2013-2014 School of Chinese Staff Seminar

近年來，以西方漢學界爲主導的明清女性研究，對明清女性寫作與文化生活做了廣泛的闡釋。女性由寫作的對象轉變爲寫作的主體，“女性主體性”因之得到凸顯。以《閨塾師》、《綴珍録》爲代表的婦女研究著作，將明清女性寫作者塑造爲婦女文化的積極創造者，可看作此一時期有關女性主體性探尋的主流傾向。然而，歷史的豐富駁雜與中國傳統社會的特性，往往又不為現代概念所拘限。本文以明代中後期具代表性的女性寫作者徐媛、王端淑、顧若璞爲例，探討其創作、成名之背景與意義，試圖說明，在性別格局未有基本撼動的情況下，女性手執彤管，大多數時候並沒有所謂“性別主體”的驅動。寫作對於女性而言，也可以是名利的工具、存史的載體以及婦職之餘的個人消遣。

As anthologies written by women of the Ming and Qing dynasties have excavated in recent years, researchers pioneered by western scholars have interpreted these writings and women’s cultural life comprehensively. Since women have become the subject of writing, “female subjectivity” has been iterated overtly or covertly in previous scholarship. For instance, in both Teachers of Inner Chambers and Precious Records, women writers were portrayed as active participants of women’s culture. However, contemporary concepts cannot fully explain the complexity and characteristics of traditional Chinese society. This talk analyses the background and meaning of women writers’ writing as well as the ambiguity of “female subjectivity”, with a focus on three representative women writers of the Ming dynasty – Xu Yuan, Wang Duanshu and Gu Ruopu. It argues that apart from the signification of gender subjectivity, writing could also be a tool for fame and gain, a means to preserve history, and a personal hobby after fulfilling women’s duty.