The Eulogy To Feminine In Francois Cheng's

Throughout the history of art and culture,female images have appeared in almost every artist's painting,and in every writer's writing,and such various illustration of the theme of feminine makes it extremely difficult to avoid cliches.However,in the world of Frangois Cheng's writing,the female images have unique characteristic,which comes as a breath of fresh air.In his works,almost all male figures are delicate and weak,while the female figures are relatively enriched and highlighted.These women were alight with shining glory,which has,to some extent,eclipsed the male figures.Woman always occupies a very important role in the hero's life and has a significant influence on him.The female figure is usually the guide and the Savior,as well as the final source of inspiration for men.Francois Cheng is pondering woman's mystery in connection with man's position in universe,and making a warm tribute to the feminine.Through specific text analysis,this thesis explores the secrets behind the theme of feminine,and tries to make a creative interpretation of Francois Cheng's writing.Therefore,our study is devoted to answer questions such as how are women being represented?Are there any metaphors behind the feminine?Why the author attaches such importance on it?In addition to the introduction and conclusion,the main part of this thesis will be divided into three chapters:The first chapter explores how the works of Francois Cheng build the image of feminine.The main female figures in the three novels of Francois Cheng-Le Dit de Tianyi,L'eternite n'est pas de trop,Quand reviennent les ames errantes are analyzed,which starts by their name,their beauty,their character,as well as their roles and status in novels-muse,initiator and Savior.The second chapter focuses on the metaphors behind the image of feminine.First of all,the "Other" image of woman is the projection of author's own "Other"identity.The further Francois Cheng goes on the road of cultural dialogue,the deeper he digs in the mystery of the "Other".The eulogy to feminine is also a eulogy to the"Other",which contains the author's own insights and experiences travelling in different cultures.Secondly,the female image is a metaphor of motherland.In Frangois Cheng's works,the female figures are mostly gentle and maternal,in whom the author has added his nostalgia for the motherland.In Le Dit de Tianyi,wherever Tianyi was,he was still waiting for the call of Yumei to come back to her.In addition,the image of woman is also the metaphor of western culture.In his work,there are many female figures that were yearning for freedom and they were courageous enough to get rid of feudal ethics and to pursue their love.These women,under the influence of Western culture,brought shock and triggered changes in China's old society.Through these female images,we will be able to glimpse the introspection of author on traditional culture and pursuit of free spirit.The third chapter is devoted to understand why Francois Cheng valued feminine so much.We explore the influences from both Chinese and Western cultures.On the one hand,the author was deeply influenced by Chinese Taoism,which always attaches great importance to"Yin".According to Taoism,"Yin" is the origin and the end of universe.In his works,Francois Cheng affirmed that woman is the source of life as well as the muse of artistic creations.In his point of view woman can reach infinity by finitude and prolong life in the bosom of nature.On the other hand,the Western influence is also very important.As salvation and love are essential themes of Christian faith,woman in Cheng's writing always undertakes the role of initiator and savior in hero's life.Moreover,in Western aesthetic culture,"eternal female" is the carrier of the poetic discourse,with the charm of controlling and guiding man's soul.It is the Western art led him to discover the beauty of the female body and cultivated his veneration for feminine.Francois Cheng respects Taoism,but instead of pessimistic attitudes of Taoist,his western lifestyle leads him to constantly seeking of salvation and transcendence.Image of women described by Francois Cheng is actually his meditation for life after travelling between East and West.The image of feminine in Francois Cheng's writing is unique and exceptional,it contains rich metaphorical meanings,and also reflects the author's creative thoughts of integrating Chinese and western cultures.This eulogy to feminine is a magical window,which brings us a new perspective in reading Francois Cheng's writing,and leads us to make one step closer to the author's inner world.