The earthly world and the red chambers : Qing women's self-representation and mediations with traditions in their writings on the Dream of the red chamber

Abstract

This thesis studies the Qing women’s writings on the Dream of the Red Chamber. Qing women’s comments on the novel formed an important aspect of the second high tide of women’s literature in late imperial China. By examining these writings, I intend to reveal how the women authors mediated with the Confucian morality and how they exerted influence on the literary tradition from its inside. I also intend to examine the women authors’ self-representations and their reflections on the actual world they lived in.

The thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter one introduces the historical background of the rise of women’s writings on the Dream of the Red Chamber, and proceeds to discuss women’s self-representations under the influence of the Chinese literary tradition, as well as the conflict between morality and literary talent they often felt. I will also briefly summarize previous scholarly works concerning this subject.

Chapter two analyzes Qing women’s poetic works and literary activities concerning the novel. I will make a few observations on the general tendency of women’s responses to the novel by examining their writing conditions, communities, the points they wanted to articulate, and their literary skills.

Chapter three and four investigate two women writers, namely, Wu Lanzheng and Gu Taiqing, respectively. Among the dramatic works adapted from the novel, Jiang Heng Qiu by Wu is known to be the only existing work written by a female author. In this part of my discussion, I will include Wu’s poetic works on the novel and her personal experiences to shed light on the dramatic work. On the other hand, Honglou Meng Ying (The shadow of the Dream of the Red chamber) by Gu is the most profound and extensive response to the original novel by a female author. Considering that Gu’s life was quite similar to the literary characters in the book and a variety of her writings have survived, I will conduct a detailed study of her poetic and dramatic works before I look into her novel.

The closing chapter draws conclusions from the previous chapters in the following three aspects: first, the influence of the textual world on the reality; second, women writers’ tendency of adopting the values of morality and literary talent concurrently, as well as their contributions to the literary tradition; and, third, the significance of Gu Taiqing’s case and Honglou meng ying. To sum up, inspired by the Dream of the Red Chamber, the Qing women authors undertook a rich variety of literary activities which demonstrated the complex relations between self and writing, and these women’s life experiences and creative activities also constituted an earthly picture of the “red chambers”.