ABSTRACT
Ling Shuhua (1900-1990) is a notable modern Chinese woman writer who is well known for her short stories such as ‘Jiu hou’ (After Drinking) and ‘Xiuzhen’ (Embroidered Pillows). She has been hailed as a representative guixiu pai (gentlewoman) writer in mainland China and Taiwan, and fi ts the description well: as an accomplished writer and painter, and a member of aristocratic society, she was a gentlewoman in possession of a privileged education, refi ned social manners and demure appearance.1 Ling seems to have felt little discomfort at being seen as a gentlewoman; on the contrary, she actively cultivated a public image as one of gentlewomanly grace and kept it at a reasonable distance from commerciality. However, her enactment of gentility was edged with popular culture, both domestic and international. The term ‘gentlewoman,’ which incorporates the question of social class, is advantageous in particularizing the cross-cultural activities of Ling Shuhua, which also comprise her feminist and literary activities.
