Two Contradictory Images of Female Fox Spirit

1208 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The importance of women in old Chinese culture

Two Contradictory Images of Female Fox Spirit: What’s its Underlying Implications?
Among the rich, enormous and abundant images in literature, fox spirit was one of the most famous and frequent spirits depicted in Chinese imperial history. Fox is regarded as one of the important Chinese folk beliefs and fox story is one of the popular subjects of Chinese classical novels. Most of fox-inspirited characters take the form of female character, female fox spirit such as Daji in the Fengshen Yanyi and Ren in Ren’s Story became engraved in Chinese culture that became a famous image. In the first place the sex of the fox spirit was a bit arbitrary, neither female nor male was assigned to the incarnation of the fox spirit. In literature, legend and folk tales, it then became more exclusively on female fox spirit instead of male, probably due to the developing feudalism and the emerging patriarchal dominance.
There are typically two types of female fox spirit incarnations depicted in early and imperial Chinese literature. One is the evil, seductive, wicked female character who often acquires power and strength through manipulating or draining men. The other is the good-hearted, kind, virtuous and loyal female character who often sacrifices herself for the good of her lover. Regardless of the two contradictory images of female fox spirit, they all reflect men’s paradoxical view of women early times in China. Or in other words, these two distinctive portrayals of fox women can reveal men’s contradictory views regarding women (Huang 143).
On the one hand, as represented by the latter image of fox spirit that possesses good nature, men love and admire women. On the other hand, as represented by the former image of fox spirit that engages in e...

... middle of paper ...

...g Zhou, who was initially an intelligent and worthy ruler, cannot escape the vital attraction of Daji’s extraordinary beauty and beguiling body. Through creation of the image, people can be warmed and reminded of the potential great influence that women could have on men (Huang, 144).
Moreover, the responsibility of the deterioration of a country is attributed to the fox spirited women since they are the ones bewitched the king to inappropriate ruling practices and bring the turmoil. In the Fengshen Yanyi, King Zhou only deviates and corrupts after Daji’s arrival. Even this is only a historical romance that composed of great fantasy so that plots can be a bit less reasonable, it still demonstrate the tendency of powerful male externalizing failure to females. The downfall of the country is not due to the ruler’s improper governing but beautiful women’s evil deeds.

Show More
Related

  • Female Gender Identity In The Memoirs Of Lady Hyegyong And The Tale Of Genji

    1890 Words  | 4 Pages

    (1800)Topic 2: A Literary Analysis of the Historical Differentiation of Patriarchal Culture and Female Gender Identity in the Memoirs of Lady Hyegyong and the Tale of Genji

    Read More

  • Ban Zhao's Lesson For A Woman

    991 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ban Zhao wrote Lessons for a Woman around the end of the first century C.E. as social guide for (her daughters and other) women of Han society (Bulliet 167). Because Zhao aimed to educate women on their responsibilities and required attributes, one is left questioning what the existing attitudes and roles of women were to start with. Surprisingly, their positions were not automatically fixed at the bottom of the social hierarchy. Ban Zhao’s own status as an educated woman of high social rank exemplifies the “reality [that] a woman’s status depended on her “location” within various social institutions’ (167). This meant that women had different privileges and opportunities depending on their economic, social, or political background. Wealthier noble women would likely have access to an education and may have even been able to wield certain political power (167). Nevertheless, women relinquished this power within the family hierarchy to their fathers, husbands, and sons. Despite her own elevated social status, Ban Zhao still considered herself an “unworthy writer”, “unsophisticated”, “unenlightened’, “unintelligent”, and a frequent disgrace to her and her husband’s family (Zhao). Social custom was not, however, the only driving force behind Zhao’s desire to guide women towards proper behavior.

    Read More

  • Gender Roles In The Jade Peony

    1329 Words  | 3 Pages

    The united States Declaration of independence states that all men are equal, but aren’t all women as well? Nowadays, the numbers for the population are at an increase for the support in gender equality, with the capture of feminist labels. The seek for equality between men and women, and criticize the privileges that arouse by gender differences. However in Old China, males control almost everything due to a patriarchal society. At that time, not only men, but also women are influenced by male chauvinism. In the Jade Peony, written by Wayson Choy, female characters are affected by an unequal perspective despite their age group.

    Read More

  • Empress Wu: Evil Usurper?

    1234 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Chinese possessed strong beliefs about astrology, so when it was prophesised that a women ruler would soon ascend the throne word quickly spread throughout the common people. It was predicted that within 30 years this woman known as ‘The Prince of Wu’ would rule over China. Whether or not Empress Wu’s rise to power was due to ‘heaven ordained fate’, she fulfilled the prophecy and became China’s first woman ruler in the 7th century. Historians, scholars and common people alike have long debated Wu’s reign. She is commonly referred to as an evil usurper due to the way she took power. However whether she fully deserves this reputation is to be examined. As the only female Chinese ruler, Wu challenged traditional gender roles and legitimized herself as a leader at a time when women were not meant for such positions. Empress Wu came to power through self-determination and a remarkable gift for politics. Once on the throne, she kept her power by all means necessary, often those means being murder and betrayal. Some of her actions were undoubtedly cruel. However once she was established as an empress conducted a mostly peaceful and prosperous reign. Empress Wu was by definition a usurper of the Chinese throne however not necessarily an evil one. She was manipulative and ruthless yet brilliant and exceptionally gifted. Her rise to power through sheer determination is to be commended despite the harsh tactics she used along the way.

    Read More

  • Early Twentieth Century Literature: Perkings, Chopin, Fitzgerald

    1158 Words  | 3 Pages

    When studying gender roles in history, one will find that females are often depicted in similar ways no matter the era or region of study. Even when comparing the industrialized, early, twentieth century to today’s progressive era, there are striking similarities between female roles. We can see that over the course of the twentieth century, the qualities of loyalty and honesty have decreased in marriages due to the treatment of the two main female roles as depicted literature. The first was the role of the wife. The wife was often portrayed as a housekeeper and a nanny. Dull in appearance, there was no aesthetic beauty to this typical female. The other main role was the “other woman.” The more mysterious and promiscuous character, this woman portrayed the other part of the female population. Both of these types of characters are composites that portrayed the average, disposable female while how they were treated conveyed the general handling of females in the early, twentieth century.

    Read More

  • Rhetoric In China

    1392 Words  | 3 Pages

    Rhetoric has been used in China, to help establish, and to keep Chinese women in their proper societal roles. The continual struggle for power between consort and officialdom motivated the enemies of imperial ladies to develop rhetoric that justified excluding women from government. [1}. Female influence, which was predicated upon kinship roles. The principal roles were those of wife and mother. Therefore Attempts were made to diminish these roles by putting a woman’s inherent femininity over social roles. A woman was a female first and a mother second. This empowered rhetoricians to contend that women were “intrinsically evil and untrustworthy. [2]

    Read More

  • Du Tenth Sinks The Jewel Box In Anger Analysis

    983 Words  | 2 Pages

    Power and Money do not Substitute Love and as it denotes, it is a deep feeling expressed by Feng Menglong who was in love with a public figure prostitute at his tender ages. Sadly, Feng Menglong was incapable to bear the expense of repossessing his lover. Eventually, a great merchant repossessed his lover, and that marked the end of their relationship. Feng Menglong was extremely affected through distress and desperation because of the separation and he ultimately, decided to express his desolation through poems. This incidence changed his perception and the way he represents women roles in his stories. In deed, Feng Menglong, is among a small number of writers who portrayed female as being strong and intelligent. We see a different picture build around women by many authors who profoundly tried to ignore the important role played by them in the society. Feng Menglong regards woman as being bright and brave and their value should never be weighed against

    Read More

  • Ideal Man and Woman in The Tale of Genji

    1227 Words  | 3 Pages

    Murasaki Shikibu’s Tale of Genji, set in the Heian Period, gives a good idea of what the model Heian man and Heian woman should look like. Genji himself is like a physical embodiment of male perfection, while a large portion of the Broom Tree chapter outlines the ideal of a woman—that it is men who decide what constitutes a perfect woman, and the fact that even they cannot come to decide which traits are the best, and whether anyone can realistically possess all of those traits shows that the function of women in the eyes of men of that period was largely to cater to their husbands and households. Broken down, there are similarities and differences between the standard for Heian men and women, and the Tale of Genji provides excellent examples of characters who fit into their respective gender roles.

    Read More

  • Summary Of Lessons For Women By Ban Zhao

    612 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lessons for Women was written by Ban Zhao, the leading female Confucian scholar of classical China, in 100 C.E. It was written to apply Confucian principles to the moral instruction of women, and was particularly addressed to Ban Zhao’s own daughters. As her best remembered work, it allows the reader insight into the common role of a woman during this fascinating time-period. The work starts off by Ban Zhao unconvincingly berating herself, and claiming how she once lived with the constant fear of disgracing her family. This argument is rather implausible, for the reader already knows the credibility of Ban Zhao, and how important her role was in ancient China.

    Read More

  • Wild Swans Analysis

    1456 Words  | 3 Pages

    The early part of the novel shows women’s place in Chinese culture. Women had no say or position in society. They were viewed as objects, and were used as concubines and treated with disparagement in society. The status of women’s social rank in the 20th century in China is a definite positive change. As the development of Communism continued, women were allowed to be involved in not only protests, but attended universities and more opportunities outside “house” work. Communism established gender equality and legimated free marriage, instead of concunbinage. Mao’s slogan, “Women hold half of the sky”, became extremely popular. Women did almost any job a man performed. Women were victims by being compared to objects and treated as sex slaves. This was compared to the human acts right, because it was an issue of inhumane treatment.

    Read More

  • Sleeping Beauty: Feminist Critics

    1097 Words  | 3 Pages

    The biological differences that set apart the male and female gender throughout any culture remain eminent. Men are perceived as the stronger and dominant gender; women play the role of the weaker. In each culture the expectation of the manner in which men and women behave are influenced by the ideals and customs of that culture. In most predominant cultures, the man undertakes the role as a leader, and the woman devotes her life to the husband. Throughout history, traditions and literature provide a template to the identities of various cultures. Sleeping Beauty’s classic tale of a beautiful princess takes a central precept that previous patriarchal archetypes dominated during the 17th Century. The archetypal perceptions of women resulted from conscious and unconscious literature influenced by male-dominated perspectives and social standards.

    Read More

  • William Mcneill's The Changing Shape Of World History

    982 Words  | 2 Pages

    In discussing the Chinese dynasty’s and during the Han Dynasty, Ban Baio, a famous Chinese historian, wrote “Lessons for a Woman,” (200-300 CE) outlining the position and duties of women in society. As time changed and civilization emerged, so did history as it began to bel less biblical and more focused on social change. McNeill notes that, “cultural borrowing,” was in fact a huge part of civilization. This document in particular can serve as an example in which Baio felt was a set of instructions for the proper behavior and attitude of women, particularly with regard to their

    Read More

  • Definition and Study of Cultural Construction

    946 Words  | 2 Pages

    Examples of cultural constructions can be seen throughout history in several forms such as gender, relationships, and marriage. “Cultural construction of gender emphasizes that different cultures have distinctive ideas about males and females and use these ideas to define manhood/masculinity and womanhood/femininity.” (Humanity, 239) In many cultures gender roles are a great way to gain an understanding of just how different the construction of gender can be amongst individual cultures. The video The Women’s Kingdom provides an example of an uncommon gender role, which is seen in the Wujiao Village where the Mosuo women are the last matriarchy in the country and have been around for over one thousand years. Unlike other rural Chinese villages where many girls are degraded and abandoned at birth, Mosuo woman are proud and run the households where the men simply assist in what they need. The view of gender as a cultural construct ...

    Read More

  • Gender Ideals in Heian Society

    1083 Words  | 3 Pages

    However, the focus here will be on the lives of the courtesans. The Genji Monogatari provides us with an unrivalled look into the inner workings of Confucianism and court life in the Heian period. Song Geng, in his discourse on power and masculinity in China, claims that Confucianism gives rise to what he calls the “fragile scholar” or caizi() as it is referred to as in traditional Chinese literature.5 The so-called fragile scholar is a common character archetype seen throughout Chinese literature and, not surprisingly, also in the Genji Monogatari.... ... middle of paper ...

    Read More

  • The Good Woman Of Setzuan Analysis

    1304 Words  | 3 Pages

    Shan Te has hard time saying no to whoever comes to her asking for help, but men like Yang Sun take advantage of her generosity and loving personality to exploit her. Despite all the good deeds shen Te does to Young Sun, He bravely tells Shui Ta that “Shen Te is a woman: she is devoid of common sense. I only need to lay hands on her and church bells ring.”(56). Yang Sun statement shows no respect to woman probable because of the way the society has been stereotyping women to be devoid to common sense. The same statement can mean that in that society, a women can not hold important government position that involves making laws and policies. Yang Sun believes women are predictable and easily manipulated. He says ‘because I lay my hands on her breasts’’ (56) to be enough justification to why Shen Te is devotional to him. He thinks women are just like a machines that need to be touched on buttons to execute function. It is very shocking for Shui Ta, Shen Te’s double self of to hear a man’s perspective on a woman position in her society through her

    Read More

More about Two Contradictory Images of Female Fox Spirit

Open Document