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Women and Literature in early Qing fiction Lin Lan Xiang
2016/2017 School of Chinese Research Students Seminar
《林蘭香》中的女性與文學
Women and Literature in early Qing fiction Lin Lan Xiang
魏其濛 Wei Qimeng
Date and Time: March 31, 2017 (Friday), 5:30-6:45pm
Venue: Room 730, Run Run Shaw Tower, Centennial Campus
Language: Putonghua
清初小說《林蘭香》講述了一個貴冑家庭中幾位女性的命運，作者讚賞她們出眾的文學才華，但小說同時暗示：女性的文學才華只在特定情況下是美好的，一旦超出了合理範疇，這種才華就會帶來危險。首先，如果女性的文學作品流入外部世界，她自己就有被輕薄的危險；其次，如果女性的“才”蓋過了“德”，她就不再是稱職的妻子和母親，會遭到丈夫的疏遠；最後，燕夢卿早逝的命運反映了歷史上人們對於“才女早逝”現象的迷戀，而這種迷戀來源於當時社會對女性才華的消極看法。
The early Qing fiction Lin Lan Xiang tells a story about the destinies of several women who live in a noble family. Even though the author appreciates their outstanding literary talent, the fiction implies that women’s literary talent is defined as a good thing only under certain circumstances. If a woman behaves inappropriately, her talent might bring harm to her. Firstly, if strangers saw a woman’s poems or paintings, there will be possibilities that she be molested. Secondly, when her talent overrides her morality, she wouldn’t be considered as a competent wife and mother any more, and could be estranged by her husband. Last but not least, Yan Mengqing’s death at an early age reflects the obsession of “talented women die young” in the history, and this obsession derived from the negative attitude towards women’s talent in traditional society.
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