Chinese

The Appeal Evolution of Female Consciousness in Chinese Modern and Contemporary Feminine Poetry

Date: 2024-02-05    Source: 

Abstract: Modern and contemporary Chinese women's poetry is an important part of modern and contemporary Chinese literature, especially women's literature. This paper selects the topic of the transmutation of women's consciousness in modern and contemporary Chinese women's poetry, takes Chinese women's poetry from modern times to the present as a whole combining diachronic and synchronicity, comprehensively uses feminist literary criticism, cultural studies, social history and other methods to sort out and interpret the transformation process of women's consciousness appeal in modern and contemporary Chinese women's poetry, and explores and summarizes the internal laws of the evolution and development of women's consciousness in women's poetry, so as to show the modernity process of women's emancipation and development in Chinese women's literature. The reason why women's poetry can carry and express the appeal of women's consciousness is determined by the characteristics of poetry and the characteristics of "gender" presentation of poetry. As the earliest literary form of human origin, poetry embodies the characteristics of expressing human survival experience through poetic thinking and the life rhythm of language, which is the expression of people's most authentic inner emotions and the essence of mythological spirit. Although there is no distinction between "genders" in this literary form, poetry does have "gender" characteristics due to the different genders of the chanters, and the thinking and linguistic logic of poetry that focuses on expression and form and emotional expression are also more conducive to the presentation of "gender" than other literary genres. Therefore, as an art form that expresses the survival experience and consciousness appeal of women's pursuit of freedom and liberation, women's poetry embodies the non-authentic survival experience that resists the suppression of female consciousness by layers of social, political, ethical and cultural layers, the pursuit of the authentic survival experience that eliminates gender differences once female consciousness is awakened, and the embodiment of the mythical spirit of the true existence of pursuing human liberation and freedom. In order to clarify the discussion of this paper, this paper defines and explains the conceptual connotation of female consciousness and women's poetry. The female consciousness referred to in this article refers to a kind of value experience and cognition of women as women in the sense of historical and cultural inheritance, which is reflected in three levels: gender consciousness, self-consciousness and subject consciousness. These three levels have a mutually inclusive and interactive relationship, in the process of modernity in women's struggle for freedom and emancipation. The degree of social development and women's self-awareness makes the demands for these three levels show a historical stage of emphasis. The term "women's poetry" in this article refers to the poetry texts that originated in the "May Fourth" period and can show the evolution of women's consciousness from awakening and struggle to cognition, understanding, and publicity, and embody the unique characteristics of women's culture and consciousness. The development process of modern and contemporary Chinese women's poetry artistically shows the modernity process of the transformation of Chinese women's consciousness. The development of modern and contemporary Chinese women's poetry is closely related to the transformation and development of modern and contemporary Chinese social history, political culture, which is also due to the characteristics of the literary era. The constraints and disciplines of traditional Chinese culture make it difficult for Chinese women to embark on the road of striving for their own liberation and equality like Western women through the feminist movement. From the perspective of the historical inheritance of poetry, the patriarchal cultural characteristics of ancient Chinese society with the patriarchal concept as the core, as well as the "discipline" of women in the moral and ethical order formed by patriarchal culture, make the text works of ancient female poets inevitably express the theme of "spring boudoirs and autumn resentment". Even with an outstanding female poet like Li Qingzhao, the expression of her female "self" still stays at the emotional level of women, rather than the appeal of women's consciousness. In the late Qing Dynasty, the changes of the times led by the Wuxu Reform Law gave birth to the chivalrous singing of modern female poets represented by Qiu Jin who broke through the "discipline", and realized the initial emergence of female consciousness in the texts of modern female poets. When social history develops to the stage of respecting and liberating "human consciousness", it will inevitably bring about the true awakening of women's consciousness.

 

Read the full article here:   中国现当代女性诗歌女性意识诉求的嬗变_金华.pdf