Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No.3, 2018

 

The Enchantment of Chinese Characters—A New Study of Women’s Poetry in the Joseon Dynasty

(Abstract)

 

Zhang Bowei

 

Linguists and historians often compare the status and role of the Chinese script in East Asia with that of Latin in Europe, but if we pursue the similarities and differences between the two in terms of scope, mechanisms and outcomes, we will find no answer in existing stores of academic knowledge. If, however, we approach the question from the points of view of women and region, we find that in the East Asian world of the Chinese script, the women’s poetry of the Joseon dynasty was “masculine” in character. Once women mastered the art of writing with Chinese characters, both their selfperception and the attitudes of men within and outside the family underwent a great change. Not only were these women writers able to share in the knowledge community of their male counterparts; to a considerable extent, it brought about a change in their status in both the family and society. This was in stark contrast to the exclusion of women in the Latinate European world. The efficacy of the Chinese script was bestowed on it by society. In the East Asian knowledge community, native Chinese personages, especially men, provided an important initial impetus.