Peng Xu (Tenure-track Associate Professor ) published her article entitled “Rereading Mingyuan shiwei: Wang Duanshu’s (1621–ca. 1706) Contradictions of Male Poetry Critics of the Late Ming”in Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews.
Abstract:
This essay provides a systematic examination of Wang Duanshu’s poetics through a close reading of her criticism of women’s shi poetry, expressed mainly in her commentaries on each poet that begin with the phrase “Duanshu said.” It sets out to rectify the previous misunderstanding of the disagreements on poetics between Wang Duanshu and her contemporary male theorists as Wang’s effort to “reform” the preexisting theories established by male critics. Rather, by reading through gendered lens and situating Wang’s comments back in their historical context, I argue that gender was a crucial historical condition of, and force behind, her promotion of Tang poets. She tries to break through a narrowly defined feminine tradition of classical poetry, and proposes to offer women poets a wide variety of styles of Tang poets as a repertoire of available choices to read and imitate, thus acquiring gender equity in education essential to the quality of classical poetry.