ABSTRACT
Figure 2.1 Portrait of Xie Daoyun 嫅忻枆. Woodblock cut. From Wu Youru ⏛⍳⤪, Wu Youru hua bao ⏛⍳⤪䔓⮞, Vol. 1, Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1983.
This chapter aims to examine the trajectory of the talented woman’s life story from child prodigy to writing goddess as portrayed by her observers and in her own words. The voices of literary women that have come down to us transmitted in their own words fill some of the gaps and silences left in the male-authored discourse about them, adding a gendered perspective to the story of Tanyangzi, the literary icon in the male gaze.4 A word of caution, however, as we have to beware the fallacy of taking these voices at face value. Not unlike Wang Shizhen’s version of Tanyangzi’s story, the voices from female-authored texts, too, reach us through the filters of male-authored discourse, their editors’ selection strategies, or sponsors’ preferences. Some of these filters appear obvious while others remain obscure.
