From Chunqiu and Zuozhuan to Shiji, women have experienced a downgrade of their formal status in historical records. In Shiji, women, the wives of dukes, lost their formal equality with their duke husbands in terms of being written into state history, as we see in Chunqiu. Their activities, including marriage, returning home, visits, and death, disappeared from Sima Qian’s history for the Spring and Autumn period, which focuses on the activities of male members of ruling lineages. A positive representation of women’s wisdom, eloquence, and authority is no longer in the interest of nor taken as a ritual part of history writing in Shiji. In the terms of representation of women, especially those from the Spring and Autumn period, in Zuozhuan and Shiji, Zuozhuan gave fuller representation of women than Shiji and its attitude toward women was more positive in comparison to the latter. First, Zuozhuan in many examples presented women as having authority, agency and initiative; in the Shiji versions of these stories, the roles of women were reduced in order to strengthen the agency of and focalization through the male members of a ruling lineage toward a goal of a linear logic of succession. Second, Shiji stressed the disruptive role of women in state affairs by intensively preserving the stories in Zuozhuan that associated women with political disasters and emergencies. Third, Zuozhuan had a non-gendered approach to the effect of women’s wisdom, knowledge and eloquence; it left space for complexity of characterization for women. In contrast, Shiji and Lienü Zhuan, where these stories in Zuozhuan were transmitted, emphasized a patterned understanding of women and produced gender role types. With the representation of women in Shiji, the effect of the agency of women in history is patterned. In Shiji, women’s agency is more closely connected to political disasters and negative political situations. In the limited representation of positive heroines, their good roles came from their virtue in being self-restrictive and submissive. It implies as a historical teaching in Shiji that the limitation of the political autonomy of women is a way to promise the success of lineage and tradition.

"Yuewang Goujian shijia," the forty-first chapter of the Shiji, is one of the most important sources for the history of the ancient state of Yue. However, this chapter has not received serious scholarly examination in the West. Unlike those chapters of the Shiji which have been translated in the Shiji translation project headed by William Nienhauser, "Yuewang Goujian shijia" has not yet been translated into English. This thesis provides an annotated translation of the "Yuewang Goujian shijia." In addition, it has been argued that the history of the Spring and Autumn period in the Shiji is a compilation of earlier sources. The introduction to the translation will specifically look at the relationship of the "Yuewang Goujian shijia" to one of its proposed sources, the "Yueyu xia," which is the twenty-first chapter of the Guoyu. In comparing these two texts, it will be shown that dependence cannot be definitely demonstrated.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Berkely, 1987. / Illustrations of the original dissertation are not included. Includes bibliographical references (p. 283-294).

Gu Taiqing (1799-1876) also known as Gu Chun was poetess of Manchu origin, author of shi poems, ci lyrics and the first Chinese novel written by woman. Research of the diploma thesis is based on ci lyrics collection Fisherman`s songs from Eastern Sea and partly on shi poems Collection from the Tower of Celestial Wandering. Gu Taiqing`s poetry, of which some translations are included, is strongly autobiographical and it almost represents chronicle of her life. Poems give opportunity to explore her curriculum vitae, lyrics on the other hand create space for Gu Taiqing`s unique poetry language. Gu Taiqing expresses herself in many ways - as devoted wife, loving mother, faithful friend, art enthusiast, traveller and flower fancier. The main directions of her poetry was poetic interview or exchange with her husband Yihui and poems addressed to her friends - poetesses, members of The Autumn Red poetess circle. Gu Taiqing was inspired by each of the following Song poets: Zhou Bangyan, Jiang Baishi, Li Qingzhao, and their specific influence on Gu Taiqing`s poetry will be shown with examples in the diploma thesis. Gu Taiqing's poetry connects traditional literature with the first diffident exploration of the new territory. Gu Taiqing`s unique poetic expression completes woman chambers poetry and shows the...