| Liu Hsiang's (ca. 77-6 B.C.) The Biographies of Women (Lieh-nu chuan) is one of the most important works in the formation of Chinese ideals of womanhood, not least because it started the historical genre of biographies. For in the History of the Latter Han Dynasty (Hou Han shu), the third of twenty-four standard dynastic histories, Fan Ye (398-945) included seventeen biographies of women in a chapter he named "Biographies of Women." Most of the succeeding dynastic histories followed the practice, and, after the Sung Dynasty, the "Biographies of Women" chapter became a regular feature in dynastic histories.;This dissertation has three main parts. Part one focuses on Liu Hsiang's The Biographies of Women, finding that his use of non-gendered language and his visions of different roles for imperial and common women indicate that he tries to appropriate women in the Confucian tradition. Ironically, his efforts lead to a more clear path for later Confucian historians to reinforce stipulations on women.;Part two examines the biographies in the seven dynastic histories that include a "Biographies of Women" chapter. Although the chapters are entitled "Lieh-nu chuan," literally "Biographies of Various Women," the content becomes increasingly the "Biographies of Chaste Women," a homophone of the former.;The last part discusses the development of certain themes throughout these dynastic histories: motherhood, sexuality, widow remarriage, women's names, chastity, and filial piety. Apparently, there is a division of virtues: not only do certain virtues, such as chastity, become nearly exclusive demands of women, but also other virtues develop different requirements depending on whether one is male or female.;To sum up, the tradition of the "biographies of women" is neither by women nor for women. When we look closely, these biographies can hardly be said to represent how women lived. At best, they reveal Confucian tradition's ideals of womanhood. |
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