Imagining the Urban Woman

Imagining the “Urban Woman”: A Study of Emotional Narratives in Chi Li’s Novel Her City

如何想象“都市女性”——论池莉《她的城》中的都市女性情感书写

Name: Anusit Jaisritrakul

Address: 333 Moo1, Thasud, Muang, Chiang Rai 57100

Organization : The Sirindhorn Chinese Language and Culture Center, Mae Fah Luang University

Email : library@mfu.ac.th

keyword: Chi Li

ThaSH: Chinese language

; Her City

ThaSH: Urban women

; urban women

ThaSH: Sisterhoods

; emotional narratives

ThaSH: Chinese fiction

; urban narratives

ThaSH: Chinese language -- Study and teaching

; sisterhood

Abstract: This paper begins by tracing the trajectory of urban narratives in modern and contemporary Chinese literature, exploring their evolution and thematic concerns. In this context, “city” and “woman” have often been central narrative themes for female writers, who attempt to establish an emotional connection between the two. The study focuses on Chi Li's novel Her City, with particular emphasis on the emotional narratives of urban women. It analyzes the isomorphic relationship between the history of women’s emotions and urban history, demonstrating how the presence of women shapes the cityscape and reflects their inner subjectivity. In the novel, as China's reform and opening-up policies and modernization progress, women’s commercial abilities and fashion choices are vividly portrayed. Simultaneously, the opportunities and material abundance brought about by urban development provide urban women with a platform to express themselves and realize their self-worth. This freedom of choice becomes a crucial part of their identity construction. Moreover, sisterhood, as a key theme in the novel, represents not only a mutually supportive emotional bond among women but also an expression of moral obligation and social responsibility. Through the depiction of conflicts and disputes between Mijie and Fengchun, Chi Li challenges the idealized concept of “unconditional” mutual love promoted by the feminist movement, emphasizing the importance and complexity of authentic emotional experience.

Abstract: 本文从中国现当代文学的城市书写脉络谈起，探讨了城市文学的发展过程。在这一发展脉络中，“城市”与“女性”常被女性作家作为重要的叙事主题，试图建构两者之间的某种情感联系。文中以池莉的小说《她的城》为中心，重点分析都市女性的情感书写，揭示出女性情感史与城市发展史之间的同构关系。在这个意义上，女性的存在则 塑造了城市的风貌，且从中展现出她们的精神特质。小说中，随着中国改革开放和现代化建设的推进，女性在商业领域的能力、在时尚选择上的自由均得以充分展现。 与此同时，城市的繁华所带来的机遇以及物质上的丰富，为都市女性提供了展示自我、 实现价值的平台，而这种自由选择也成为她们身份认同建构的重要组成部分。此外，姐妹情谊（Sisterhood）作为小说中的核心主题，它不仅是女性群体中的一种相互支撑的情感，更是一种具有道德约束力与社会责任感的体现，池莉通过对蜜姐与逢春之间的冲突与争执的描写，挑战了女权运动中“无条件”地互爱的理想化概念，强调了真实情感的重要性与深度

Mae Fah Luang University. Learning Resources and Educational Media Centre

Address: CHIANG RAI

Email: library@mfu.ac.th

Modified: 2568-08-29

Issued: 2568-08-29

บทความ/Article

application/pdf

BibliograpyCitation : Journal of Sinology. Vol.19, No.1 (January - June 2025) : p.164-176

Journal of Sinology. Vol.19, No.1 (January - June 2025) : p.164-176

tha

©copyrights มหาวิทยาลัยแม่ฟ้าหลวง

ลำดับที่.	ชื่อแฟ้มข้อมูล	ขนาดแฟ้มข้อมูล	จำนวนเข้าถึง	วัน-เวลาเข้าถึงล่าสุด
1	2025-v19no.1-p.164-176.pdf	1.01 MB

ใช้เวลา

0.016869 วินาที