TTLA: Poetry of female poets in the Complete Tang Dynasty Poetry Collection (compared with poetry of female poets in the Manyoshu)

ABSTRACT OF THE DOCTORAL THESIS

Author's name:Nguyen Anh Tuan

Thesis title:Poetry of female poets in the Complete Tang Dynasty Poetry Collection (compared with poetry of female poets in the Manyoshu Collection)

Field of study of the dissertation: Oriental studies

Major: Chinese Studies Code: 62.31.06.02

Name of postgraduate training unit: University of Social Sciences and Humanities – Vietnam National University, Hanoi

1. Purpose and scope of the thesis

- Research Objective: To clarify the characteristics of poetry composed by female poets in the Complete Tang Dynasty Poems in terms of both creative subject and poetic content, and to place these characteristics within the contemporary cultural and social context to explain and evaluate the contributions of female authors and the position of poetry written by women, thereby providing a more comprehensive view of Tang Dynasty poetry. Furthermore, through a comparison and contrast of poetry written by women in the Complete Tang Dynasty Poems and Manyoshu, the thesis will shed light on the common and specific values ​​in the poetry of female poets in China during the Tang and Five Dynasties periods and of female poets in Japan during the Asuka and Nara periods.

- Research Subject: This dissertation studies the poetry of female poets in the Complete Tang Dynasty Poetry and Manyoshu. The poetry of female poets in the Complete Tang Dynasty Poetry is the primary research subject, while the poetry of female poets in Manyoshu is a secondary research subject used for comparison to highlight the common and specific characteristics of female poetry in the Complete Tang Dynasty Poetry within its contemporary context.

2. Research methods used

Interdisciplinary methods; Typological methods of literary authorship; Comparative methods; Quantitative methods.

3. Main results and conclusions

3.1. Main results

- This dissertation is the first study to survey all 129 female authors and 687 of their poems in the Complete Tang Dynasty Poetry to present the characteristics of the formation and development of the female poets and the life experiences of women during the Tang and Five Dynasties periods as expressed in those poems.

- This dissertation has verified and supplemented the theory of poetic divergence among female poets in the Complete Tang Dynasty Poetry of some earlier scholars, and for the first time, has provided a relatively detailed explanation of the reasons leading to this divergence.

- This dissertation has for the first time systematically compiled the basic content of 687 poems within its scope of study, while clarifying their value and explaining the reasons for their existence based on the contemporary socio-cultural context in general and the living circumstances of each class of women and each individual author in particular.

- This dissertation is the first study to compare the poetry of female poets in the Complete Tang Dynasty Poetry and Manyoshu, thereby highlighting the common and specific values ​​regarding the formation and development of the authorship group and the human experiences reflected in their poetry.

3.2. Conclusion

- The appearance of 129 female poets with 687 poems in the Complete Tang Poems marks a flourishing period for Chinese women's poetry. This is the result of many historical factors, the most important of which are the prosperity of poetry during the Tang Dynasty and the relatively developed education system for women at the time. In addition, we cannot ignore the status of women from different social classes and some contextual factors that stimulated women's poetic creation and significantly influenced the changes in the number of female poets between periods.

- Set against the backdrop of the patriarchal society of the Tang and Five Dynasties periods, with its strict moral norms for women, particularly the prohibition of formal education and restrictions on their speech, the poetry of female poets in the Tang Dynasty is not simply the voice of contemporary women, but also reflects, to a certain extent, their awareness of their right to express themselves, even though they themselves were not yet conscious of women's rights and did not speak out to fight for gender equality. In this sense, this body of work possesses profound humanistic and humane value.

- The 687 poems composed by female poets during the Tang and Five Dynasties periods authentically reflect their rich life experiences, helping readers better understand an aspect often overlooked in official history. Specifically, in the realm of psychological and emotional life, the existence of poems about romantic love and family affection not only affirms universal values ​​across humanity and time but also expresses the feelings of women about their own personal issues, providing a more complete understanding of the lives, emotions, and status of women during the Tang Dynasty through the eyes of those directly involved. Furthermore, although only a small number, the existence of this body of poetry shows that some women boldly stepped out of their small world to broaden their horizons and express their attitudes towards social issues, instead of leaving this field exclusively to male poets. Meanwhile, poems depicting daily life and social interaction not only reflect the level of women's participation in social life during the Tang and Five Dynasties periods but also serve as valuable sources of information for social history research.

- Through a comparison of the poetry of female poets in the Complete Tang Dynasty Poetry and Manyoshu, we particularly emphasize that the similarities in the development of the creative generation (the flourishing of writers or the shift from court women to other types of female authors) and the characteristics of the poetic content (emphasis on romantic love and family affection) are not a mere imitation of Chinese civilization by Japan, but rather reflect universal values ​​that transcend time, along with the contemporary context of poetry and women's education. Meanwhile, the differences in these two aspects are not a result of superior or inferior creative skills between Chinese and Japanese female poets, but rather reflect the unique characteristics of the socio-cultural aspects of the two nations. Understanding this allows us to properly assess the value and significance of the poetry of female poets in the Complete Tang Dynasty Poetry and Manyoshu.

- In the context of the limited research on classical Eastern literature in Vietnam compared to the rapid development of modern literary studies, especially the fact that women's literature remains largely a blank space, the study of the poetry of female poets in the Complete Tang Dynasty Poetry (and Manyoshu) not only provides a more comprehensive view of classical Chinese (and Japanese) poetry, partially filling the imbalance between the study of male and female literature, but also raises many questions when relating to the national literature, especially regarding the development of poetry by Vietnamese female authors in the medieval period.

SUMMARY OF DOCTORAL THESIS

The author's name: Nguyen Anh Tuan

Thesis title: Women's poetry in Quantangshi (in comparison with women's poetry in Manyoshu)

Scientific branch of the thesis: Oriental Studies

Major: Chinese Studies Code: 62.31.06.02

The name of postgraduate training institution: University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi

1. Thesis purpose and objectives

- Purpose of the study: To clarify the characteristics of poetry written by women poets in Quantangshi on both the creative subject and the content of the poem, and to place those characteristics in socio-cultural context of Tang – Five Dynasties period to explain and evaluate the contribution of female authors as well as the position of women's poetry, thus providing a more comprehensive view of Tang poetry. In addition, by comparing poetry composed by women in Quantangshi and Manyoshu, the thesis will denote the common and specific values ​​of the poetry written by Chinese women in Tang – Five Dynasties period and Japanese women in Asuka – Nara period.

- Objectives: The poetry of female poets in Quantangshi and Manyoshu, in which women's poetry in Quantangshi is the main one, while women's poetry in Manyoshu is used as a comparison to highlight the common and specific characteristics in the contemporary socio-cultural context.

2. Research methods

Interdisciplinary method; Typological method; Comparative method; Quantitative method.

3. Major results and conclusions

3.1. The major results

- The thesis is the first study to survey all 129 women poets and their 687 poems in Quantangshi to find the characteristics of the formation and development of female poet group and the life experiences of Tang – Five Dynasties women embodied in those poems.

- The thesis not only has verified and supplemented the theory of dividing women's poetry in Quantangshi into phases of some preceding scholars but also is the first study to explain reasonably closely about the reasons leading to the changes of women's poetry in Quantangshi in these phases.

- The thesis is the first study to put 687 poems of female poets in Quantangshi into a unified classification system of content, as well as clarifying their value and explaining their existence in the contemporary socio-cultural context in general and the living conditions of each female group and each individual author in particular.

- The thesis is the first study comparing poetry of female poets in Quantangshi and Manyoshu to denote the common and specific values ​​of the formation, development of the female poet group and the life experiences in their poetry.

3.2. Conclusions

- The appearance of 129 female poets with 687 poems in Quantangshi has made Tang – Five Dynasties a prosperous era of Chinese women's poetry. This is the result of numerous historical factors, of which the most important is the prosperity of Tang poetry and the education foundation for women. In addition, it cannot be ignored that the circumstances of different female class and the contextual factors that stimulate women to write poetry have a significant impact on the change of poetess groups in periods.

- In the context of Tang – Five Dynasties monastic society with strict ethical norms for women, especially the prohibition of legal right to education and the binding of speech for women, women's poetry in Quantangshi not only represents the voices of contemporary women, but also reflects their awareness of right to speak, even though they themselves were not aware of women's rights and fight for gender equality. As this meaning, these works have profound human values.

- 687 poems written by poetesses in Quantangshi reflect truthfully their rich life experiences which are often ignored by historians. Specifically, in the aspect of emotional life, the existence of poems about romantic love, family love not only confirms the universal values ​​of all human beings, but also expresses women's feelings about their own problems, thereby giving us a more comprehensive knowledge of contemporary women's lives through the insiders' view. Besides, in spite of small amount, poems about social issues show that Tang – Five Dynasties women had step out their narrow individual spaces to broaden views and express their attitudes towards these issues, instead of leaving this area for male poets. Meanwhile, poems about daily life and social exchanges not only show the level of participation in the social life of contemporary women but also provide precious resources for studying social history.

- By comparing the poetry of the female poets in Quantangshi and Manyoshu, it is emphasized that the similarity of the evolution of the poetess groups and the content of the poems do not reflect that Japan women's poetry had been influenced by Chinese women's poetry, but rather express the common and eternal values ​​of all human-beings. On the other hand, the differences of Chinese women's poetry in Tang – Five Dynasties period and Japanese women's poetry in Asuka – Nara period on the above two aspects are not the result of unequal writing level, but rather influenced by the specific characteristics of the socio-culture of two nations. Only by understanding these points, it can be properly judge the values ​​of women's poetry in Quangtangshi and Manyoshu.

- In the context of studying classical Oriental literature in Vietnam, there are still many limitations compared to the strong development of modern literary research, especially female literature, which is almost always a whiteness. The study about women's poetry in Quantangshi (and Manyoshu) not only provides a more comprehensive view of Chinese (and Japanese) classical poetry, partly covers the imbalance between studies about men's literature and women's literature, but also poses numerous questions in the connection with Vietnamese literature, especially the evolution Vietnamese women's poetry in medieval time.