Study Of Female Characters In Chuanqi Of The Late Ming Dynasty

A rich variety of images of female groups in Chuanqi of the Late Ming Dynasty has always been an important territory of research but witnessing inadequacy of comprehensive studies to date. This dissertation adopts a synthesis of perspectives from literature, psychology and sociology and hackled/analyzed female images in Chuanqi of the Late Ming Dynasty, by basing itself on a comprehensive set of textual documentations and a wealth of previous literature. An attempt has been strenuously made in this five-chaptered dissertation to achieve a breakthrough in deconstructing female images in literature.Chapter One divides Chuanqi of the Late Ming Dynasty into three phases in terms of temporal advance of Chuanqi and made a four-theme-based categorization of Chuanqi, namely, romance, history, enlightening/education, and miscellaneous. Under this new framework a collective depiction of female images is conducted over all of the 201 pieces of Chuanqi in the Late Ming Dynasty.Chapter Two focuses on exploring the ideological and cultural connotation of those female images. It is argued in this dissertation that, authors of the Chuanqi in the Late Ming Dynasty on the one hand inherited the tradition of moral education in the Early Ming Dynasty and consequently constructed the typical female image of loyalty/fealty, filialness, chastity and righteousness/chivalry and on the other, they followed the theme of"affection"and then shaped a number of female figures in pursuit of love. My dissertation meanwhile expounds in detail the implicated beauty of talent among those female images, presenting a full picture of their personal lives.Chapter Three highlights arts beauty behind those female images. Strategies of constructing the female images in the Late Ming Dynasty are first addressed from two aspects such as style/generification and individualization. This chapter then decodes femininity and fiery of those female characters, in addition to the analysis of their libretto and mentality behind actions, and of rhetorical features of image-constructing.Chapter Four specializes in categorizing female images in Chuanqi of the Late Ming Dynasty. In recognition of varying identity, social status and family role of females, this chapter discusses a variety of females, in particular such most representative images thereof as duteous, chivalrous, affective,...