The Female Images and the Concept of Gender in Taiwanese Ballads Under the Japanese Colonialization

• Main Authors: Yu-Ping Chang, 張玉萍
• Other Authors: Heng-chhiong Li
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2008
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/06169092594740869805

碩士 === 國立成功大學 === 台灣文學研究所 === 96 === Kua-a-tsheh, or Taiwanese Ballads was widespread and popular during the Japanese period of occupation. Kua-a-tsheh was not only an important recreation for the Taiwanese people of that time, but also a literary treasure written in Taiwanese vernacular in the history of Taiwanese literature. For a long history, women were rarely documented. In addition, the Japanese period was a critical era between tradition and modern in the development of Taiwanese society. Because the text of Kua-a-tsheh published in the Japanese era usually contains plentiful descriptions and images of women, it becomes important text for gender study. The purpose of this study is to survey what images of women were manipulated and revealed in the Kua-a-tsheh published in the Japanese period. Five types of image were found based on the survey of collected texts: 1) women with traditional virtue, 2) women with male characteristics such as sorceress and chivalrous women, 3) demimondes, 4) bad women which made negative impression on men, and 5) new women. The findings reveal some suggestions. First, in addition to localization (from Southern Min area to Taiwan) and social change during the Japanese period, moral education and commercial attraction purposes were also the motive forces to the result of multi-images. Second, due to most works of Kua-a-tsheh were written by men, it reflects men’s mentality, bias and even discrimination against female to some extent. Those images of women appeared in Kua-a-tsheh were actually men’s subjective expectation and bias rather than objective descriptions. It shows that women did not have the power of interpretation of their own. Third, the fact of various images of women reflected people’s various mentalities in the changing society between tradition and modern. It further points out that the role played by different genders is actually acquired rather than naturally born.