A Study of Palace Women’s Images in Northern Dynasties

• Main Authors: Ya-hui Cheng, 鄭雅惠
• Other Authors: Teng-shun Lin
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2012
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/62221037497830721614

碩士 === 國立臺南大學 === 國語文學系碩士班 === 100 === The present study is based on Chinese historical books including Book of Wei, Book of Northern Qi, Book of Zhou, and History of Northern Dynasties. The author searched and collected the information related to empresses and imperial concubines in Northern Dynasties from these Chinese historical books and consulted the recent research articles about women in Northern Dynasties, and then collated and analyzed the information obtained from these historical books and research articles. The study discussed and analyzed the images of the empresses, imperial concubines, and princesses in Northern Dynasties from the perspectives of Northern Dynasties’ politics, economy, social culture, and religion. In Northern Dynasties, wars and regime change frequently occurred, and empresses and princesses had opportunities to participate in politics. Buddhism was prevalent in Northern Dynasties and many palace women chose to be Buddhist nuns as the destinations of their lives due to various reasons. In Northern Dynasties, chastity was not considered important and therefore both men and women indulged themselves in their passions. In Northern Dynasties, palace women had the freedom of unlimited enjoyment. However, for the royal families’ own interests, princesses did not have the right to pursue their own happiness and therefore they often became the victims of political marriages. This study aims to analyze the factors behind the empresses, imperial concubines, and princesses in Northern Dynasties and these factors’ influences and further classify their images, and provide alternative views about the images of palace women.