Gender Dysphoria And Subject Construction:Self-presentation Of Female Writers In Late Qing Dynasty

The female literature of the Ming and Qing Dynasties is very prosperous.The poems,words,storytelling and other literary genres have became the way of self-presentation of female writers,and poetry is undoubtedly the most suitable way.In the creation of female writers in the late Qing Dynasty,poetry works still occupy an important position.Through their poetry works,especially those arranged in chronological order,we can glimpse their life trajectories,understand their selfpositioning and self-expectation,and even understand the social situation at that time.The late Qing Dynasty is a transitional period in which China is forced to move toward modernization,and its social situation is complicated.There are both internal and external problems.At the same time,there are both the fall of traditional thoughts and the influx of Western thoughts.Under this kind of situation,the female writers in the late Qing Dynasty have both a conservative side and a progressive side.Most of them were born into a family of literature,so they are deeply influenced by Confucianism and are rooted in the literary tradition of boudoir literature.Therefore,they consciously recognized and obeyed the two roles of "talented woman" and "perfect helpmate".From a personal point of view,they value their talents,and don’t want their works to be forgotten.So that they tried to establish the identity of "talented women" through the payment of their works,and even made themselves beyond the limited life to achieve spiritual immortality.However,in the social environment at that time,they clearly recognized the limitations of female characters,and realized that men and women are inequitable in the literary creation and the circulation of works.So they caused strong anxiety.This shows that they value their self-worth.From the family point of view,"perfect helpmate" is a ideal image of housewives in traditional society,that is,women should not only devote themselves to their husbands’ families,but also have excellent housekeeping ability,literary ability and interpersonal skills.Female writers in the late Qing Dynasty take this as their code of conduct,and are willing to show their wise image.However,in the process of dealing with family affairs,they often feel a sense of anxiety.They are constantly writing their own anxieties in their works,including family economy,family relationships,family trivia and children.It can be said that the identity of "perfect helpmate" brings great anxiety to women.It is worth noting that self-construction is a diachronic process,which is completed in the interaction between individuals and society.In the era of peace,the self-construction of female writers is centered on the two identities of "talented women" and "perfect helpmates".However,in the troubled times of the late Qing Dynasty,female writers deeply recognized the crisis of the country.At the same time,they were clearly aware that personal destiny is closely linked to the country’s future.Therefore,they constantly write their own feelings of home and country,and write their gender complaints.Under the background of saving the nation from extinction,women have received unprecedented attention.This made women in the late Qing get a relatively relaxed social environment.They began to fight for women’s rights and ran for the country.In the process they have agreed with the identity of the patriot.While from "talented woman" and "perfect helpmate" to "patriot" is an important process for female writers in the late Qing Dynasty to construct themselves.