Ancient Feelings & Incomplete Journeys:
A Chinese Woman Poet at the End of the Eighteenth Century
Nearly forgotten today, Sun Yunfeng was celebrated in her lifetime as the most accomplished female disciple of Yuan Mei, the greatest Chinese poet of the 18th century. Some of her poems evoke her travels around China, extensive for anyone of the time, let alone a woman. Others are imitations of "boudoir" poetry, traditionally written by men in the voices of women. Paradoxically, it is her faithfulness to the conventions of classical poetry that calls into question its restrictions.
After spending two years in the People's Republic of China, Richard Serrano completed the doctoral program in Comparative Literature at the University of California (Berkeley). His first book, Neither a Borrower: Forging Traditions in French, Chinese and Arabic Poetry, explored the shamanistic origins of Tang poetry. It also demonstrated not only that the French poet Stéphane Mallarmé was actually a Chinese poet, but that Confucius invented film theory.
Now as an Associate Professor at Rutgers University, Dr. Serrano's current research in Chinese literature explores the relationship between women and poetry in the 18th century. He examines representations of women reading, discussing and writing poetry in novels, plays and the visual arts; analyzes the appropriation of Confucian traditions of exemplary women by the Manchu Qing Dynasty; considers the contemporary debates over the purpose and extent of women's education; documents the the resurgence of interest in women poets of the past; and, most importantly, translates poetry never before rendered into English in order to evaluate its place within the 2500-year tradition of Chinese poetry.
In the past ten years there has been a concerted effort in both China and North America to reconsider the place of poetry written during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 -- the very long 18th century!) in the history of Chinese literature. Since this period also marked the sudden rise to prominence of women poets, scholarship on the lives of women has also made significant progress. Harvard and McGill universities have collaborated on the Ming Qing Women's Writings Digitization Project, which can be accessed here: http://digital.library.mcgill.ca/mingqing/
Selected Publications by Richard Serrano: