The Women of Lu Yin, Bing Xin, and Ding Ling) Liu Nienling 123 Introduction 123 Lu Yin 125 Scenario 125 Bing Xin 132 Ding Ling 139 Conclusion 144 Biographical Notes 147 Notes 150 Chapter 5 New Woman vs. Old Mores: A Study of Woman Characters in Ba Jin's Thrrents Trilogy Tsung Su 155 Historical Background 155 Torrents Trilogy: Family 157 Spring 161 Autumn 165 Conclusion 167 Notes 168 Chapter 6 Desire and Desperation: An Analysis of the Female Characters in Cao Yu's Play The Thunderstorm Wan Ning 173 Introduction 173 The Play 174 Summary of the Plot 176 Shiping a good woman who believes in fate but tries to break from it 177 9 XI Sifeng the embodiment of young, pure girlhood, full of the hope of life, but destroyed by fate 183 Fanyi a passionate woman, typical of new Chinese womanhood 186 Conclusion 190 Notes 191 Chapter 7 The Single Woman as Seen in the Writings of Contemporary Chinese Women Writers Liu Nienling 193 The Imposition of The Male Image 197 Tne Young Woman Careerist 204 The Single Woman as Social Déclassé 208 The Heroine of "Xinji" ("Eulogy") 215 A Note of Interest 216 Notes 217 Contributors 221 Editor 222 Appendix 223 Index 227 i 0 XIII Illustrations Nu Wa Imelts stones to repair the sky (myth) by the Qing painter Ren Yi iii The Poetty Club from a Qing edition of Dream of Red Mansions 7 Li Wan teaching her son from a Qing edition of Dream of Red Mansions 21 Xue Tao (a Tang poet)Stone Relief 31 Shisanmei heroine of the Qing novel Erna Yingxiong Zhuan 35 Baoyu 'and Daiyu in intimate conversationfrom a Qing edition of Dream of Red Mansions 42 Daiyu burying flowersfrom a Qing edition of Dream of Red Mansions 61 A portait of Li Qingzhao by the Qing painter Cui Chu 77 Cui Yingying and her maid Hongniangfrom a Ming edition of Romance of the Western Chamber 103 A scene from The Wronged Dou E 110 Lu Yin 126 Bing Xin 1923 132 Ding Ling and her husband 139 Ba Jin in 1940 157 Mingfeng & Juehui in Family 158 A scene from The Thunderstorm 175 A Recent Photo of the Literary Critic Li Ziyun 193 Zhang Xinxin 200 Zhang Jie 209 Fan Pen Chen 221 Hsu Kai-yu, a drawing by Catherine Yi-yu Cho Woo 2'1 Liu Nienling 221 Tsung Su 222 Wan Ning 222 Li Yu-ning 222 XV Major Periods of Chinese History XIA LEGENDARY SHANG TRADITIONAL DATES 1766-1122 B.C. MODERN SCHOLARSHIP DATES CA. 1600-1027 B.C. ZHOU 1027-256 B.C. WESTERN ZHOU 1027-771 B.0 EASTERN ZHOU 771-256 B.C. QIN 221-207 B.C. HAN 202 B.C.-220 A.D. PERIOD OF DIVISION 220-589 Su' 581-618 TANG 618-907 FIVE DYNASTIES 907-960 SONG 960-1279 NORTHERN SONG 960-1126 SOUTHERN SONG 1126-1279 YUAN (MONGOL) 1271-1368 MING 1368-1644 QING (MANCHU) 1644-1911 REPUBLIC OF CHINA 1911-PRESENT PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA 1949-PRESENT xvu Preface and Acknowledgments Ever since I began doing research on Chinese women in the late 1960s, I have been keenly aware of the fact that histories of China and the Chinese people, like his- tories of other nations and peoples, have been written with few references to women. But, there are sources for the study of Chinese women, and in my searches for his- torical materials I have looked not just in archives and libraries, but also in what I see, what I hear, and what I know from my own life and the world around me. Re- search and observation led me to the view, more than a decade ago, that Chinese women, past and present, were and are as varied as Chinese men in their capabili- ties, temperaments, and activities. There was and still is a wide range of diversity among Chinese women. Constant comparisons of the past and the present have also convinced me that there is significant historical continuity amid the many changes Chinese women have experienced in modern times. Hence, I have taken the position that during the past century Chinese women have gradually and slowly transformed themselves, by integrating indigenous traditions and foreign influ- ences. It is my conception that Chinese women, past and present, have had a thousand faces, a thousand person- alities, a thousand capabilities, and a thousand achieve- ments, in history, literature, culture, family, and soci- ety. Thanks to my many excellent teachers in Chinese language and literature when I was a student, I have always cherished reading Chinese literature. While doing research on Chinese women, it was only natural for me to seek inspiration and support from Chinese literature, which is an extremely rich source on women. I was curious whether images of women in Chinese lit- 13 XVIII erature could help us to understand and appreciate Chinese women in history and in contemporary life. In order to stimulate research and writing on this subject, I organized a panel on "Images of Women in Chinese Literature" for the New York Asian Conference of the AAS, October 12-13, 1984, at Cortland, New York.