The research on fu and theory of fu seldom concerns Qing dynasty and it is still unknown what kind of fu is considered the great works in the mind of literary authors in Qing dynasty. This study discusses Gufu in Qing dynasty, following the definition made by literary critics at that time: Gufu represents all kinds of fu except lüfu¡]fu with a special rhyme scheme and other prosodic features¡^. Through anthologies and the analysis of the literature, this study attempts to find out the great writers and classic works of fu, which are called ¡§canons¡¨ by literary critics in Qing dynasty. In addition, a further attempt is made to restore the literary norm through the review of literature and subsequently to reasonably interpret this literary norm and phenomenon. The results show that literary critics in Qing dynasty think that fu originates from poetry and is a kind of ¡§genre criticism¡§. Further, on the basis of this viewpoint, the evaluation of Gufu, historical views on fu, and canons are raised by literary critics in Qing dynasty.

Chinese feudal women have long been identified as victims of the Chinese Confucian patriarchy and discussed in terms of notions of backwardness, dependency, female passivity, biological inferiority, intellectual inability, and social absence. This image of the victimized women, however, is a product of China’s modernization and Westernization processes since late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century. Its formation is inseparable from the appropriation of the colonialist categories of sex binarism by the May Fourth male “new intellectuals.” This binary, linear gender ideology, together with the social context of Confucianism’s long-term status as the official, orthodox ideology in premodern China, easily led to the conceptualization of women in terms of absence, marginalization, and ultimately victimization. In this process, Chinese women became Woman, the other of Man, which constitutes a monolithic, ahistorical entity that masks specificities and variations in different historical periods and concrete cultural contexts, and obscures the dynamics of gender relationships. Kunqu (Kun opera) and the literati culture of late Ming (1573-1644) and early Qing Dynasty (1644~1722) surrounding it could be of particular use to demonstrate the problem of this binary and static conceptualization of gender in premodern China. In this study, I will be examining the case of two distinguished kunqu, Mudan ting (The Peony Pavilion) and Taohua shan (The Peach Blossom Fan), whose text, music, and performance raise interesting questions about femininity and masculinity in the specific social and cultural context of the time. Through this study, I want to help illuminate the inadequacy of the modernist, rigid sex binarism in understanding traditional Chinese gender ideology which cannot be reduced to the Western sexual physiology and biology, and to refute the ahistorical construction of the victimized Chinese Woman. / text

published_or_final_version / Chinese / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Wang Tao (1828-1897) had significant contributions in various fields, including the press, education and translation. He spared no effort to introduce advanced western ideas to China. These contributions and his dramatic life aroused the interest of scholars. In recent years, scholars noted the achievements of his fiction-writing and and published a large number of papers on this topic. However, his achievements in poetry-writing did not receive much attention. In order to fill this gap, the present thesis focuses on Wang Tao’s poetry-writing, aiming to give a comprehensive survey of his poems written before his exile to Hong Kong in 1862. The thesis is divided into five chapters. Chapter one illustrates the research background, the scope of the study and the research methodology employed. Chapter two is an analytical account of Wang Tao’s life with particular emphasis on how important events in his life influenced the styles of his poems. Chapter three illustrates Wang Tao’s concept of poetry-writing. Chapter four discusses the contents, artistry and styles of Wang’s poems in the specified period. Chapter five is the conclusion. It sums up the characteristics of Wang Tao’s early poetry and gives a critical account of the comments made by various reviewers. Wang Tao claimed that the style of his early poems was soft and plaintive（側媚）. It became “wild and unrestrained” （豪放粗獷）after he had experienced serious mishaps in his life. This drastic change has been fully addressed in the thesis. / published_or_final_version / Chinese / Master / Master of Philosophy

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”. / published_or_final_version / Chinese / Master / Master of Philosophy

toc / Chinese Historical Studies / Master / Master of Arts

published_or_final_version / Chinese / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Fine Arts / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Chinese / Master / Master of Philosophy

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of History, June 1999. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.