Nǚ Liáozhāi Zhìyì 女聊齋志異
Records of the Strange from a Female Studio
compiled by 賈茗 (輯)
About the work
Nǚ Liáozhāi Zhìyì 女聊齋志異 is a Qīng dynasty collection of tales about women, compiled in 4 juàn 卷 and approximately 89 individual entries by Gǔ Wú Jìngfēn Nǚshǐ Jiǎ Míng 古吳靚芬女史賈茗, i.e., the female literata Jiǎ Míng 賈茗, styled Jìngfēn 靚芬, from Gǔ Wú 古吳 (the Sūzhōu region). The collection is explicitly modeled on Pǔ Sōnglíng’s 蒲松齡 Liáozhāi Zhìyì 聊齋志異, as stated in the appended preface, and selects stories of remarkable, virtuous, talented, chaste, and chivalrous women (zhēnnǚ, cáinǚ, xiánǚ, qíngnǚ 貞女、才女、俠女、情女) drawn from historical and literary sources spanning from antiquity to the Qīng dynasty.
Tiyao
No tiyao found in source.
Abstract
The prefatory note (叙) appended to the text describes the compiler as “Jìngfēn Jiǎ Nǚshǐ” 靚芬賈女史, a woman who had long admired Pǔ Liúxiān’s 蒲留仙 (Pǔ Sōnglíng’s) writings and thus compiled this anthology of tales of exceptional women from across Chinese history. The preface opens with the famous saying “the mountains and rivers’ numinous energy is often concentrated not on bearded men but on women” (古今山川靈秀之氣，往往不鍾于鬚眉丈夫，而鍾于婦女), and characterizes the collection as gathering souls of loyal women, talented women, chivalrous women, and romantic women (zhōng, cái, xiá, qíng 忠才俠情) into one compilation.
The 89 entries across 4 juàn range across the full span of Chinese history: from legendary-mythological figures (Éhuáng and Nǚyīng 娥皇女英, Jiāngyuán 姜嫄, juàn 1) through the Tang-Song period (Bù Fēiyān 步非煙, Chén Yīngniáng 陳嬰娘, Cuī Wāngluán 崔鶯鶯, Xiè Xiǎo’é 謝小娥, juàn 1–2) to the late imperial period (Qín Liángyù 秦良玉, juàn 2; Lǐ Wā 李娃, juàn 2; and various Qīng figures in juàn 3–4). Well-known literary and historical women (Zhuō Wénjūn 卓文君, Wáng Qiáng 王嬙 / Wáng Zhāojūn 王昭君, Xiè Xiǎo’é 謝小娥, Cài Wénjī 蔡文姬/蔡箏娘) appear alongside less familiar figures. The final juàn 4 includes figures like Niè Yǐnniáng 聶隱娘, Jiāo Hóng jì 嬌紅記, and Xiè Áo 謝翺.
The structure of individual entries varies: some are brief anecdotes, others are extended narrative tales. The collection draws on classical tales (Tang chuánqí 傳奇), historical biographies, and literary miscellanies rather than original composition, making it an anthological compilation (jí 輯) rather than an original work of fiction.
Jiǎ Míng 賈茗 is not identified in standard Qīng women’s writing databases. The designation Gǔ Wú 古吳 (ancient Wú, i.e., Sūzhōu) and the title Nǚshǐ 女史 (female historian/literata) mark her as a member of the educated Jiāngnán female literary culture of the later Qīng. A composition date in the latter half of the nineteenth century is probable. No CBDB record has been found.
Translations and research
- Fong, Grace S. 2004. “Female Hands: Embroidery as a Knowledge Field in Women’s Everyday Life in Late Imperial and Early Republican China.” Late Imperial China 25.1. (Background on female literati culture.)
- Wu, Pei-yi. 1990. The Confucian’s Progress: Autobiographical Writings in Traditional China. Princeton UP. (Background on women’s literary self-expression.)
No translation or dedicated study of this specific collection located.
Links
- Related work: KR3l0130 Liáozhāi Zhìyì 聊齋志異 (the work explicitly imitated)
- No Wikipedia or Wikidata article identified for this specific collection.