Xianü (short story): Difference between revisions
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* {{cite book|first=Wai-yee|last=Li|publisher=Brill|year=2020|title=Women and National Trauma in Late Imperial Chinese Literature|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6fYFEAAAQBAJ|isbn=9781684170760}} |
* {{cite book|first=Wai-yee|last=Li|publisher=Brill|year=2020|title=Women and National Trauma in Late Imperial Chinese Literature|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6fYFEAAAQBAJ|isbn=9781684170760}} |
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* {{cite book|first=Keith|last=McMahon|publisher=[[University of Hawaii Press]]|year=2009|title=Polygamy and Sublime Passion: Sexuality in China on the Verge of Modernity|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5wf_xiuCQikC|isbn=9780824833763}} |
* {{cite book|first=Keith|last=McMahon|publisher=[[University of Hawaii Press]]|year=2009|title=Polygamy and Sublime Passion: Sexuality in China on the Verge of Modernity|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5wf_xiuCQikC|isbn=9780824833763}} |
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* {{cite book|first1=L.|last1=Ramey|first2=T.|last2=Pugh|publisher=Springer|year=2007|title=Race, Class, and Gender in "Medieval" Cinema|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e2uADAAAQBAJ|isbn=9780230603561}} |
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* {{cite book|first=Sidney L.|last=Sondergard|publisher=Jain Publishing Company|volume=1|year=2008|title=Strange Tales from Liaozhai|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FSB1T-2A0jIC|isbn=9780895810014}} |
* {{cite book|first=Sidney L.|last=Sondergard|publisher=Jain Publishing Company|volume=1|year=2008|title=Strange Tales from Liaozhai|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FSB1T-2A0jIC|isbn=9780895810014}} |
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* {{cite journal|first=Karl S. Y.|last=Yao|publisher=Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews|pages=115-138|volume=11|date=December 1989|title=Bao and Baoying: Narrative Causality and External Motivations in Chinese Fiction|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/495528}} |
* {{cite journal|first=Karl S. Y.|last=Yao|publisher=Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews|pages=115-138|volume=11|date=December 1989|title=Bao and Baoying: Narrative Causality and External Motivations in Chinese Fiction|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/495528}} |
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Revision as of 18:57, 24 May 2021
| "Xianü" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Short story by Pu Songling | |||
 Illustration from Xiangzhu liaozhai zhiyi tuyong (Liaozhai Zhiyi with commentary and illustrations; 1886) | |||
| Original title | 俠女 (Xianü) | ||
| Country | China | ||
| Language | Chinese | ||
| Genre(s) |
| ||
| Publication | |||
| Published in | Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio | ||
| Media type | Print (Book) | ||
| Publication date | 1740 | ||
| Chronology | |||
| |||
"Xianü" (Chinese: 俠女; pinyin: Xiá Nǚ) is a short story by Pu Songling first published in Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio. The story follows the titular swordswoman, who rescues her neighbour from a fox spirit, before bearing him a son and avenging her father's death. Likely inspired by early Chinese literature featuring heroines known as nüxia, the story has received adaptations in popular media, for instance in the wuxia film A Touch of Zen (1971).
Plot
A Jinling-based scholar (referred to only by surname Gu) who lives with his mother takes interest in his new neighbours, a mysterious young lady and her elderly mother; however, the lady rebuffs his initial attempts at becoming friends. Afterwards, Gu encounters a handsome stranger who soon becomes his homosexual lover. Meanwhile, the lady begins to come over to Gu's residence more frequently to help his mother with chores; the relations between the two households improve, with Gu even having sexual intercourse with the lady on one occasion. For the most part, however, she remains aloof towards Gu as well as his homosexual lover.
One night, the lady visits Gu in his room but they are interrupted by Gu's lover, who antagonises her. The lady unleashes a sword from her clothing and beheads him, revealing that he was a white fox spirit who had transformed into a human. The next evening, Gu and the lady make love for a second time but afterwards, Gu unsuccessfully proposes to her and she reverts back to her frosty ways. Some time later, following the death of her mother, the lady reveals to Gu that she is eight months pregnant and tells him to make preparations.
The lady disappears for more than a month; Gu's mother pays her a visit when she returns, only to discover that the lady had already given birth some three days ago. The lady places her son in Gu's care and disappears for a few more nights. She returns carrying a head belonging to a political enemy who had murdered her father, who was a sima. Before leaving for good, she tells Gu that he will not live long, and that their son will become a successful scholar and government official. As prophesied, Gu dies three years later, whereas their son becomes a jinshi at age eighteen.
Publication history
Originally titled "Xianü" (俠女), the story was first published in Pu Songling's 18th-century anthology of close to five hundred short stories, Liaozhai zhiyi or Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio. Various English translations of the story have been published, including "The Lady Knight-errant" by Y.W. Ma, and Joseph S.M. Lau (1978);[1] "A Chivalrous Woman" by Denis C. and Victor H. Mair (1989);[1] and "The Swordswoman" by Sidney L. Sondergard (2008).[2]
Composition
The earliest fictional works pertaining to the nüxia or "female knight-errant" (女俠), like "Nie Yinniang" (聶隱娘) and "Hongxian" (紅線), date back to the Tang dynasty, although they only became popular from the late Ming dynasty onwards.[3] Pu was evidently influenced by Tang nüxia stories; Karl S. Y. Yao suggests that Pu's main source was "Guren Qi" (贾人妻),[4] whereas Roland Altenburger argues that "the most likely point of reference" for "Xianü" was "Cui Shensi" (崔慎思), given the "greatest number of common elements" that both stories share.[5] Pu was believed to have written "Xianü" before 1688, making it one of the earlier Liaozhai zhiyi entries.[6]
Themes and analysis
Karl Yao observes that the titular heroine acts based on bao (報) or requital; for example, her affair with Gu is not sexually motivated; she only wishes to repay him for his kindness.[7] According to Keith McMahon, "Xianü" is "the coldest" example of Pu's "trademark" use of "the woman's withdrawal", which entails an affair between a male and a female, typically a fox spirit or an immortal, being cut short when the female prematurely bids the male farewell.[8] Sidney Sondergard suggests that "Xianü" is a "cautionary lesson": "Gu's initial impulse to be a filial son and care for his mother was subverted by his lustful infatuation with the fox."[9]
Adaptations
The 1970 wuxia film A Touch of Zen directed by King Hu was based on "Xianü",[10] although Hu "expanded the story with new material that filled in the gaps of female knight-errant's mysterious, supernatural origins."[11] Furthermore, while Pu's short story is devoid of historical or political references, King Hu invites the viewer to consider "the place of women within Buddhist and martial culture".[12]
References
Citations
- ^ a b Altenburger 2009, p. 165.
- ^ Sondergard 2008, p. 290.
- ^ Li 2020, p. 205.
- ^ Yao 1989, p. 116.
- ^ Altenburger 2009, p. 166.
- ^ Altenburger 2009, p. 164.
- ^ Yao 1989, p. 117.
- ^ McMahon 2009, p. 24.
- ^ Sondergard 2008, p. xxix.
- ^ Yip 2017, p. 115.
- ^ Teo 2009, p. 133.
- ^ Ramey & Pugh 2007, p. 156.
Bibliography
- Altenburger, Roland (2009). The Sword Or the Needle: The Female Knight-errant (xia) in Traditional Chinese Narrative. Peter Lang. ISBN 9783034300360.
- Teo, Stephen (2009). Chinese Martial Arts Cinema: The Wuxia Tradition. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 9780748632510.
- Li, Wai-yee (2020). Women and National Trauma in Late Imperial Chinese Literature. Brill. ISBN 9781684170760.
- McMahon, Keith (2009). Polygamy and Sublime Passion: Sexuality in China on the Verge of Modernity. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 9780824833763.
- Ramey, L.; Pugh, T. (2007). Race, Class, and Gender in "Medieval" Cinema. Springer. ISBN 9780230603561.
- Sondergard, Sidney L. (2008). Strange Tales from Liaozhai. Vol. 1. Jain Publishing Company. ISBN 9780895810014.
- Yao, Karl S. Y. (December 1989). "Bao and Baoying: Narrative Causality and External Motivations in Chinese Fiction". 11. Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews: 115–138.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - Yip, Man-fung. Martial Arts Cinema and Hong Kong Modernity: Aesthetics, Representation, Circulation. Hong Kong University Press. ISBN 9789888390717.