Tanci

History#

Historically tanci was a popular art form with women in the lower Yangtze River Valley, specifically the Jiangnan region. Women’s tanci often are about their philosophy of literary creation, the sentiments of the author, and descriptions of seasons. During the Qing dynasty it was not only used for entertainment but also for political and social propaganda. The Gengzi Guobian Tanci, a tanci by Li Baojia (Li Boyuan) written about the Boxer Rebellion, is an example of a political tanci.

References#

• Guo, Li. “Narrative and Genre: Locating Tanci in Chinese Literature and World Literature.” In A Companion to World Literature. Edited by K. Seigneurie. John Wiley & Sons, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118635193.ctwl0179
• Hu, Siao-chen. “Qu Xinru.” In The Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History: 4 Volume Set. Edited by Bonnie G. Smith. Oxford University Press, 2008. , 9780195148909.
• Wang, Lingzhen. Personal Matters: Women’s Autobiographical Practice in Twentieth-century China. Stanford University Press, 2004. , 9780804750059.
• Webster-Chang, Stephanie J. “Composing, Revising, and Performing Suzhou Ballads: A Study of Political Control and Artistic Freedom in Tanci, 1949–1964.” (University of Pittsburgh) ProQuest, 2008. , 9781109055801.
• Zhang, Yu, Interfamily Tanci Writing in Nineteenth-Century China: Bonds and Boundaries. Lexington Books, 2017. .