Exploring the Lives of Women in China

2021/12/15

My research focuses on modern Chinese women's literature. In China, it was traditionally considered preferable for women to be uneducated. This changed significantly in modern times. In the 20th century, women's education was institutionalized, and as the rate of women advancing to higher education rose, many female writers also emerged.

The female writer Ding Ling (1904–1986), the subject of my research, is one such author. In her early masterpiece, "Miss Sophie's Diary" (1928), Ding Ling boldly expressed the sexual desires of a young woman and was highly acclaimed. Later, after her husband was arrested and executed by the Kuomintang, the content of her work shifted dramatically toward left-wing themes. She joined the Communist Party and continued to write while holding various positions. Amidst this, she also published an essay titled "Thoughts on International Women's Day" (1942), which pointed out the sexism that existed among Communist Party officials. Although she faced harsh criticism for speaking ill of the Party, it can be said that she was a person who frankly sought for women to live as individuals.

Although she was a writer who lived through a tumultuous era in China, I feel that the awareness of issues expressed in her work has parallels with the problems surrounding women in modern Japan. While Japan and China share many cultural similarities, they also have numerous historical and political differences. By focusing on the similarities and differences that arise from these backgrounds, I hope to explore how women live in China.

Although there are various approaches to learning about China, in literary studies, we deepen our understanding of the country through the creative works of its authors. When you read novels, you can experience events from various eras and regions that you cannot experience in reality, as if they were your own. In research, we go further to consider questions such as what was new about the work at the time of its publication and how people of that era received it. Excellent works often express the author's challenging ideas or possess a charm that resonates with many people. I believe that learning about other cultures through literary works is a very stimulating experience.

*Affiliations and titles are as of the time of the interview.