Mapping Gender and Poetic Role in Early Medieval Poetry

Abstract

This article examines the indeterminacy of gender and poetic roles of early five-syllable poems (wu yan shi 五言詩). The indeterminacy pervasive in early poetry came to be perceived as a problem beginning in the late third century. A comparison between some early five-syllable poems and their later variations, imitations, and interpretations suggests conscious clarifications of ambiguity and fluidity made by early medieval writers and literary scholars. By the fifth and sixth centuries, relatively indeterminate gender and poetic roles were gradually forced into a neat “map” of more determinate ones in poetic expressions. Certain sentiments and expressions came to be associated with a specific gender or particular identity. This map became an important part of poetic conventions for later writers and it also had a profound influence on our understanding of early poetry. This article explores reasons for changes in the view of gender and poetic roles in greater cultural and literary contexts of the early medieval period, which includes a changing notion of authorship, a different view of the nature and function of five-syllable poetry, and a growing interest in constructing the literary past for this poetic genre.