TTLA: Poetry of female poets in Quan Tang Thi (compared with poetry of female poets in Manyoshu)

DOCTORAL THESIS SUMMARY

Author name:Nguyen Anh Tuan

Thesis title:Poetry of female poets in Quan Tang Shi (compared with poetry of female poets in Manyoshu)

Dissertation field: Oriental studies

Major: Chinese Studies Code: 62.31.06.02

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

1. Purpose and research objects of the thesis

- Research purpose: To clarify the characteristics of poetry composed by female poets in Quan Tang Thi in terms of creative subject and content of the poem, and at the same time place those characteristics in the context of contemporary culture and society to explain and evaluate the contributions of female authors as well as the position of poetry composed by women, thereby providing a more comprehensive view of Tang poetry. In addition, through comparing and contrasting poetry composed by women in Quan Tang Thi and Manyoshu, the thesis will clarify the common and unique values ​​in the poetry of Chinese female poets in the Tang - Five Dynasties period and of Japanese female poets in the Asuka - Nara period.

- Research object: The thesis studies the poetry of female poets in Quan Tang Thi and Manyoshu. In which, the poetry of female poets in Quan Tang Thi is the main research object, the poetry of female poets in Manyoshu is the secondary research object used as a comparison to highlight the common and specific characteristics of female poetry in Quan Tang Thi in the context of the same time period.

2. Research methods used

Interdisciplinary method; Typology of literary authors; Comparative method; Quantitative method.

3. Main results and conclusions

3.1. Main results

- The thesis is the first study to survey all 129 female authors and 687 of their poems in the Complete Tang Poetry to present the characteristics of the formation and development of the female poets and the life experiences of women in the Tang - Five Dynasties period expressed in those poems.

- The thesis has verified and supplemented the theory of divergence of poetry composed by female poets in Quan Tang Thi by some previous scholars, and for the first time explained in a relatively detailed way the reasons leading to this divergence.

- The thesis has, for the first time, systematized the basic content of 687 poems within the scope of the survey, at the same time clarified their value and explained the reason for their existence based on the contemporary socio-cultural context in general and the living conditions of each class of women and each individual author in particular.

- The thesis is the first study comparing the poetry of female poets in Quan Tang Thi and Manyoshu, thereby pointing out the common and specific values ​​of the formation and development of the team of authors and human experiences in their poetry.

3.2. Conclusion

- The appearance of 129 female poets with 687 poems in Quan Tang Thi marked a prosperous period of Chinese female poetry. This was the result of many historical factors, the most important of which were the prosperity of Tang Dynasty poetry and the relatively developed educational foundation for women at that time. In addition, we cannot ignore the status of women of different classes and some contextual factors that stimulated women to compose poetry, and at the same time had a significant impact on the changes in the ranks of female poets between periods.

- Set in the context of the patriarchal society of the Tang Dynasty - Five Dynasties with strict moral standards for women, especially the prohibition of the right to formal education and the restriction of their speech, the poetry of female poets in TDT is not simply the voice of contemporary women, but also reflects to a certain extent their awareness of the right to speak, even though they themselves were not aware of women's rights and spoke up to fight for gender equality. With such meaning, this body of work has profound humanistic and humane value.

- 687 poems written by female poets of the Tang and Five Dynasties period truly reflect their rich life experiences, helping readers better understand an aspect that is often overlooked by official history. Specifically, in the area of ​​psychological and emotional life, the existence of poems about love between men and women and family affection not only affirms universal values ​​for all humanity and across time, but also speaks to women's hearts about their own problems, providing a more complete understanding of the life, feelings, and status of women in the Tang Dynasty through the eyes of insiders. Besides, although only accounting for a small number, the existence of this poetry shows that some women have boldly stepped out of their small world to broaden their horizons and express their attitudes towards social issues, instead of reserving this area for male poets. Meanwhile, poems on daily life and social exchanges not only reflect the level of participation in social life of women during the Tang and Five Dynasties periods but are also valuable sources of information for social history research.

- Through comparing the poetry of female poets in Quantang Thi and Manyoshu, we especially emphasize that the similarity in the development of the creative team (the flourishing of the creative team or the transformation from court women to other types of female writers) and the characteristics of the content of the poems (focusing on love between men and women, family affection) is not a copy of Chinese civilization by Japan, but represents universal, timeless values ​​along with the context of poetry and women's education development at that time. Meanwhile, the difference in the two aspects mentioned above is not the result of the superiority or inferiority in the creative level of Chinese and Japanese female poets, but reflects the unique characteristics in the social culture of the two nations. Understanding this, we can correctly evaluate the value and meaning of the poetry of female poets in Quantang Thi and Manyoshu.

- In the context of the study of classical Oriental literature in Vietnam still having many limitations compared to the strong development of modern literary research, especially women's literature is almost a blank space, the study of poetry by female poets in Quan Tang Thi (and Manyoshu) not only brings a more comprehensive view of classical Chinese poetry (and Japanese), partly filling the imbalance between the study of men's literature and women's literature, but also raises many questions when relating to the country's literature, especially about 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, partially 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.