Alicia Relationque Conference Eleta: Women and Classical Literature in China
Chinese classical literature covers a period of about thirty centuries and, in the vast majority of cases, literary authors are men. As for the representation of women in these works, we can emphasize that they are not realistically represented. In general they are portrayed as the author saw women or as they expected to behave in a general way. It is also highlighted the evolution of the concept of masculinity throughout history, because in its first representations the image of man is of someone beautiful and sensitive, whose outer beauty is a reflection of its interior.
Taoism with its Tao concept presents the universe as a duality of two forces faced but complemented from each other. This philosophy relates man to heaven and light and women with earth, darkness and passivity. Confucianism by her part, through the "five relationships" equals the relationship of a woman with her husband to that of a subject with hers Lord.
During the era of the Han dynasty and in all later the representation of women highlights as a cruel and manipulator that is carried away by their passion if it does not educate it in its role in society. Especially the "biographies of exemplary women" of Liu Xiang, in which the wives or daughters of both humble and of a certain social category defend them before a figure of superior authority, such as a Duke or Emperor. The implication here, in addition, is that who is underneath has the right to criticize his superior when he is working badly, since the woman appears almost at the same level as the emperor in the illustrations. In contrast, subsequent reissues of exemplary women’s biographies.
From Tang and Song dynasties, the poetic works and works such as the story of Li Wa stand out, a young man who tries to earn the love of a prostitute and, after abandoning his studies and running out of money, Li wa abandons him. After many hardships the young man ends up approveing the exams of the Imperial Academy and ending up marrying Li Wa.
From the Yuan dynasty, formed after the Mongol invasion, the play “The injustice against Dou e” is mentioned in which a young dou e marries the son of a woman whom she was sold as a child. After being a widow, she refuses to get married out of respect and love of her husband, in contrast to Mrs. Cai, who after taking many years of her widow life and being self-sufficient wants to get married again.
Finally, in the Ming dynasty the strong faithfulness imposed by society to women highlights. A wife commits suicide is expected after being a widow and her relatives were paid for it. Nor are the stories of widows that reach extremes such as using their own meat to feed their in -laws.
The work "Jin Ping Mei, scholar of the laughter" of it was, tells the story of a young passionate and with a heart of Tigre who ends up killing her husband. presents high language with vulgar along with especially graphic erotic scenes. We can also highlight works such as "The Pavilion of the Peoniaes" by Tang Xianzu or "Strange Tales of Liaozhai" by PU Congling.
As added it is important to mention the appearance of the first literary societies of women between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries.
The conference and its contents were interesting and entertaining not only by the literary content, but also by the content related to the history, society and ways of thinking of ancient China in general and their relationship to the role of women within literary works.
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