Research On Female Consciousness Of Gu Taiqing

Living in the the Qing Dynasty when female literature was developed comparatively,Gu Taiqing,a female Manchu writer, made remarkable achievements in poetry, opera and novel. She walked out of the boudoir, and mixed withpoetess friends from different regions, They had the same activities as male scholars,such as chanting poems, appreciating paintings, enjoying flowers, climbing mountains and visiting temples. Gradually they formed a poetry group beyond kinship--"Qiuhong Poetry Society". The communication between Gu Taiqing and these female poets is unique to women.For instance, they showed women’s delicateness and sensitiveness when they changed small gifts or expressed their resentment to death and farewell.Gu Taiqing’s creationcontains a unique female consciousness. In her legend "Peach Garden Story", she divided love into "flirting love""illusory love","infatuated love", and "true love".While she pursued unswerving "true love", she disavowed vulgar "flirting love", unreal "illusory love"and obsessive "infatuated love".Heranother legend "Plum Blossom Prelude" is also a description of true love. Gu Taiqing fully affirmed the value of emotion in the significance of female life, which reflects progress in female self-discovery. The female characters in her works are beautiful, affectionate and highly gifted. She also praised the talent of poetesses by her side.Theseall have a certain impact on the feudal patriarchal culture which advocates female imprisonment inside the boudoir and that "Ignorant women are virtuous"However, the new female image created by Gu Taiqing has its own unique contradiction. They tried to seek for the living space of "feeling"in the world of "ethnics",but still couldn’t get rid of the manipulation of "ethnics".Thus these characters are full of tension, which is obviously different from those in the works of other female writers,such as Liu Qingyun, Wang Yun, Wu Zao The contradiction reflected in Gu Taiqing’s creative concept is closely related to her own experiences.As Prince Yi Hui’s concubine, her manner had to conform to the aristocratic specification of Qing Dynasty.However, born in a declining family, grown up through hardships and suffered years of widowhood, Gu Taiqing became very sensitive and adamant. All those tribulationsmade her get a new understanding about life and ego.