Women in Chinese Literature

The only times that women were mentioned in the Chinese culture was the time they were believed to have brought problems to their men. It is as well important the level of loyalty that was expected of Chinese women in their culture. Therefore, Chinese women were courageous, loyal and devoted to their husbands. These women strived so hard to discourage manipulation, intrigue, and selfishness among their children with an intention of bringing up children who could defend their culture in future. This paper, therefore, seeks to describe the impression of women as created by the Chinese literature. A lot of things have remained empty in the homestead and none wants to live in the home. She always kept her bed and compound clean that no one else can reach her level after her demise.

This is evident in the scent that people can still feel and reminds people of her. Her fragrance is still very strong that none can forget about her that easily. Anytime people think of her, the atmosphere becomes gloomy and people cry. This explains why men would always go for ladies who danced beautifully in community functions. In the poem ‘Visiting Han-tan: The Dancers at the Southern Pavilion,’ the author describes the singing and dancing of both girls and boys. The narrator talks quietly fondly of the Chinese girls who were dazzling and painted cheeks while in the occasion. The speaker made one of the lovely girls to sing for him. To the narrator, no occasion can be considered lovely and appreciated without the involvement of women in the society.

This is a sad life they must live no matter how much they continue crying in the society. After ten years of the woman’s death, the man cannot completely forget her in his memory. He has not pursued other women who are considered to be quite several in the society. It is from this perspective that one is made to believe that women are special people in the society that even men with many wives cannot ignore any single of them without enough protection and love towards her. Besides, the perspective brings a new way of looking into the Chinese culture as that kind of culture where women gave all their tender love and care to their men. Both the two poems depict women who made sacrifices for their families and their husbands.

To them, it is the happiness of their families that came first before their own happiness. The Chinese literature talks of men as those who take a lot of pleasure in music, wine, merry-making, and women. Most men dream of marrying several beauties for their own. Similarly, their women wanted to be treated with condescension and tolerance as beautiful ornaments in their own cultivated lifestyle of refinement and sophistication. Most importantly, the Chinese literature recognized the role of women in the political, social and literary activities in the society rather than always playing second fiddle to men. This definitely made them equal partners to men in the society. Besides, this part of the Chinese culture strongly discourages the conventional ills in the society such as arranged marriages, victimization of women through social evils, and foot-binding.

The same is experienced in ‘Endless Union’, the lady narrator talks about the merrymaking festival where she gets invited out by her friends. Her friends are in high party mood and a lot of wine drinking takes place in the festival. She is always weeping when she remembers him. She has even considered following him but she retracts back when she thinks of the sorrow that comes with that. She cares about those who remain behind in case of her demise. From the manner she mourns her husband; there is a successful illustration of her of the womanly virtues of loyalty, devotion, and chastity even after the death of her man. Her unwavering faith and chastity bring back her emotions after the death of the husband.

These types of love relationships are heart-rendering and this is not based on the forces of external evils in form of the opposing parents who are trying to stop the love affair but it is heart-rendering due to the slavish adherence of the lovers to the prevailing though unseen moral code. It is the impassioned and furious love that exists between the lovers that sometimes borders the pathological and perverse that causes the tragic end of both the woman and man in the situation. Therefore, the love outside the demesne of social acceptance and propriety is considered to be an ill wind that serves the purpose of blowing woe and agony to the lovers. For instance, a ‘Dream Song’, provides a narration of the memories of an enjoyable event that the couple had gone for far away in the sea.

They had lost their distance while taking their wine and they still do not regret getting lost in the sea. Additionally, women were enlightened through stories of manipulative women who brought downfall to their men due to their jealousy, and scheming nature in the society. In the poems covered by this work, there are virtues all brought out that the women employed in their daily interactions with men, for instance, humility, sacrifice, obedience, industry, cleanliness, and resignation. It is through these qualities that the proper roles virtues and roles were established by the Chinese literature. it was the women that made the families continuation quite possible in the culture. It is as well important to note that the impression of women in the culture had to do a lot with the moral lapses within the community.