Research Of Shi Shuyi's Qingdai Guige Shiren Zhenglue

Shi Shuyi was among the pioneers of Chinese women who made the first step out from their traditional boudoir into society during the transition period in late Qing dynasty and early Republic of China. As the daughter of a prefect, she gained classic education and was influenced by the feminist thinking in the new age. At the age of 17, she moved to Hunan province with her father who took a ministrative position in Hunan; at the age of 22, she married Cai Nanping who had studied abroad in Qing Dynasty. Before she turned 30, she underwent the lost of both her son and husband, after which she devoted herself into education cause and public affairs. Consecutively, she took the position as the headmaster and teaching monitor of Shanghai Chongming Women's School. She made the running among women in keeping short hair and abandoning the tradition of binding feet, and she called for promoting the equality between men and women. She was a supporter of Wu Hsu Reform and the Bourgeois Democratic Revolution led by Sun Yat-sen, both of which aimed at overthrowing the old social system and creating a new world in which men and women could enjoy equality. She has several works, among which are Qing Dai Gui Ge Shi Ren Zheng Lue, Xiang Hen Yin Cao, Bing Hun Ge Shi Cun, Sui Yuan Di Zi Yi Wen. Feeling sentimental for her own fate and worried for the nation's destiny, she wrote the Qing Dai Gui Ge Shi Ren Zheng Lue in an impersonal way while between the lines there are expressions loaded.Based on Shi's identity as a female social activist in the new time in late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China, the new trend of thought about women's revolution and its impact on Chongming County. The dissertation aims at showing the uniqueness of Qing Dai Gui Ge Shi Ren Zheng Lue as the consequence of that turning point by analyzing her literature and the related documentary sources, the general condition of the time during which she lived, and her essential theories about arts.The dissertation consists of three chapters. Chapter One introduces Shi's bibliography. In the first place, it is introduced the historical background of that turbulent time and the background of women revolution movement and how this period of history affect Chongming. This is to show the cultural background in which she grew up. Then, her life will be divided into two consequent periods of innocent days as a woman in her boudoir and days lamenting over her misfortunes and the country's unrest as well as taking part into social activities as a female after misfortunes with her husband's death as the turning point. The former part gives a general introduction of Shi Shuyi's life in childhood and her days as a maiden in Hunan with her father, during which she learnt poetry from the elderly in her family, enjoying her husband's company. At that time, she was a carefree young lady with dreams and ambitions. During the latter period of her life, the traumatic event of her husband's death became the start of a life-time sorrow. She returned to Chongming and took the position of teacher, headmaster, and teaching monitor consecutively in Chongming Women's School. She felt low when she was alone while being high spirit when she was in public.Chapter Two mainly introduces her writing process during the age after her 27-years-old, taking Xiang Hen Yin Cao and Bing Hun Ge Shi Cun for consideration. The rationale behind taking this time span to analyze is that this is the very time when she wrote the Qing Dai Gui Ge Shi Ren Zheng Lue as well. It is elaborated from two aspects:the reason of choosing this period of time to research her and the contents of her poems.Chapter Three focuses on introducing the Qing Dai Gui Ge Shi Ren Zheng Lue analyzes the motivation for writing, clarifies the composition of it, interprets from this work the writer's thinking about poetry. It is to show the differences between Shi Shuyi, the representitive of female critics in late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China, and her female counterparts in previous times by analyzing her views on the equality between men and women, women's talent and virtue, women's talent and fortune, women's ambition. In the aspect of composition, Qing Dai Gui Ge Shi Ren Zheng Lue keeps a strict structure taking an objective attitude, which is quite different from former works like Ming Yuan Shi Wei Chu Bian by Wang Duanshu, Ming Yuan Shi Hua by Shen Shanbao, contemporary works like Gui Xiu Shi Hua by Lei Jin and Lei Xian, and later works like Qing Dai Gui Xiu Yi Wen Lue by Shan Shili. The people and events cited in the book are totally referenced, which shows traits that are relevant to the characteristics of literature history.Chapter Two and Chapter Three are the main parts.