The Relationship Between the Cult of Qing and Gender in the Poetry of Liu Rushi PDF

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An essay evaluating gender within the poetry of Chinese poet Liu Rushi....

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Leah Field ASIA2609W 4/21/19 The Relationship Between the Cult of Qing and Gender in the Poetry of Liu Rushi In late Ming China, a social and ideological movement knows as the cult of qing rose to prominence among poets and literati.1 The concept of qing in late imperial China is difficult to explain and even more difficult to define. The Chinese word ‘qing’ has at different points been translated into English as ‘love’, ‘emotion’, ‘authentic feeling’, ‘romanticism’ and a range of other words and phrases. However, no one phrase fully captures the true meaning of qing. In essence, qing is the glorification of authentic love, feelings, and emotion in all forms, with a particular importance attached to romantic love.2 The cult of qing, therefore is the literary movement that emphasized “a deepened appreciation of the beauties of nature; a general exaltation of emotion over reason and of the senses over intellect.” 3 The cult of qing idolized passionate love and authentic emotion over all other values, and it viewed women, and courtesans in particular, as embodiments of this ‘ideal love’.4 During the Late Ming Period, the cult of qing exerted a huge influence on poetry and had an especially powerful influence on the portrayal of gender in poetry. However, due to the contradictory nature of qing regarding gender, it is unclear whether that influence served to improve the representation of women in poetry or to reinforce

1 Santangelo, Paolo. “The Cult of Love in Some Texts of Ming and Qing Literature.” East and West 50 (2000): 439-499. 2 Ibid. 3 Santangelo, Paolo. “Reconsidering the ‘Cult of Qing’ in Late Imperial China: A ‘Romantic Movement’ or a Conveyer of Social Values?,” Ming Qing Yanjiu 14 (2006): 133-163. 4 “The Cult of Love in Some Texts of Ming and Qing Literature,” (East West, 440)

conventional stereotypes of women. The concept of qing is contradictory regarding gender because of the inherent conflict between the celebration of authenticity and the idealization of women as embodiments of romance. The cult of qing encompasses both of these ideals, yet it does not question how to reconcile them if a woman’s authentic self does not embody romance and love. How did this contradiction exhibit itself in the writing of authors, and in particular female authors, who were influenced by the cult of qing? In this essay, I will analyze the poetry of Liu Rushi, a Ming Dynasty courtesan, in order to demonstrate how the conflicting ideals of authenticity and female romanticization within the cult of qing simultaneously encouraged the subversion of traditional gender norms in poetry and reinforced stereotypes of women in poetry. In my analysis of Liu Rushi’s poetry I will focus on two of her poems: ‘Swordsmanship’ and ‘Dream of the South: Thinking of Someone’. In Liu Rushi’s ‘Swordsmanship’, the influence of qing is evident in the authenticity of Liu Rushi’s narrator. The cult of qing was obsessed with authenticity. 5 Anything inauthentic was considered contemptible, while authentic emotions were valued above all else. For women writers, this idolization of authenticity above all other values was an incredible opportunity to break traditional gender norms. After all, according to this ideal, how could a woman be wrong to dress or act like a man if she was being her authentic self? Indeed, this principle seemed to provide justification for writers to subvert any and all gender norms, as long as their writing remained authentic. Bian Er Chai, a collection of four stories meant to embody qing, contains a clear example of this argument. In one of the stories, called “The Story of Heroic Love,” two

5 Lu, Tina. “The Literary Culture of the Late Ming (1573-1644),” in The Cambridge History of Chinese Literature, ed. Tina Lu et al. (Cambridge University Press), 63-151.

men fall in love and enter into a romantic relationship.6 When one of the men laments that their relationship is wrong because he is not a woman, his partner replies, “What we've done today is wrong if judged according to li (reason/principle); however, if judged by the logic of qing, it is possible for a man to become a woman, or for a woman to become a man, or for the living to die, or for the dead to come back to life. Those who are bound by the distinctions between man and woman or life and death have not lived their qing to the fullest.” 7 Therefore, using the cult of qing as justification, “women could aspire to create literature as an expression of true self” and in the process push against traditional portrayals of women. 8 Liu Rushi does this in her poem ‘Swordsmanship’. In ‘Swordsmanship,’ Liu Rushi’s female narrator speaks with an authentic voice that has masculine rather than feminine qualities. By using a female narrator who speaks in an authentic yet archetypally masculine voice, Liu Rushi uses the mechanism of qing to challenge the idea of what it means to be a woman. It is clear that Liu Rushi constructs an unmistakably female narrator in her poem “Swordsmanship”. The sense of angry helplessness conveyed in the poem points to the fact that the narrator is female. “To no avail does my energy fill the entire world,” the narrator laments.9 “White haired in Yangzhou, my heart is overcome by sorrow. Gazing at this straw-hatched cottage- what can I accomplish?”10 In these lines, the narrator’s helplessness is clear. Her efforts

6 Huang, Martin W. “Sentiments of Desire: Thoughts on the Cult of Qing in Ming-Qing Literature,” Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews 20 (1998): 153-184. 7 Ibid. 8 Zurndorfer, Harriet T. “Prostitutes and Courtesans in the Confucian Moral Universe of Late Ming China (1550–1644),” International Institute of Social History 56 (2011): 197-216. 9 Idema, W. L. The Red Brush: Writing Women of Imperial China. Cambridge: Harvard University Asia Center, 2007. 10 “Swordsmanship,” (The Red Brush: Writing Women of Imperial China, 382)

are “to no avail” and her heart is therefore “overcome by sorrow.” In the patriarchal society of imperial China, women had no political or social power to effect change. The narrator’s laments of her helplessness are a direct result of her feelings of powerlessness as a woman in this society. Further, the narrator describes her white hair and the fact that she is in a cottage in Yangzhou. This, combined with the narrator’s helplessness, implies that she is most likely an old woman who is stuck at home while the men are off fighting. Lastly, towards the end of the poem, the narrator states “A real man with a tiger’s gait who studies the way may one day perhaps yet follow the numinous gods. I myself still nourish this intention.” 11 The use of the word ‘myself’ here sets the narrator in contrast with the ‘real man’ mentioned earlier, hinting at the fact that the narrator is not a man, but indeed a woman. The masculine nature of the descriptive language in ‘Swordsmanship’ subverts traditional gender norms by portraying a female narrator with male imagery. Throughout the poem, Liu Rushi uses harsh, violent language to describe the setting. She writes, “In a moment, thunder and lightning rose from the branch tips, black gibbons and red panthers invaded the empty empyrean.”12 Thunder and lightning are loud, flashy, and violent forces of nature. Similarly, gibbons and panthers are strong, threatening animals. Panthers in particular are dangerous and violent, seeming to recall how men of the Ming dynasty were expected to be warlike and vicious during times of conflict. Another example of Liu Rushi’s masculine language and imagery can be seen toward the beginning of the last stanza: “In times of danger, his swords sliced through rocks and bone.”13 In this phrase as well, the vocabulary used by Liu Rushi has a

11 “Swordsmanship,” (The Red Brush: Writing Women of Imperial China, 382) 12 “Swordsmanship,” (The Red Brush: Writing Women of Imperial China, 382) 13 “Swordsmanship,” (The Red Brush: Writing Women of Imperial China, 382)

harsh, masculine connotation. Danger and swords are associated with battle, war, and soldiers. The domains of war and fighting were meant to be exclusively male during this time period. Rocks and bones are hard objects that are rough and unrefined rather than beautiful and delicate. These images evoke masculine roughness rather than feminine beauty. Furthermore, the emotions of the poem’s female narrator are simultaneously authentic yet extremely masculine in nature. The influence of qing and its celebration of authentic emotion are most evident in this aspect of the poem. The emotion conveyed in ‘Swordsmanship’ is passionate, and it resonates with a clear sense of genuineness. The overarching emotions of the poem are of rage, indignation, and anger. The narrator describes herself as “filled with noble outrage”.14 Over the course of the poem, she questions the cowardice and injustice in the world, but refuses to abandon her anger and forgive, as would have been expected of a woman. “Confronted with such towering threats, how can I just let go?”15 she questions. Such unrelenting anger is typically not associated with women and femininity in Ming China. Feminine emotions included compassion, sweetness, nurturance, and shyness. Anger, to the contrary, was a distinctly masculine emotion, as men were viewed as stronger, bolder, and less likely to control their feelings. Liu Rushi’s use of a female narrator who expresses authentic, archetypically male emotions is an example of how the cult of qing allowed female writers to subvert traditional gender norms in poetry. One of the clearest examples of Liu Rushi’s gender norm reversal in ‘Swordsmanship’ can be seen in the narrator’s desires. In this aspect of the poem, it is clear that Liu Rushi was not heavily influenced by the cult of qing’s idealization of women as embodiments of romantic love. 14 “Swordsmanship,” (The Red Brush: Writing Women of Imperial China, 381) 15 “Swordsmanship,” (The Red Brush: Writing Women of Imperial China, 381)

It would have been expected for a female-narrated poem influenced by the cult of qing to have the narrator desire love. After all, according to the cult of qing, women are paragons of love and romance and care about little else. However, in the poem ‘Swordsmanship’, the narrator’s desire is not to have a romantic relationship with a man. Instead, the narrator’s apparent aspiration is to become a hero. “What can I accomplish?” she questions after lamenting that there are no longer any great heroes.16 The use of the first person pronoun here is key. Liu Rushi did not write “what can one accomplish?” or “what can we accomplish?”, nor did she write “what can he accomplish?” The use of “I” in this sentence indicates a desire on the narrator’s part to act on her own. Toward the end of the poem, the narrator’s wish to become a hero becomes even more apparent. “A real man with a tiger’s gait who studies the Way may one day perhaps yet follow the numinous gods,” she says.17 By this, she means that perhaps a good man could one day achieve greatness equal to that of the gods. She immediately continues this train of thought with the following statement: “Filled with noble outrage, I myself still nourish this intention.” 18 The narrator openly states in this line that she still has the intention of achieving the greatness that a heroic man could one day achieve. In essence, she still dreams of becoming a great hero herself. The narrator even imagines, with precise and descriptive images, what it would like if she were to have heroic and almost god-like powers. “Just see how the stars and planets move as I lift my sleeves, And ocean-lads and river maidens are forced to come out,” Liu Rushi writes with an almost wistful tone.19 “Dashing like a giant serpent shooting through the thick 16 “Swordsmanship,” (The Red Brush: Writing Women of Imperial China, 382) 17 “Swordsmanship,” (The Red Brush: Writing Women of Imperial China, 382) 18 “Swordsmanship,” (The Red Brush: Writing Women of Imperial China, 382) 19 “Swordsmanship,” (The Red Brush: Writing Women of Imperial China, 382)

underbrush, Forceful like a striking eagle swooping down from the cloudy sky, Crowded like myriads of gods gazing down into a ravine;” these are the phrases that Liu Rushi uses to describe the narrator’s desire for power and greatness. 20 All of the images conjured by this description- a giant serpent, a striking eagle swooping down, and gods gazing down into a ravine- are not only symbols of masculinity and strength, but symbols of power. The serpent and eagle are predators known for their cunning and strength. The gods are, quite obviously, beings of insurmountable power. This associates the female narrator with heroism, power, and strength, exactly the opposite of what women were expected to be and exactly what was expected of men. For Liu Rushi to describe her female narrator with such imagery demonstrates her deliberate disregard for the qing concept of female romanticism in favor of the qing concept of authenticity. In sharp contrast, Liu Rushi’s poem ‘Dream of the South: Thinking of Someone’ illustrates how the cult of qing’s romanticization of women did have an influence on Liu Rushi’s poetry. ‘Dream of the South: Thinking of Someone’ is a love poem that Liu Rushi wrote for her lover at the time, Chen Zilong.21 The romantic relationship between Liu Rushi and Chen Zilong became legendary, as it epitomized the young-scholar and courtesan relationship glorified by the cult of qing.22 Liu Rushi herself is the narrator of the poem, lamenting that Chen Zilong is away from her.23 In ‘Dream of the South: Thinking of Someone’, the influence of the cult of qing is evident 20 “Swordsmanship,” (The Red Brush: Writing Women of Imperial China, 382)

21

16

Chang, Kang-i Sun et al., Women Writers of Traditional China: An Anthology of Poetry and Criticism. (Stanford University Press, 1999), 350-356.

22 “Reconsidering the ‘Cult of Qing’ in Late Imperial China: A ‘Romantic Movement’ or a Conveyer of Social Values?” (Ming Qing Yanjiu, 153) 23 “Qing Dynasty 1644-1911,” (Women Writers of Traditional China: An Anthology of Poetry and Criticism, 353)

in the highly romanticized subject matter of the poem, the female narrator’s archetypically feminine emotions, and the female narrator’s sensuous qualities. Qing is often translated as ‘ideal love’ or ‘romantic passion’ because romantic love is central to the concept of qing as a whole.24 Romantic love was viewed as the purest and most authentic type of emotion. As a result, the “fascination with romance was closely related to the interest…in sincerity and authenticity.”25 Women, and courtesans in particular, came to represent romantic love due to the stereotypes of women as the romantic, lovesick sex. While the concept of women as ideal representations of qing elevated the status of women among literati circles, it did not tangibly change the role of women in society.26 In fact, it served to emphasize and affirm the stereotype of women as romantic, sensuous beings whose value depended on their romantic relationships with men. The subject matter of ‘Dream of the South: Thinking of Someone’ is Liu Rushi’s lovesickness and her longing for Chen Zilong. Her lovesickness is evident throughout the poem and is explicitly mentioned in every stanza. Each stanza begins with the phrase, ‘he is gone’ or ‘where was he?’, emphasizing that Chen Zilong’s absence is the only thing on Liu Rushi’s mind. In the fifth stanza, she laments how pitiful she has become now that Chen Zilong is gone: “Pitiful is my lone self, now that we are far apart.” 27 In the third stanza she similarly intones, “No longer lustrous and beautiful, I sit idle, Why bother about rouge powder and jade hairpin?” 28 In both of 24 The Cult of Love in Some Texts of Ming and Qing Literature,” (East West, 475) 25 “The Literary Culture of the Late Ming (1573-1644),” (The Cambridge History of Chinese Literature, 121) 26 The Cult of Love in Some Texts of Ming and Qing Literature,” (East West, 480) 27 “Qing Dynasty 1644-1911,” (Women Writers of Traditional China: An Anthology of Poetry and Criticism, 353) 28 “Qing Dynasty 1644-1911,” (Women Writers of Traditional China: An Anthology of Poetry and Criticism, 354)

these lines, Liu Rushi illustrates how her life has truly become meaningless without Chen Zilong. Not only is Liu Rushi’s life miserable without her lover, but she still continues to think of him endlessly. “Feeling more lost while combing her hair, this beauty still broods over his charms,” she says with wistfulness. “Gone, yet dreams of him come even more often. Recalling the past: our shared moments were mostly wordless.” 29 Taken together, these lines paint a clear image for the reader: Liu Rushi’s romantic relationship with Chen Zilong was the only thing that made her life worth living. This portrayal of a woman whose only purpose is to love a man is consistent with the cult of qing’s idealization of women as romantic lovers. In sharp contrast to the narrator in ‘Swordsmanship’, who expresses the masculine aspirations of heroism and selfactualization, Liu Rushi in ‘Dreams of the South: Thinking of Someone’ only aspires to be together with her love again, a desire more consistent with norms of femininity. The female narrator of ‘Dreams of the South: Thinking of Someone’ is also much more sensuous and sexual in her language, tone, and imagery than the narrator of ‘Swordsmanship’. This is very indicative of the influence of qing. The cult of qing emphasized romantic love itself more than lust, but nevertheless considered sexual passion to be an important part of ideal love.30 It would be difficult to argue, after all, that sexual desire is inauthentic. As a result, the sensuous nature of women is a significant part of the romanticization of women in the cult of qing. The sexual connotations throughout ‘Dreams of the South: Thinking of Someone’ can therefore be seen as evidence that Liu Rushi was influenced by this aspect of the cult of qing. The tenth stanza is one example that contains rather obvious sexual connotations: “He is gone, 29 “Qing Dynasty 1644-1911,” (Women Writers of Traditional China: An Anthology of Poetry and Criticism, 354) 30 “Reconsidering the ‘Cult of Qing’ in Late Imperial China: A ‘Romantic Movement’ or a Conveyer of Social Values?” (Ming Qing Yanjiu, 154)

Gone, and the nights are longer. How can this jeweled belt warm my thoughts about the black steed? Gently putting on the silk robe in chill jade moonlight, Behind the rosy curtain, a single wisp of incense.”31 When Liu Rushi states that “the nights are longer,” she strongly implies that her nights are longer because she cannot sleep with Chen Zilong. When preceded by this strong sexual implication, the following line also has a sexual meaning: the black steed is a common symbol of the male lover, implying that Liu Rushi’s thoughts of him are also sexual in nature. The imagery of the narrator dressing in a silk robe in the moonlight, looking through a rosy curtain, is likewise a very sensuous image. Later in the poem, Liu Rushi uses other similarly sensuous imagery: “My perfumed arms fluttered up and down, Words issued in song, like profound thoughts, Chiefly from my faintly glossed lips.”32 The mention of her perfumed arms and glossed lips paints a sexual image of the narrator in the reader’s mind. “In the middle of the night, I clutched his priceless arm;” once again the image of her together with Chen Zilong at night refers to their sexual relationship. 33 The very last stanza of the poem concludes with a continuation of these sexual themes. “Where was he?” Liu Rushi asks. “By my pillowside.” 34 Like her earlier reference to long nights, this mention of her pillowside invokes her sexual relationship with Chen Zilong in bed. ‘Swordsmanship’, by comparison, contains no sexual themes at all, nor does it contain any themes of romance or passionate love. This passionate combination and exaltation of sexual 31 “Qing Dynasty 1644-1911,” (Women Writers of Traditional China: An Anthology of Poetry and Criticism, 354) 32 “Qing Dynasty 1644-1911,” (Women Writers of Traditional China: An Anthology of Poetry and Criticism, 354) 33 “Qing Dynasty 1644-1911,” (Wom...