A Study on the Female Consciousness in Chinese Classical Literature: Focusing on the Three Pieces of Ci Written by Li Qingzhaos

Abstract

In Chinese classical literature, female consciousness means that authors can restore the true, natural and vivid state of female in their description. Li Qingzhao's three pieces of ci in different periods all portray the image of an independent female, who expresses the feelings of complaint and sorrow. By reviewing the development of female images and comparing the female images in ci written by male and female writers in the Song Dynasty, it is found that female consciousness always exists in Chinese classical literature, though it has never become the mainstream.