晚明妓女的“理想女性”形象 = The ideal image of late Ming courtesans

• Main Author: 黃碧瑩 Wong, Kymberlyn Pek Yen
• Other Authors: Ngoi Guat Peng
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: Chinese
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: DRNTU::Humanities::History::Asia::China
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/21147
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

For many generations, the society has always looked at courtesans in a bad light. Prostitution has existed for a long time in history and yet, the perception that people had of them has never changed. The most we can see is the admiration of their beauty and talent. During the beginning of Ming, courtesans were just mainly serving customers with food and wine during occasions. There was no need for them to perform their talents. This lasted till the end of Ming, where courtesans learned to compose poems after being actively involved with scholars. The courtesans’ image and social status rose when their beauty and talents were appreciated by them. Scholars started to create Flower Charts (hua-bang) to grade courtesans according to their beauty and talents and to group them into different criteria, only then did the beauty and talents of courtesans mattered. However, it was only till the emergence of Women culture and Caizi-jiaren, courtesans then became the ideal women of Ming scholars. With that, courtesans gradually rose in their social status and they formed a new social group called “Jiaren-Meinv”. This new social group exists out of social norms and uses new standards in deciding the members of that group. In there, scholars can feel free to pursue the ideal life of Caizi-jiaren without having to conform to social ethics. What is the reason that causes the images of Ming courtesans to turn positive? Why are they the ideal women in the eyes of scholars? Are there any interactions between courtesans and ladies of influential families? These are the areas that I have interest in and I hope to be able to understand the social morals and culture of the Late Ming society through the change in image of courtesans.