Women in Chinese literature

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 that used the plight of her husband's failed attempt at gaining a position as civil servant to write a poem that 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 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. Literary discourse at the time was highly influenced by this social movement. Women writers of the time authored works reflecting the feminist sentiment and the issues that came with revolution.^[3] Eileen Chang, Lu Yin, Shi Pingmei and Ding Ling, were four of the most influential feminist writers of the time. In the 1920s and 1930s, Freudian psychoanalysis gained favor 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.^[3]

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.^[3] 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.^[4] 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.^[3] Literature authored during this time reflects the restrictive and masculine perspective of women writers during this period.^[3] This "Mulanian" style of writing submerged true feminine identity, rendering the female perspective neglected and hidden in the male dominated political and aesthetic arenas.^[5] 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.

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