Family And Poetry: A Brief Study Of The Family Roles And Poetic Upbringing Of The Middle Qing Dynasty Jiangnan Intellectual Females With The Collected Female Works Of The Jiangnan Area(First Edition) As A Case Study

The regional culture and female culture of the Jiangnan Area catch more and more attention, with ever-arising new research perspectives and creative methodologies. However, due to the fact that women’s works are not well protected and therefore the extant women’s works are not large in number, research objects are much concentrated and narrow in scope. The Collected Female Works of the Jiangnan Area(First Edition) edited by Hu Xiaoming and Peng Guozhong was published by Huangshan Publishing House in August,2008, which selects dozens of collected works of the Jiangnan Area females in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, among which many are relatively rare block-printed editions, manuscripts and transcripts. It is the first of its kind home and abroad, providing much-needed convenience to the research of female literature and the Jiangnan Area regional literature.Based on the works selected in The Collected Female Works of Jiangnan Area(First Edition), this thesis examines the family role and poetic upbringing of the intellectual women in the Jiangnan Area. It falls into the following parts:1) Introduction. In this part, the reason for the abundance of the Jiangnan Area female poetry in the middle Qing Dynasty is investigated, with focus on economic, cultural, educational, social aspects and the degree of freedom of communication. The research situation and significance of this study is also analysed.2) Chapter1The Multiple Roles of Jiangnan Intellectual Females in Families in the Middle Qing Dynansty. In this part, the importance and change of the roles of ancient females in families as daughters, daughter-in-laws, wives or concubines, mothers including step-mothers and mother-in-laws are discussed in four subdivisions.3) Chapter2Leisure after needlework:Reading by Jiangnan Intellectual Females in the Middle Qing Dynansty. This part is subdivided into five sections, in which the leisurely cultural life of the Jiangnan intellectual females in the middle Qing Dynasty, i.e. cultural eduction and reading habits, writing subjects, works collecting and printing, apprenticing to masters, forming associations and works performing is discussed. The final part is the conclusion with emphasis on the research value of this thesis.By understanding and analysis of the works of the intellectual women in the Jiangnan Area, it is surprising to find that the stereotyped image of them as oppressed women like Xianglingsao in the feudal patriarchal family system is subverted. Instead, they are more often than not happy in family life and perseverantly maintains self-conscious spiritual pursuits under the shackles of the feudal ethics.