The Image of a Woman in the Literary Works of Ancient China

Go Tingting PhD in Cultural Studies Teacher, Institute of Music, Yancheng Normal College, Candidate of Cultural Studies at the State University of Management 224000, China, Jiangsu Province, Yancheng, Prospekt Nadezhda str., 14 shanlin19931122@yandex.ru

Relevance.

In ancient China, traditionally, the position of a woman was quite low. Therefore, in most literary works, a woman is assigned a rather passive role. However, there were women who opposed the current state of things. Their images also became widespread in the poetic and prose works of ancient Chinese writers.

Scientific validity of the problem.

Many works of Chinese scientists are devoted to the theme of female images in Chinese literature. Nevertheless, most of these works affect the literature of the twentieth and early twenty–first centuries. If we talk about the image of a woman in the literature of Ancient China, then not so much attention is paid to this topic. I would like to express the hope that this article will help partially fill the existing gap.

The purpose of the work is to examine and analyze female images in Chinese literary works.

To achieve the goal, it is important to perform the following tasks:

1.       To analyze female images in the history of Chinese literature of various eras;

2. Consider typical female characters in the history of ancient Chinese literature;

3.       Analyze the appearance of the heroines of ancient Chinese literary works;

4. To consider the influence of literary works on the transformation of women's consciousness in China.

Female images in the history of Chinese literature of various eras.

During the clan period, Chinese society was matriarchal, so the social status of women in general was higher than that of men. With the continuous development of society, men gradually acquired more and more production skills and resources, so their social status increased. Nevertheless, the social status of women still maintained its position. For example, the collection of folk poetry "The Book of Songs" presents a lot of strong female images. The works of the "Book of Songs" date back approximately to the 11th – 6th centuries BC ^[1].

Later, in the era of the Wei (220 – 266) and Jin (265 – 420) dynasties, no female images were found in Chinese literature that would have been sufficiently disclosed for their analysis.

Later, during the Tang Dynasty (608-907), the status of women improved significantly. In the literature of this period, there are many female images that differ in a high degree of diversity. Thus, the poet Du Fu describes in his poems the sword dancer Gongsun and her students, who masterfully own their art.

In the era of the Tang Dynasty, literary works on the theme of love received great development. Many works were devoted to the separation between lovers in the event that a woman was not allowed to marry the man she loved.

Most of the literary works of the Tang Dynasty had a realistic character, therefore, certain conclusions can be drawn from them about the real situation of women of that time. However, there were also such plots that could not exist in reality. Thus, a number of works are devoted to the love story of a human man and a dragon woman ^[3].

In the literary works of the Song Dynasty (960-1279)– the behavior of women becomes even more liberated. There are more women writers and poets. Thus, the poet Zhu Shuzhen (1135-1180) described her own fate in her poems: she was married to a man who did not appreciate her poetic talent. However, she found a lover who was also fond of literature. However, they could not be together, because Zhu Shuzhen was already married ^[6].

During the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), the images of women in literary works underwent great changes, and the level of inner freedom of female characters increased. So, in literary works, the number of women who strongly oppose marriage with an unloved person is growing. There are also images of female villains who were treated unfairly, so now they are cruelly taking revenge on their own abusers ^[4].

During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), as well as the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912), the desire of women to establish equal rights with men appeared. Although, due to a number of factors, the real position of women remained the same, the number of strong female characters in Chinese literature continued to grow.

In particular, in the work of Cao Xueqin (1715 – 1753) "The Dream in the Red Chamber" there are many female characters who play different roles and express different aspirations. "The Dream in the Red Chamber" is one of the most popular works of classical Chinese literature; in addition, "The Dream in the Red Chamber" can also be considered the pinnacle of the disclosure of female images in the literature of the era of Ancient China ^[2].

Typical female characters in the history of ancient Chinese literature.

The history of ancient Chinese literature is dominated by kind and calm female characters who are quite satisfied with their role and who do not seek equality. They are obedient daughters, devoted wives, loving mothers and hardworking housewives who do not strive for anything more.

Some heroines of ancient Chinese literature are fighting for their right to marry a loved one if they are not allowed to do so. Nevertheless, those of them who have achieved this right, after marriage, demonstrate traditional feminine virtues, no different in this respect from the other wives and mothers of their environment.

Despite the fact that the female character described above prevailed in the literature of Ancient China, there were other female heroines. Some women in the literary works of ancient Chinese authors go beyond the struggle for their love. They strive to realize their own ambitions in traditionally male spheres. As an example, we can cite the stories of women who volunteer to serve in the army or who take an exam to enter the civil service in order to work in the government in the future.

As an example, we can cite the folk song "Mulan" (approximately 6th century), which tells about a young girl Hua Mulan, who voluntarily went to war to save her father. In the war, Mulan showed herself to be a brave woman who is not inferior to men in military affairs. Perhaps Hua Mulan had a real prototype, although it is not yet known exactly ^[2].

The image of a brave, strong and unyielding woman was gradually formed and developed in Chinese literature. The status of a woman in Chinese society was quite low, and there was no one to complain about oppression to a woman, so not every woman had a chance to assert her rights during her lifetime. However, in some literary works, women could begin to fight for their rights after death.

So, in the "Stories of Liao Zhai about the extraordinary" by the author Pu Songlin (1640-1715), it is said about such women. After death, they turned into ghosts and other fantastic characters to avenge the wrongs that were inflicted on them during their lifetime. These women were distinguished by cruelty and ruthlessness towards offenders, because the psychological (and sometimes physical) injuries inflicted on them during their lifetime angered them and made them forget about mercy ^[5].   

Description of female appearance in the literature of Ancient China.

In ancient Chinese literary works, great importance is attached to the description of female beauty. Most often, beautiful women in literary works have a thin waist, an elongated neck, a beautiful smile, red lips, white teeth and forward-looking eyes.

Many views on female beauty in the times of Ancient China are somewhat different from modern ones. So, during the Tang Dynasty, a stout woman was considered beautiful. As an example, a poem by the poet Bo Juyi (722 – 846) can be cited "Eternal Sorrow", which describes the beauty of Yang Guifeng (719-756), the favorite concubine of the emperor of the Tang Dynasty. Bo Juyi emphasizes that the girl was quite curvy.

In addition, in ancient China, throughout all the imperial dynasties, white skin was highly valued among women. The whiteness of the skin testified that its owner is well-off, therefore, is not forced to do hard work in the village fields. That is why many beauties in ancient Chinese literary works have white skin.

While many poets and prose writers in ancient China talked about the beauty of female characters, some writers made ugly girls and women the main characters. Thus, Shi Nayan (1296-1371) makes the heroines of his novel "Fields of Water" both beautiful women and women whose faces the other heroes find vulgar and disgusting. The appearance and clothes of Gu's daughter-in-law, which is designated by Shi Nayan as ugly, are as follows: thick eyebrows and big eyes, a thick face and waist. Another heroine of the same work, Sun Ernyan, dresses carefully and deliberately, however, she still causes people to feel careless and unscrupulous with her appearance. In one of the scenes of the novel, Sun Erniang wears a hat with a yellow hairpin on her head and a bright red skirt; on her cheeks there is blush and lead powder, and the blouse has a deep neckline. Such an image was considered in the Chinese society of those years as quite catchy and vulgar.

Shi Nayan wanted to demonstrate that the value of a woman does not depend on her appearance. Sun Erniang and sister-in-law Gu are betting not on beauty, but on courage and mastery of martial arts. Both women have achieved a high degree of perfection in martial arts.

The influence of literary works on the transformation of women's consciousness in China.

Female images in the literature of Ancient China had a positive impact on the attitudes and worldview of Chinese women, as well as on changing views in Chinese society on women's social status. Thus, the analysis of ancient Chinese literature shows that the ideological and political views of ancient Chinese women are formulated and justified no worse than those of men. They are not inferior to men in their everyday mind, as well as in analytical thinking. The development of women's ideology in literary works of various eras is an important prerequisite for defending the rights and interests of women.

After the first female writers and poetesses appeared in Ancient China, the social status of women began to grow, because women understand that they can engage in intellectual work on an equal basis with men. Thanks to the above analysis of the development of female roles in ancient Chinese literature, it can be concluded that the status of women was steadily increasing; an increasing number of literary heroines occupied active positions. At first, their struggle for their rights was limited mainly to the struggle for the right to be with the man they loved, but then, women also began to win back the right to social realization in traditionally male areas.

Currently, equality between men and women in professional and family life has been achieved in Chinese society. There are still a number of problems (especially in remote mountainous regions of economically undeveloped provinces), however, the situation is rapidly improving. I would like to note that the achievement of all these successes has become possible due to a number of factors, including the influence on the female worldview of various epochs of works of Chinese literature, in which a woman is not content with the passive role that is traditionally assigned to her by society, but is trying to do something to change the situation.

However, in modern Chinese society, there are also such women who are too actively fighting for their rights, often infringing on the interests of men. For example, some women demand special treatment in the family and at work, and not on the basis of talents or achievements, not on the basis of pregnancy or poor health, but simply because they are women. This is the flip side of women's equality, which is peculiar not only to China, but also to other countries in which the social status of women is increasing.

Nevertheless, by such behavior, women achieve the opposite result. They cause irritation, forming a negative attitude of men towards women, including those of them who behave more decently. It is necessary to understand that only by reducing the conflict between the sexes can the status and rights of women really be improved. It is possible to reduce this conflict by demonstrating positive female images in various works of art, including literary works.

Consequently, it can be concluded that during the period of Ancient China, many female characters were created in literature. Considering that realistic tendencies prevailed in ancient Chinese literature, most of the analyzed images and plots quite clearly describe the female status characteristic of that time. Some of the female images have prototypes in real life; however, even if some situations are fictional, similar stories could very likely happen to real people.

Currently, the number and quality of studies of female images in ancient Chinese literature has grown. However, there are still many gaps and white spots in the process of studying this issue. I would like to express the hope that this work will help clarify some not entirely clear issues, as well as fill in existing gaps. Its results can be useful in conducting further research, as well as in teaching literary disciplines and writing new literary works.