China’s Tang Dynasty brought a surge in art and
literature to China. Some of the renowned poets of the era were Li Po, Tu Fu, and
Wang Wei, who made their fame through the simplicity and naturalism in their
work (ushistory.org) . Longer fiction in
the form of chuanqi, or “records of
marvels” also emerged during this time period. One author of this genre was
Yuan Zhen, though he was also a poet (Zhen 1053) . The Tang Dynasty
was also an enlightened period for women, compared to other eras of ancient
China. It was during this time that women were allowed to inherit property from
their husbands, receive a lawful divorce, and were granted the same rights to
and opportunities for education that men already held (ushistory.org) . Women finally had
the opportunities to live up to their full potential, which may have caused
some feelings of anxiety in their male counterparts. Yuan Zhen’s “The Story of
Yingying” illustrates male fear of the power available to beautiful,
intelligent women.
“The Story of Yingying” is a love story. A young scholar,
Zhang, meets a beautiful young girl, Miss Cui, and they fall in love. However,
the young lovers, each through their own actions, contribute to the end of
their relationship. Zhang leaves Miss Cui to pursue his education while Miss
Cui revealed to him that she knew exactly the power she held and was not afraid
to wield it. She played on his sense of responsibility toward her and tried to
make him feel guilty. “To seduce someone and then abandon her is perfectly
natural, and it would be presumptuous of me to resent it. It would be an act of
charity on your part if, having first seduced me, you were to go through with
it and fulfill your oath of lifelong devotion…. However I see that you are not
happy and I have no way to cheer you up” (Zhen 1057) .
In a land where women had only recently been able to own
their own land or become educated, there were few avenues available for women
to better their circumstances. Women who were blessed with beauty could use
their intelligence and some emotional manipulation to gain favors from the men
who controlled their lives. Miss Cui is both beautiful and educated. “Her
beauty was extraordinary, so radiant it took the breath away” (Zhen 1055) . The fact that she
reads and writes poetry shows that she is educated (Hoffert) . “But I have noticed
that she writes a lot. She is always reciting poetry to herself and is moved by
it for a long time after” (Zhen 1055) .
Zhang is enamored of her. After their first stolen night
together, he writes a poem about it entitled “An Encounter with an Immortal” (Zhen 1057) . He is, in fact, so
distracted by his liaison with Miss Cui that he fails his examinations and must
remain in the capital city another year in order to retake the exams (1058) .
He writes to Miss Cui and explains the situation, and upon receiving her
response, he decides that he must end his relationship with her or she will
ruin him. When asked about it, Zhang replies, “It is a general rule that those
women endowed by Heaven with great beauty invariably either destroy themselves
or destroy someone else. If the Cui woman were to meet someone with wealth and
position, she would use the favor her charms gain her … I can’t imagine what
she might turn into. Of old, King Xin of the Shang and King You of the Zhou
were brought low by women, in spite of the size of their kingdoms and the
extent of their power … and down to the present day their names are objects of
ridicule. I have no inner strength to withstand this evil influence. That is
why I have resolutely suppressed my love” (1061) .
This statement reveals Zhang’s fear that his love for
Miss Cui would be his ruin. She is a beautiful woman, well educated, and his
feelings for her make him want to keep her happy, regardless of the personal cost.
Miss Cui’s willingness to use his feelings for her to try and manipulate him
into bending to her will justifies Zhang’s fears. Her last letter to him
contained several phrases that seemed designed to increase his feelings of
guilt for not marrying her. “Still it is hard on the person left alone in this
far-off place … Since last fall I have been listless and without hope … and I
supposed in my innocence, that I could always depend on you” (Zhen 1058) . Miss Cui’s blatant
manipulation and Zhang’s acknowledgement that his feelings for her could ruin
him are why “The Story of Yingying” is an illustration of male fear of the
power a beautiful, intelligent woman can wield.
Works Cited
Hoffert, Brian. Tang Dynasty Society and Culture.
n.d. Web. 31 October 2013.
<http://bhoffert.faculty.noctrl.edu/hst261/15.tang.societyculture.html>.
Jianying, Huo. The Tang Dynasty. November
2001. Web. 31 October 2013. <http://www.chinavoc.com/history/tang/women.htm>.
ushistory.org. Tang Dynasty - The Golden Age.
2013. Web. 31 October 2013. <http://www.ushistory.org/civ/9d.asp>.
Zhen, Yuan. "The Story of Yingying."
Akbari, Suzanne, et al. The Norton Anthology of World Literature Third
Edition Volume B . New York : W.W. Norton & Company, 2012. 1053-1061.
Print .
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