I happened upon this article about female Chinese poets throughout history from the Cultural China website: Women Poets in Past Centuries – Raising One’s Voice in a Male World. Not surprisingly, the article describes how women of noble families were often highly educated and literate and, though at times were able to gain some notoriety, never had as much public recognition as their male counterparts.
While reading about the struggle of female poets, my thoughts went back to a discussion that Courtney Milan began on her post, Fairytales of Meritocracy, about the historical fantasy inherent in much of historical romance where modern ideals of meritocracy are inserted. Her very well-written post sparked some great conversation. I for one, LOVE that Courtney pinpoints some of the true “fantasies” at the heart of romance. The feminine fantasy is not the superficial one so often lambasted of wearing pretty clothes, having a great body, and landing a ravishing rake of one’s own. The fantasy is one of meritocracy: that worthy deeds will be rewarded. That characters, in any walk of life, vie for a better life and can achieve it. Yes, it comes with finding your true love as well. We want it all. HEA.
In a comment to Courtney Milan’s post, I stated an idealistic idea that feminism and meritocracy are not strictly modern ideals and that history itself doesn’t show a linear progression of subjugation to liberation, by any means.
Robin expressed the balance very well:
“I interpret (this) as finding the moments and pockets in history where what we recognize in the present is also discernible in the past.
That notion comports best with hist Rom to which I generally gravitate — those books that I can connect to through my current moment in time but without feeling that they are modern books in historical costume.”
While reading the Cultural China article, I found myself moved to nearly the point of tears by the words of these female poets who, very clearly and in ancient times, expressed this same desire to be recognized.
First, the example of private versus public independence. I think this is something Westerners often misinterpret when pushing the idea of the meek, subjugated Asian female:
From Cultural China:
“Take the example of Bao Linghui, who lived in the fifth century. She was the sister of the renowned poet Bao Zhao, and was highly educated too. Women were not discriminated. They were the ones who would stay home and educate their children while men would serve. They would even help their husbands to pass the imperial examination”
This couldn’t help but bring to mind Virginia Woolf and her conundrum of Shakespeare’s gifted sister with no place to exhibit her creativity in A Room of One’s Own. Chinese women did have a room and a sphere of their own – though it was a private one: inside the home, the inner chamber, the so-called “red chamber”.
And then the lament of Yue Xuanji, female poet of the Tang Dynasty:
“I resent these gauze robes of mine which conceal poems’ lines, I raise my head, envying the names on the roster of successful candidates.”
“I resent these gauze robes.” — Such a beautiful vision evoking femininity, the desire for recognition, and ideal of meritocracy. And this was in the 9th century.
In these cases, the need for public acceptance and recognition eludes these women, but in modern times the path of meritocracy is also fraught with obstacles, is it not?
I have received several comments that my characters exhibit modern behavior. I don’t know whether this is in their speech or their independent and outspoken natures. In both cases, I wholeheartedly accept such criticisms without argument other than the ones I’ve laid out here. I’ve “modernized” the speech in that I’ve made little effort to shy away from contractions and language that flows without any sense of being stiff or stilted. After reading the words of the Tang women, I can’t fathom in my head how to make them sound “ancient” and still do justice to the absolute command of the language I sense in their words. Though of course, as an author, there’s simply the case that perhaps I chose the occasional word that triggered a modern feeling, and I accept that shortcoming too. It could be that I simply, plainly, did not get the job done in a convincing manner.
In terms of independence and wanting to be recognized as equals, in terms of expressing these opinions openly and eloquently — again I defer to my muses, the women of the Tang Dynasty. How could their words and feats have survived more than a thousand years, surviving revisionist efforts of subsequent generations, if these thoughts had not resonated deeply in their own time as well as today?
My characters are modern, but my characters are historical. I chose them for that reason, and I must accept all such criticisms of anachronism. I must embrace these critiques in light of the choices I’ve made.
Just a post to list some guest blogs and other interesting tidbits:
Carrie Lofty of Unusual Historicals has written a very well-thought out article about what sort of elements authors of unusual historical romances have to consider when targeting their stories for a mass market audience. She’s interviewed editors and agents as well as authors (myself included!) and put together a succinct and comprehensive look into the balancing act of writing unusual settings.Walking the Tightrope by Carrie Lofty
I’m blogging today at the Ruby-Slippered Sisterhood about “Writing with a Cinematic Eye” where I try to describe how I re-think scenes and translate them from a cinematic view to words on the page.
And last, but not least. December is here! It’s the first day of the Harlequin Historical Advent Calendar celebration! Visit Lynna Banning to kick off the event. Each day you participate will enter you in a mini-giveaway for that author as well as the Grand Prize giveaway – a Kindle 3G. (I loves my Kindle. I really, really do.) Come back here on Dec. 4 (Saturday) for my contribution.
Miss a day? Don’t worry. You can go back and still complete the activity for an extra chance to win. 22 days — 22 authors.
I blog for a wonderful site called Unusual Historicals, which is dedicated to articles about the lesser known settings and time periods in historical romance. Basically everything but Regency/Victorian England it seems.
Since I was asked to join, I’ve been writing posts about Asian topics as well as the ancient world. I like to look at things with a cross-cultural perspective such as the article on warrior culture or the one about the printing press. One of the first ideas that drew me to history (my worst subject in high school) was the idea of drawing parallels between the histories of different cultures. It’s why the Silk Road remains such a muse for me.
At one point, I wondered if I was boxing myself in too much. Would people look at my contributions and think, oh there’s another Asian article? Was I becoming cliched and repetitive? Did I sound like I was on a soapbox? Then I received a response from a fellow author who told me she went to research ancient Chinese drinking games, and was so pleased that she found my Unusual Historicals post on drinking games around the globe. I realized this is probably why UH asked me to join. Readers are looking for a range of perspectives and topics from many different cultures.
This month’s topic is Real Life Heroes. To my shame, I had to Google “Real Life Asian Heroes”. I could not name more than ten/fifteen people I thought would be considered Asian heroes. I could think of many significant historical figures, many of from ancient history, but whether they’d be “real life” heroes was uncertain.
Who was the first Asian astronaut? (I had NO idea he was Vietnamese!) Who was the first Chinese doctor? Who are the inspirational athletes, actors, businessmen of the Asian world? Who were the revolutionary thinkers?
I remember when I graduated as valedictorian of my high school class. Vietnamese families I didn’t know came up to afterward and asked to take their picture with me. Me? I was astonished, but now I realized why. They were starved for role models. They wanted to see that an Asian girl could accomplish things. Someone who was like them. Connie Chung was a very visible and public role model, but who else did we see? Kind of funny, but other Asian female newscasters were also making it to major networks. You could achieve, but only in this little box.
My searches also brought up the very recent and very raw wound of the whitewashing of the heroes of Avatar: The Last Airbender. We don’t get to see Asian heroes kicking ass. I remember reading a hilarious editorial in my university paper lamenting this same fact. He wrote about the lack of Asian superheroes to look up to. He looked longingly at Spiderman with his slanted his eyes and his name, Peter Parker, which was so close to a Korean name, Peter Park, and would imagine that this was his Asian superhero.
I wish I could find that article. I laughed so hard, but I only did because the void was so very real. The icons that Asian American children grew up with didn’t look like them. The Samurai just doesn’t cut it.
I was afraid of being a broken record, touting all things Asian. But then I realized, maybe it’s a message that bears repeating. My guest blog on Unusual Historicals covers a few of the accomplishments of the current Dalai Lama, as well as some of the history of the line of Dalai Lamas. I chose him because he continues to inspire me and provoke me to think about the world.
In my research, I found several resources that have taken it upon themselves to bring awareness to real life Asian heroes, beyond the ones that are covered in popular Western media.
Time Asia: Asian Heroes – Excellent feature by Time magazine of the most admirable men and women I’d never heard of
The Asian Heroes Project - This blog challenged me to name who my Asian/American hero was. Would I, like most Asian Americans, name Bruce Lee? — Guilty as charged. The blog states: “We hope people will read this blog, be introduced to titans of the world, be inspired to go out and innovate, and lastly, to discover the great potential of being someone else’s hero.”
Angry Asian Man – In his own words: “This is just a subject that has always interested me — pointing out racism and noting any and all appearances of Asians in mass media and popular culture (the good and the bad).”
I’m kicking off Warrior Women month with a quick tutorial on butterfly swords. Also tomorrow, I have an interview with Mandy Sayah, Wing Chun instructor.
Blog Tour:
Blogging about how I came to write historical romance at The Minding Spot. The blog is doing their own giveaway of a copy of the Taming of Mei Lin.
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The Taming of Mei Lin and Butterfly Swords both feature sword fights involving butterfly swords. I’ve received many curious inquiries about both the weapons and the fighting style, so I thought I’d showcase them today.
I chose butterfly swords for my heroine because:
1) I had some experience with them
2) They could be hidden easily and carried around with her various outfits
3) The techniques are fast and exciting to describe
4) The swords were distinctive and feminine, in contrast to the swords used by the hero and the villain
In this video, Grandmaster William Cheung demonstrates the butterfly swords form. The narration is Sifu Eric Oram.
This demonstration shows several techniques for butterfly swords against a broadsword. The key techniques are redirecting and controlling the opponent’s blade with the butterfly swords, and counterattacking immediately after a block.
And finally, the swords featured in the grand prize giveaway aren’t technically butterfly swords as they don’t have the handguard. They’re steel and sharpened and STILL pretty cool.
Join the Launch Celebration by tweeting, blogging, and getting the word out and you’ll be eligible to win. Details here.
I’m blogging today at Unusual Historicals about my internet location scouting process. I had struggled with whether to make up my own world based on China or write it as a historical. There’s plenty of discussion over which is harder – historical or historical fantasy. The truth is, I think there’s just as much worldbuilding needed for either of them. Your focus is just slightly shifted.
Come take a look to see my internet wanderings and how I look on China from afar. One day, I hope to actually go to these locations.
I just had a breakthrough. I realized why I’m stuck in my current WIP. I had all this research about the Tang capital of Changan, but once I left the city, the geography becomes vague. As a result, two of my books became plagued with what I’ll call “stuck in the forest” syndrome. The characters travel through nebulous trees and mountains and rivers until they emerge in the inhabited world.
I’ll blame the wuxia trope for part of it. A huge component of those stories were travel. Technically, the fictional world where all those stories take place is Jianghu which simply means “rivers and lakes”. If you think of Tolkien’s Middle Earth as the characters traipse through Hobbiton and all the surrounding lands on their way to Mordor, that’s sort of what Jianghu is. And, with all due respect, Tolkien had a bit of “stuck in the forest” syndrome too.
So early on as a writer, I was criticized for becoming bogged down in description. As a result, I started glossing over details to skip to external action. But then, I was always given a lot of positive feedback for description. I think I learned something in the course of writing the subsequent books. I learned how to move my characters through Jianghu, through places and settings that were important. But now I’m back here, back at Book #1 and I realize I’ve got to get these characters out of the forest because Jianghu has more interesting adventures to offer them.
So I’m researching, honest! And not ummm…wasting time on the Internet when I should be writing.
Here’s a quick tour through some ancient sites. It’s amazing what they do with digital animation. *sigh*
"Beloved" painting by Caroline Young (http://www.camerinoart.com)
This month’s theme at Unusual Historicals is scandal and I couldn’t resist writing Concubine Yang Yuhuan and her tragic love story. She’s one of my muses and she inspired the character of Lady Ling Suyin or Ling Guifei who’s one of two characters that span all three books.
Every writer dreams about the research vacation. Ah yes, write a story set in Hawaii and write off the travel expenses as research. I wonder how often this actually happens. Teachers dream about being able to take vacations in the summer on teacher discounts too. (You can’t see me, but I’m rolling with laughter right now.)
I’m re-researching the details of Yumen Guan and the western frontier where part of my story is set and daydreaming about taking a research trip. I think there are even “Silk Road” packages that will take me from Xian out to Dunhuang. Hubby would throw a fit. I don’t think China is his choice for a dream vacation (weak stomach + meat and potatoes man — need I say more? ).
14 day Silk Road package. I’d be able to visit the ruins of the Jade Gate fortress and my beloved Gansu corridor. Until then, I’ll just stare at it from Google Maps and take lots of artistic license.
When I first read about Yumen Guan, I knew it was the perfect location for my story. The fortress ruins look so lonely rising out of the desert. Because it was built in the Han dynasty, by the Tang dynasty it would have been over 500 years old. I studied other military gates or “Guan” to figure out what the Jade Gate may have looked like in its heyday. The construction of a stone wall surrounding a towering wooden structure seems very common.
What’s in my head is something in between the barren rock and the fortress of its heyday. Oh, and another reason for my choice? Yumenguan or Yumen Guan is readable and pronounceable. Decisions, decisions. Back to revisions now.
I’ve been tossing around what to do next and my CP helped me find my way — which is why it’s important to have partners that are good at the things you suck at. For me it’s coming up with ideas and where to put commas.
So I wondered if I should leave medieval China, try something else. Something maybe more “marketable” in case this China thing doesn’t work. But I just couldn’t. So if anything, I’m going deeper into the wuxia genre that inspired me by adding paranormal elements.
It’s quite exciting! The supernatural is so prominently woven into Chinese history and culture that I practically feel like I’m still researching a historical rather than worldbuilding for a paranormal romance. There are major texts on the supernatural and a city that is well known to contain the gate to the underworld. I mean, so well known that there’s practically nothing mysterious about it. I’ll have to change that in my book. And it’ll have all the things I love — swords, honor, melodramatic characters – LOL.
I’m trying to learn something new by brainstorming a series. All my previous stories were related, but standalone. Plotting a series you need to think of the series arc as well as each story arc. It’s quite fascinating. I don’t have what I call the “Big Bad” nailed down yet, so things are still pretty loose.
But I do have nearly all five couples mapped out. I realize that I don’t start with character sketches or outlines or even worldbuilding. I start by matchmaking. I figure out the hero and the heroine and gauge if there’s enough conflict and chemistry for them to carry a book. I don’t know much about them other than whether they’ll spark. I guess that’s why at the heart of it, I write romance.
Oh, a hint? Tao sorcery, exorcism swords…a Secret Service team that works for the Emperor (inspired by my research for Unusual Historicals). I think I can start writing by this weekend. Giddy!
I was thrilled when Carrie Lofty invited me to join the Unusual Historicals blog. I’ve always enjoyed lurking there for interesting historical facts, but today I have my first appearance on there as a contributor.
My post was moved up a day, so I was a little caught off guard. The theme of the month is “Men” and I decided to focus on Warrior Culture, a topic near and dear to my stories.
I hope you enjoy. Check out the other posts as well. Lots of fascinating info. I’m still trying to find a way to link to the specific post so you may need to search for me. My topic is “Men: The Appeal of Warrior Culture”.
