Women writers in Chinese literature

Despite a long-held belief in China that women lacked literary talent, works by women – particularly poetry – did win a degree of respect within Chinese literature during the Imperial period. During the first half of the 20th century, writing by women reflected feminist ideas as well as the political upheavals of the time. Although women achieved a more equal social status once the Communist regime came to power, most women's writing of that period conveyed little expression of a distinctive feminine perspective.

Early Female Writers

Cai, loosely translated as "literary talent", is an attribute describing profound lyricism, deep intellectuality and analytic skill. Although it was acknowledged that both women and men possessed cai, the phrase nuren wucai bian shi de 女人無才便是德 (for women, lack of literary talent is a virtue) summarizes the dominant sentiment that the literary field was traditionally a domain for men. Despite this belief, works authored by women play an integral part throughout Chinese history. There were a number of women writers prior to the 20th century who were respected by the intelligentsia of their era, even if much of their work was considered less important than men's work in general. Female writers helped to bring forth themes such as romance, marriage, gender roles and the politics surrounding women.

The first women recorded in biography and bibliography were poets. The aesthetic nature of poetry was highly regarded, while fiction was viewed as an avenue taken because of a failed career or commercial venture. A marked increase in female literacy took place during the Late Imperial Era. One of the more notable poets of this time was Mao Xiuhui, a 16th-century poet who wrote a poem based on her husband's failure to gain a position as civil servant; the poem draws parallels between the male and female as they suffer hardships in the political and domestic arenas respectively. Other notable female poets in Chinese history were Gao Zhixian, Xue Tao, and Li Qingzhao.

20th-century Writers and Feminism

The Chinese revolution's spectre emerged from the chaotic period of decades after the British Opium War in 1840 and the subsequent imperialist invasion. For the Chinese, the necessity of "becoming a modern person" stems from the state of emergency. Then came the 1911 Revolution. This signifies the material conditions of Chinese society and the vision of the critical imagination of these women. The beginning of the century marked a period of growing unrest for women as the feminist movement took hold. Women of this period were faced with the dilemma of protesting oppressive ideals stemming from Confucian ideology or remaining true to their family and maintaining peace and order. This social movement highly influenced literary discourse at the time. Women Writers of the time authored works reflecting the feminist sentiment and the issues that came with the revolution. Eileen Chang, Lu Yin, Shi Pingmei and Ding Ling were four of the most influential feminist writers. In the 1920s and 1930s, Freudian psychoanalysis gained favour with Chinese feminists looking to study gender relationships, thus becoming a topic of many feminist writers throughout the early and mid portions of the 20th century.

When Mao came to power in 1949, he addressed the issue of women's rights and tried to establish women's equality through the "iron girls" of national development ideal. Through this philosophy, long-standing practices such as foot binding, prostitution and trafficking of women were abolished. Women were given the opportunity to own land, divorce, and join the military and other employment fields. The establishment of this ideology, however, did not liberate women; instead, it undermined the feminine voice by forcing women to take a male-oriented stance on public and domestic policy. Literature authored during this time reflects the restrictive and masculine perspective of women writers during this period. This "Mulanian" style of writing submerged true feminine identity, rendering the female perspective neglected and hidden in the male-dominated political and aesthetic arenas. There were some exceptions to this rule, such as Yuan Chiung-chiung, who wrote about women’s issues and how much women could accomplish without men.

Women Writers in Modern China

Eileen Chang (born September 30, 1920, and died in 1995), formerly known as Zhang Ying, pen name Liang Jing, was born in Shanghai. She is a modern Chinese female writer. one of her famous works is "The Red Rose and the White Rose." Eileen Chang is a uniquely charming writer in the history of modern Chinese literature. Her life-long creation involves novels, essays, and script reviews, among which books have achieved the highest achievement. Her stories show personal characteristics in material selection, conception, characterization, narrative structure and language skills. She has expanded a new horizon of female criticism and a new world of female literature.

Ding Ling, née Jiang Bingzi,1a daughter of the wantonly prosperous Jiangclan, was born in Woshaoxi, Linli county, Hunan, on October 12, 1904.

Xie Wanying (Chinese: 謝婉瑩; October 5, 1900 – February 28, 1999),better known by her pen name Bing Xin (Chinese: 冰心) or Xie Bingxin, was one of the most prolific Chinese writers of the 20th century. Many of her works were written for young readers. She was the chairperson of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles. Her pen name Bing Xin carries the meaning of a morally pure heart, and is taken from a line in a Tang Dynasty poem by Wang Changling.

Xiao Hong or Hsiao Hung (1 June 1911 – 22 January 1942) was a Chinese writer. Her ruming (乳名，infant name) was Zhang Ronghua (張榮華) Her xueming (學名，formal name used at school) was Zhang Xiuhuan(張秀環),name Zhang Naiying (張廼瑩) was changed by her grandfather; she also used the pen name Qiao Yin. Xiao Hong is a female writer with a unique artistic style. She is unique in the literature history with her mixed emotional tone, hard and soft language style. Xiao Hong is a typical female youth in literature with her unique writing perspective and writing structure in her works.

Shi Pingmei (1902-1928), China's modern female revolutionary activist, the republic of China, one of the four talented women. A real name is Ru Bi, and because of the love of the plum blossom, her pen name was Shi Pingmei. She was born in 1902 in Pingding, Shanxi Province. In 1919, She was enthusiastic about literary creation when she studied at Beijing Women's Teaching College In September 1923, in the supplement of the morning newspaper, serialize a long travel note. In 1924, edited with close friend Lu Jingqing, Beijing News Supplement "Women's Weekly". In 1926, she continued to co-edit the World Daily Supplement with Lu Jingqing. Qiangzang Weekly, Died of illness on September 30, 1928

See also

1. New Woman
2. Eileen Chang
3. Bing Xin / Xie Wanying
4. Dingling
5. Xiao Hong
6. Shi Pingmei