A Comparative Study Of The Images Of Women 's Novels In Tang And Song Dynasties

The concept of "xia" appeared in Chunqiu Period. At that time, the writers always took the male as the main description object and the swordswomen were seldom mentioned. Until the first high point in the development of novels—Tang Dynasty, the image of swordswomen massively boarded the stage of literature for the first time and achieved great development. The writers have a mind to create swordswomen in the novels. The works about swordswomen mostly appeared in this period, too. The Tang Dynasty had the enlightened policy, which is including politics, economy and culture. In addition, the culture of the minority had an effect on central culture. That provided the conditions for the emergence of swordswomen. These works of swordswomen mainly appeared in the middle and late Tang Dynasty, which was related to the particular social environment. The struggle among military governors and parties prevailed in this period. The dark realities were the important social factors for the existence of swordsmen. The situation that a large number of the young men killed in the war made women assume more responsibilities in the family and the community. Women’s status at this time gradually improved. The prosperity of urban economy in Tang Dynasty prompted the rapid development of amuse activities, especially the acrobatics. After the Rebellion, acrobatics were becoming popular in the market, and their performances provided guidance for the swordswomen’s skills. The writers’ aesthetic concept also contributed to the emergence of swordswomen.Compared with the swordswomen works in Tang Dynasty, the works in Song Dynasty are inferior. People don’t think highly of them. But they also give the new image to swordswomen. For example, the author put forward the concept of swordswomen for the first time in Xia Fu Ren. Because of the age is similar, the works in the Song Dynasty inherit the features of the novels in Tang Dynasty on the plot description and image-building. At the same time, they also have their unique. We can say that the swordswomen in Tang Dynasty are self-confident and independent, but the swordswomen in Song Dynasty are introverted and lack of self-consciousness. The swordswomen in Tang Dynasty take an active part in political activities and have obviously traditional knightly spirits. The swordswomen in the Song Dynasty are secular and virtuous. On the marriage, they are different from the swordswomen in Tang Dynasty. The swordswomen in Song Dynasty are in line with the social moral ethics, more tolerant and concessional.The different social environment of Tang Dynasty and Song Dynasty is the main reason cause of the change about the image of swordswomen. Influenced by it, personal mentality has changed. So, the production has also been affected and reflects the social realities at the same time. The formation and evolution of people’s characteristics and the behaviors on swordswomen must be influenced by the particular social milieu and also respond to the reality. Therefore, different background and different mindset caused by the times change create the swordswomen image of different style.