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Women writers in Chinese literature

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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.[1] 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)[1] 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.[2] 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.[2] The aesthetic nature of poetry was highly regarded, while fiction was viewed as an avenue taken because of a failed career or commercial venture.[2] 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. [3] 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.[3] The beginning of the century marked a period of growing unrest for women as the feminist movement took hold. [3]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.[4] 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.[4]

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.[4] 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.[5] 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.[4] Literature authored during this time reflects the restrictive and masculine perspective of women writers during this period.[4] This "Mulanian" style of writing submerged true feminine identity, rendering the female perspective neglected and hidden in the male-dominated political and aesthetic arenas.[6] 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 (1940s)

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." [7]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.[7]

San Mao (March 26, 1943-January 4, 1991), a well-known Taiwan female writer and traveller, used to be named Chen Maoping and later changed to Chen Ping, a native of Zhejiang. Born in Chongqing in 1943.[8] In 1948, he moved to Taiwan with his parents. In 1967, he went to Spain to study and later went to Germany and the United States. In 1973, he settled in the Spanish Sahara and married Jose. After returning to Taiwan in 1981, he taught at the Cultural University and resigned in 1984 to focus on writing and speech.[9] Sanmao's works have real emotions, without too much decoration, but show the original appearance of life and the wisdom and interest in life. In her works, there is no romance described in general love works, but more practical.[10]

Xie Wanying (Chinese: 謝婉瑩; October 5, 1900 – February 28, 1999),[11]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.

Ding Ling (Chinese: 丁玲; pinyin: Dīng Líng; October 12, 1904 – March 4, 1986), formerly romanized as Ting Ling, was the pen name of Jiang Bingzhi (simplified Chinese: 蒋冰之; traditional Chinese: 蔣冰之; pinyin: Jiǎng Bīngzhī), also known as Bin Zhi (彬芷 Bīn Zhǐ), one of the most celebrated 20th-century Chinese authors.[12] She was awarded the Soviet Union's Stalin second prize for Literature in 1951.

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.[7]

Pingmei Shi or Shi Pingmei (石评梅; 20 September 1902 – 30 September 1928) was a Chinese writer. She was considered as one of the four women famous for their contributions to modern Chinese literature in the early Republic of China.

See also

  1. New Woman
  2. Eileen Chang
  3. Sanmao (author)
  4. Bing Xin / Xie Wanying
  5. Dingling
  6. Xiao Hong

References

  1. ^ a b Larson, W. (1998). Women and Writing in Modern China. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press.
  2. ^ a b c Chang. K.S. & Saussy. H. (Eds.). (1999). Women writers of traditional China: An anthology of poetry and criticism. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. pp. 1–44.
  3. ^ a b c Yan, Haiping (2006-11-22). Chinese Women Writers and the Feminist Imagination, 1905-1948. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-57089-8.
  4. ^ a b c d e Schaeffer, Kay & Xianlin, Song. (2007). Unruly Spaces: Gender, Women'’ Writing and Indigenous Feminism in China. Journal of Gender Studies, 16 (1), 17–30
  5. ^ Laurence, S. (2008.) Mao’s ghost. The Boston Phoenix. Retrieved from the web December 8, 2009. http://thephoenix.com/boston/news/66069-maos-ghost/.
  6. ^ Jinhua, Z. (2009). Women's Culture and Writing in the 1990s: Illusions and Breakout. (Y. Qinfa & J. Shan, Trans.). About.com http://chineseculture.about.com/library/weekly/aa101000a.htm. Retrieved November 5, 2009
  7. ^ a b c "Jumping through hoops: autobiographical stories by modern Chinese women writers". Choice Reviews Online. 41 (08): 41–4486-41-4486. 2004-04-01. doi:10.5860/choice.41-4486. ISSN 0009-4978.
  8. ^ Yang, Haihong (2016-02-20). "The Female Recluse: The Trope of Withdrawal and Self-representation in Poems by Two Late Ming/Early Qing Women Writers". Nan Nü. 18 (2): 257–290. doi:10.1163/15685268-00182p03. ISSN 1387-6805.
  9. ^ "Jumping through hoops: autobiographical stories by modern Chinese women writers". Choice Reviews Online. 41 (08): 41–4486-41-4486. 2004-04-01. doi:10.5860/choice.41-4486. ISSN 0009-4978.
  10. ^ Yan, Haiping (2006-11-22). Chinese Women Writers and the Feminist Imagination, 1905-1948. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-57089-8.
  11. ^ "Bingxin | Chinese author". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
  12. ^ Britannica.com, Ding Ling
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