Working women and gender narrative in early-modern Cantonese ballads : the case of female weavers and combing servants = 論中國近代嶺南唱本中的職業女性形象与性别敘事 : 以紡織女工和梳頭女傭為例

Abstract

Chinese early-modern working women are the marginal group and the scenery for men of letters. In the prominent process of industrialization and urbanization, new occupations for women emerged in Early-modern Canton, among which female weavers and combing servants were the most representative. The former stands for industrial mechanization and the reversal of family economic structure, while the latter symbolizes the transition of urban female fashion and family labor. However, in addition to their occupation, current studies tend to concern their observation of Cantonese non-marriage custom, or self-combing ( 自梳), and its sociological or economic significance, neglecting their unique life histories. Cantonese Ballads, which were created and enjoyed by the public class, recorded the relevant experience of these working women. Consequently, by close reading and focusing on the transformation of narrative perspective, narrative contradictions, and the ambiguous discourses by the implicit author, we can disclose the identity conflict of the female weavers between the independent laborer referred to as Tigress (胭脂虎) and the confused daughter. It also shows the ambiguous literary image of the combing servants who are voiceless. The life scenes or women’s monologues depicted in the Ballads reveal the images and gender concepts of these female workers formed by themselves and the public, and then we can hear her voices.