Postdoctoral Researcher | The University of Capital Normal University | China
Dr. Yijng Zhang the gendered characteristics of writing media in women’s calligraphic practices during the Song Dynasty from the perspective of material culture. It explores how writing tools and material carriers were embedded with gender coding and social norms, shaping stylistic form, emotional expression, spatial organization, and identity construction in female calligraphy. The study analyzes differences in media selection and innovation among women of varying social classes, revealing how material choices functioned as both cultural resources and symbolic constraints. It further investigates gendered power dynamics in the circulation and evaluation of calligraphic works, including the intervention of male critics and the resistance strategies adopted by female calligraphers. By examining the reproduction and consumption of writing media, the research exposes mechanisms of gender discipline and the structural limits of media transformation. Overall, the study demonstrates how material media enabled women to accumulate cultural capital while simultaneously reinforcing gender boundaries, contributing a nuanced framework for understanding gender, materiality, and artistic identity in Chinese art history.
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