Peng Xu, Associate Professor in the Institute of Humanities at ShanghaiTech University, has recently published a research article in Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews. Information of Professor Xu’s article is as follows:
Title: “Rereading Mingyuan shiwei: Wang Duanshu’s (1621–ca. 1706) Contradictions of Male Poetry Critics of the Late Ming”
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.
Professor Peng Xu is the first author, and ShanghaiTech is the only completion unit.