Soph's Blog

Welcome back from Spring Break! I was able to catch up with my 5-15 reports + Hypothesis.s feedback. Now I need to catch up on my portfolio. My goal this week is to solidify my project, list of resources, and plan how I’m going to space out the rest of this semester (setting mini-goals to hold myself accountable)

Reading: “Notes of Flesh” and the Courtesan’s Song in Seventeenth-Century China

I found the readings and topic this week to be really interesting! We learned about the relationship between music, gender, and sex- and how courtesans were important figures in the world of art and music. Courtesan culture is rich & complex, made up of talented women who are so much more than what meets the eye.

One quote I found particularly fascinating described the culture of gift giving between courtesan and client: “In the Chinese case, the gift economy was likewise all-important in constituting the relations between a courtesan and her literati clients, but it was also expected that some of the gifts she received be of a literary (or artistic) nature—a poem, a painting, the lyrics to an aria—and that the courtesan be able to reciprocate in kind—by matching the poem, adding to the painting, or singing the song. All of this contributed to the fantasy of parity between a courtesan and her lover, of favors freely exchanged, and was the sine qua non for romance in the Chinese tradition.”

TO DO LIST

• First Reflection
• Work on Portfolio Project

TADA LIST

• 5-15 Reports (All Up To Date!)
• Feedback on Hypothesis

Soph from the future (3/16/22)

Reading: The Inner Quarters: Marriage and the Lives of Chinese Women in the Sung Period. by Ebrey, Patricia Buckley

From this reading, I chose to focus on chapter 12, Concubines. Prior to reading this text, I never really knew about the darker side of the life of the concubine- all I had only vaguely known of the more artistic & romanticized way they were portrayed in history. Kidnappings, being sold, forced to sell themselves as a last ditch effort at survival- this lifestyle is in no may as pretty as it’s depicted. The text is a deep dive into the life of a concubine- and how every woman’s experience might’ve been different.

I found the story of Miss Ho and Kao Wen-hu to be a “best case situation”. In his old age, Kao Wen-hu bought Miss Ho to help take care of him. The two ended up having a very pleasant partnership- without any sexual advancements on the young girl.

All this being said- Concubines were talented artists and famed personalities – but it’s possible to respect their accomplishments, while acknowledging the violence of the concubine system

TO DO LIST

• Spring Break Catch Up
  • Feedback on Hypothesis
  • First Reflection
• Work on Portfolio Project

TADA LIST

• 5-15 Reports (All Up To Date!)
  • WEEK 4 5-15 Report
  • WEEK 6 5-15 Report
  • WEEK 7 5-15 Report
  • WEEK 8 5-15 Report

Soph from the future (3/16/22)

Reading: “The Red Brush, Writing Women of Imperial China” by Wilt Idema and Beata Grant

Looking back on last week, we were introduced to Chinese empress Wu Zhoa. Getting a more personal look at the empress’s life through the history and writings of her secretary, Shangguan Wan’er.

Shangguan Wan’er’s dramatic life is something straight out of a HBO drama series. The high stakes decisions she had to make in order to not only thrive, but survive, is an attestment to her strong-willed character. I won’t lie, I spent much of my 15 minutes of writing getting LOST in the amount of content that’s been based off of her life. From historic paintings, to successful drama series, even as a powerful supernatural being in modern day video games. ( If anyone has a link to the tv drama, please send it to me! I’d love to see how her story is translated on film)

TO DO LIST

• Spring Break Catch Up
  • 5-15 Reports
    • Week 8
  • Feedback on Hypothesis
  • First Reflection
• Work on Portfolio Project

TADA LIST

• WEEK 4 5-15 Report
• WEEK 6 5-15 Report
• WEEK 7 5-15 Report

Soph from the future (3/16/22)

Reading: “Mulan’s Legend and Legacy in the United States” by Lan Dong

This past week’s readings discussed the legend of the famous Chinese historical figure, Mulan.

Through Lan Dong’s writings, the story of Xun Guan peaked my interest. I had never heard of her before! I’m amazed by her bravery and (excuse my language) badass-ery, I wish her story was better preserved after all this time. I tried to do my own research outside of the text, but came up short.

I was able to find this helpful video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=875vyMlh3vI

Also, one of my favorite parts of historical research is finding art from or about that period of time- it’s a helpful gateway into the past.

I was able to find a painting from the 1930s:

Including some uncredited works:

Looking forward to learning more! Till next time

TO DO LIST

• Spring Break Catch Up
  • 5-15 Reports
    • Week 7
    • Week 8
  • Feedback on Hypothesis
  • First Reflection
• Work on Portfolio Project

TADA LIST

• WEEK 4 5-15 Report
• WEEK 6 5-15 Report

Soph from the future (3/16/2022)

This past week we read about Fu Hao, the earliest known woman general of ancient China. From the Shang dynasty, Fu hao was also the Queen consort of Emperor Wuding.

In this article, I found it interesting her tomb was one of the main things discussed. I guess when so much of her story has been erased from history, a large part of what we know about her today comes from the physical evidence left behind.

After the reading, I did some extra research of her tomb, and I found out that this statue exists outside of the site

I couldn’t find out when this statue was made, or who made it. Based off the quality of the piece, I assume it was created after the tomb was discovered… I’d love to dig into this a bit more and find out the story behind this work of art.

TO DO LIST

• Spring Break Catch Up
  • 5-15 Reports
    • Week 6
    • Week 7
    • Week 8
  • Feedback on Hypothesis
  • First Reflection
• Work on Portfolio Project

TADA LIST

• WEEK 4 5-15 Report

Hello! This will be brief- but I think I want to do more research on fortune telling and the occult. I found that to be one of the more interesting class discussions, and I feel like there’s a lot of fun avenues of research to dig into. The only thing is that I’m not sure yet how to tie this into the history of Chinese Women… Although, yesterday in Dr. Miller’s class we talked about Chinese Ghosts, specifically female ghosts.

I need to hone into this a bit more and figure out if there’s a specific area of the topic I want to cover- I feel like I’m casting my net into a big pond. Still, it’s exciting! I’ve always been fascinated by the occult, but never really found a reason to research it in an academic setting. I usually reserve that time for theatre or art… so if I have an opportunity to get weird, I’ll get weird!