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This thesis examines issues of female power and influence in sixteenth-century China focusing on how women and their roles were perceived in the changing social environment of the mid-late Ming dynasty. Using aspects of a New Historicist approach, information from contemporary literary and historical sources are analysed alongside each other. With its emphasis on the lives of women and preoccupation with the description of material objects, the late Ming novel Jin Ping Mei forms an important element in the thesis. China in the sixteenth century saw expanding urbanisation, the emergence of a new wealthy merchant class, increasing visibility of women and a questioning of traditional morality. Fashion consciousness, as one of the most conspicuous aspects of the new material culture, is a possible indicator of these trends. Traditional Western theories contend that fashion began in the particular context of Renaissance Europe. However, this study argues that a similar fashion awareness existed in China too, and was manifested in a competitive striving for social status, in this case specifically among women. In contrast to previous studies which downplayed the impact women had on defining traditional Chinese culture, this thesis demonstrates how women and their sartorial choices began to redefine the boundaries of material culture, influencing literati discourse which, in turn, re- influenced female behaviour.

Diss.--Göttingen. / Vita. Bibliography: p. 193-205.

Thesis (M.A.)--Jāmiʻat Baghdād.

Abstract The dissertation studies a number of poems on drama-watching culled from collected works of Qing-dynasty writers. From the perspectives of drama criticism, intertextuality, as well as the history of the attitudes of literati, the present study aims to reexamine the following issues of Qing drama, namely: a) the development and changes of dramatic aesthetics, b) the relation between the poets and their poems on drama-watching, c) the interaction between the writers and actors/actresses, and d) the formation of relevant poetic criticism. These issues are of great significance in the scholarship of Qing drama but have not been given much attention. There are two clues in the thesis, namely one to the attitude of the literati revealed in the poems, and the other to the specific "poetic criticism on drama" from the literati's perspectives. Chapters two to five examine the literati's attitudes of the four periods of the Qing. Chapter two focuses on the transitional period of Ming and Qing (1644-1661), when the majority of drama-watching poems were written as expressions of sentiments on dynastic changes rather than dramatic criticism. This inception period saw a large number of poems. Chapter three studies the poems writing during the reigns of Emperors Kangxi and Yongzheng (1662-1722), focusing on the writers' reflection on history. The plays of this period mainly concerned history and witnessed the strict censorship for public performance. Therefore, the poems written in this period demonstrate the different choices and encountering allowed by the political backgrounds of the time. Chapter four explores the aesthetic tastes of literati of the Qianlong and Jiaqing (1723-1820) reign-periods. Prominent features of these poems include the lauding tone of the flourishing empire and the pursuit of exquisite life styles. Chapter five focuses on the late Qing (1821-1911) period. Through the analysis of the poems by women writers, it discusses the new, trans-gender trend triggered by feminine vision on drama writing and watching a. Chapters six to eight discuss drama-watching poems respectively from three perspectives, namely literati's comments on the actors, the reception of the drama texts, and the criticism of drama. Chapter six makes use of a book, Historical Records of Yandu Theatres in the Qing Dynasty (Qingdai Yandu liyuan shiliao) and explains that among Qing literati there was formed a system of "poetic appraisal of actors," which was an integration of the traditions of appraising poetry, paintings, etc. The aesthetic criteria in the system represented a unique phenomenon in the interactions between literati and actors and gave rise to this unique kind of poetic criticism on dramatic performance art. Chapter seven offers new, in-depth interpretations of theme and plot of selected dramatic texts from the perspective of meta-vision. It also argues that the poetic criticism on drama actually realized the process of canonization. Chapter eight focuses on the practice of "poetic appraisal of drama," which evolved from "poetic appraisal of poetry." The perception and comments on dramas largely enriched dramatic criticism by the topics about the poets' distinctive tastes and interests in writing, rhyming, and even diction choices. In short, the value of drama-watching poems lies in its special critical system based on the observation of drama. The genre reached its maturity in the last heydays of classical literature, and integrated multi-dimensional cultural elements such as poetry, drama, painting, and chess. What is more, it also involves other aspects such as the attitude of literati, their recreation and entertainment, aspiration and pursuits, social reality, etc., and makes a miniature of the cultural life style of Qing literati.;本文旨在將分散於清人詩文集中的觀劇詩作集中搜集和整理，以這些史料為依託，從觀劇詩的創作者（即文人群體）入手，藉助文人心態史研究、戲曲批評研究、文本互涉研究等方法，重新審視清代戲曲的審美需求如何轉變，觀劇詩與其作者之間有著怎樣密切的關係，伶人與文人如何相處，觀劇組詩如何建構為戲曲批評系統等問題，這些問題都是清代戲曲研究中不可忽視，卻又尚未深入的話題。行文共分為兩條線索：一是觀劇詩所體現的文人心態；二是濡染著文人審美眼光的「以詩論戲」的戲曲批評。第二章至第五章以時間為序，將觀劇詩呈現的文人心態通過四個時期進行論述：第二章是明清鼎革之際（1644-1661），探析文人面對易鼎的變化，借觀劇詩寄託興亡之感，明清之際是戲曲雅俗轉變的主要階段，大量文人介入戲曲及觀劇詩創作，首先保證了觀劇詩的質量，但仍屬於初期階段，多以記錄演劇或世變之思為主，鮮少有劇論性質的作品；第三章是康雍年間（1662-1722），文人轉向對歷史進行反思，此時出現的傳奇雙璧都多少關涉到史實，搬演之路經歷了由禁到解禁的坎坷路程，其是否可以搬演主要取決於統治者，因此文人對歷史的反思只能遊走在主流話語所給予的限度之間，這一時期的觀劇詩恰好記錄了文人因禁演所作出的不同選擇與遭際；第四章是乾嘉時期（1723-1820），此時的文人多未經歷過易鼎之痛，成長於新朝，感念皇恩，從宮廷到民間的觀劇都彰顯著盛世的繁華，觀戲聽曲重新回到對閒賞旨趣的追求；第五章是晚清時期（1821-1911），演劇活動較為豐富，加之心學與性靈的影響，女性開始走出閨閣並創作觀劇詩，詩中女性對家國、生死、功名等話題的關注呈現出向男性視角跨界的傾向。第六至第八章分別從文人對伶人的審美評判、文人對戲曲文本的接受、觀劇組詩蘊含的戲曲批評三個方面以專題形式進行探討。第六章中以《清代燕都梨園史料》為中心，文人結合中國文化傳統中的詩品、畫品等形式構建了一套「以詩品花」（花指伶人）的系統，形成了品評式的審美標準，成為文人與伶人交往中的獨特現象，同時也是只有觀劇詩才能實現的詩美藝術。第七章中觀劇詩以後設視角（meta vision）重新解讀戲曲文本，是對戲曲主題、情節的深入解讀，在清代演出頻率較高或常常被提及的作品中，大量的觀劇詩創作整合在一起，更便於審視戲曲作品的經典化問題。第八章中則專門探討「以詩論曲」這一評點範式，其由「以詩論詩」發展而來，同時蘊含著文人對戲曲的品讀、認識，這些個體的體悟並不是同一的，而是各抒己見，評點範圍涉及創作論、曲論，甚至煉字與用韻等諸多層面，豐富了戲曲評論的內涵。綜上，觀劇詩的主要價值在於其對戲曲的關注所形成的獨特評點體系，這一評點體系成熟於古典文學發展最後的高峰時期，是結合了詩、詞、曲、畫、棋等多重文化維度的戲曲批評，同時又不僅僅局限於「以詩論曲」，其涉及的文化層面涵蓋了文人心態、娛樂閒賞、理想追求、社會現實等諸多層面，也是清代文人生活的縮影。

This thesis focuses on two early and middle Ming (1368-1580) artists and deals with the role of Chinese historiography in the perpetuation of the dichotomy between the so-called "professional" and the so-called "scholar-amateur" artist. While traditional Chinese historical and biographical sources are an invaluable tool for the sinologist, including the Chinese art historian, the convention adopted by Chinese historians of casting subjects into standard characterized roles has contributed to this dichotomy and resulted in the ongoing debate over the value of the professional artist in China. Historically, Chinese critics and collectors have made a distinction between professional and amateur artists. The traditional Chinese critical bias has been in favour of the scholar-amateur artist. In fact, in much critical literature there is a stigma attached to professionalism in painting. The major initial Western studies of Chinese painting represented a continuation of the traditional Chinese dichotomies. More recently, various kinds of positions have been taken up by Western scholars. James Cahill suggests that a correlation can be made between an artist's painting style and social and economic factors (such as lifestyle, formal training, means of livelihood, demands of patrons, and so on). Richard Barnhart instead defends the professional artist: He believes that Cahill perpetuates the bias in favour of the amateur artist, and that a correlation between an artist's style and social and economic factors is not useful, being too restrictive and general. Their debate was taken up in a series of letters, and this debate has continued down to the present. Some of the most recent Western interpretations attempt to try to break down the earlier dichotomies, and my research supports this interpretive trend. In this context the thesis examines the life and works of two relatively minor artists of the Ming dynasty, the "professional" artist Wu Wei (1459-1508) and the "scholar-amateur" artist Lu Zhi (1496-1576). I discuss the Chinese biographical tradition and have translated the appropriate texts and biographies. Then by examining the paintings themselves in the context of the two artists' environments — Wu Wei in Beijing and Nanjing and Lu Zhi in Suzhou — I show that both of these artists enjoyed the freedom of working in a wide variety of different painting traditions. Early and middle Ming painting criticism is also examined, in addition to the influence of Late Ming (1580-1644) painting criticism and its effect on our perception of Chinese artists. In terms of style, aesthetics, and intellectual outlook, Wu Wei and Lu Zhi may, at first, appear to stand at opposite poles. However, my study of the life circumstances of Wu Wei and Lu Zhi reveals that they share surprisingly similar backgrounds, concerns, and views on their artwork. In addition, an examination of the works of these two artists suggests that a greater fluidity of style and of subject matter existed in the early and middle Ming period than one would expect from the theories based on Late Ming criticism. In other words, the distinction between professional and scholar-amateur artists is overdrawn: Wu Wei and Lu Zhi do not fit neatly into the later understandings of accepted categories or roles, nor do their paintings entirely accord with the theories originating in the Late Ming Period. / Arts, Faculty of / Art History, Visual Art and Theory, Department of / Graduate

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In the patriarchal milieu of sixteenth-century China, women demonstrated agency in their families and communities through their religious practices. Male family members typically performed Confucian rites related to ancestor veneration; yet there were many opportunities for women to participate in practices associated with other religious traditions. In this study, I will elucidate the religious roles of women during the late Ming dynasty (1368—1644 CE). Using the cultural-historical method, I will demonstrate the ways in which women gained agency and freedom from social conventions through their religious practices. By comparing literary sources with historical documents, I will validate the use of my major literary source, Jin ping mei, to study the religious practices in sixteenth-century China. This study will provide scholars with a nuanced understanding of gender roles within upper-class families in early modern China. Women were not simply passive, submissive members of a Confucian society; rather, they often gained authority and autonomy within their families and communities. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)