Class
Article
College
College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Department
Languages, Philosophy and Communication Studies Department
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Abstract
Situated in the North Song dynasty of the 11th century, the Chinese classic novel The Water Margin illustrates multiple ideals of gendered identities, ranging from being sharply distinct and divisive to areas of ambiguity and continued negotiation between the sexes. On the one hand, there are instances of female heroes in The Water Margin who challenge the Confucian notions of women and their role, they are still bound by culturally embedded comparisons. The Water Margin defines and depicts its heroines as such because of their adherence to masculinity traits and actions, and not that of their traditional feminine qualities. Representations of the human body further illustrate these gender distinctions in contrasting scenes of conflict across Chinese and other East Asian novels. This essay seeks to explore how these relationships between gender roles and societal obligations can be seen as similar to power struggles and relationships. Also, by comparing Classical Chinese literature with counterparts in Japan, this essay explores how shared tendencies of this novel with selected Japanese texts can be demonstrated, and how cultural differences in gender relationships and their literary representations can be better appreciated with a more contextualized understanding of gender in traditional East Asian literature.
Location
Room 155
Start Date
4-11-2019 12:00 PM
End Date
4-11-2019 1:15 PM
Included in
Gender, Power and Representation of the Body in The Water Margin
Room 155
Situated in the North Song dynasty of the 11th century, the Chinese classic novel The Water Margin illustrates multiple ideals of gendered identities, ranging from being sharply distinct and divisive to areas of ambiguity and continued negotiation between the sexes. On the one hand, there are instances of female heroes in The Water Margin who challenge the Confucian notions of women and their role, they are still bound by culturally embedded comparisons. The Water Margin defines and depicts its heroines as such because of their adherence to masculinity traits and actions, and not that of their traditional feminine qualities. Representations of the human body further illustrate these gender distinctions in contrasting scenes of conflict across Chinese and other East Asian novels. This essay seeks to explore how these relationships between gender roles and societal obligations can be seen as similar to power struggles and relationships. Also, by comparing Classical Chinese literature with counterparts in Japan, this essay explores how shared tendencies of this novel with selected Japanese texts can be demonstrated, and how cultural differences in gender relationships and their literary representations can be better appreciated with a more contextualized understanding of gender in traditional East Asian literature.