Cultural Signifiers and Presentation of Chinese Women in Traditional Chinese Romance Novels Written by Thai Authors

Abstract

This research aims to analyze the cultural signifiers and the representation of Chinese women in traditional Chinese romance novels written by Thai authors by studying 11 titles and 12 volumes of traditional Chinese romance novels from the MEB website. This research is qualitative, analyzing the text and reporting the findings through descriptive analysis. The study found four areas of the cultural signs in the studied traditional Chinese romance novels. First are the cultural signifiers in the category of nature, such as the apricot, cherry, lotus, swan, Mei Flower, and snow, which represent beauty, resilience, uniqueness, and purity of Chinese women. Second are the cultural signifiers in the category of objects, such as jade ornaments and hairpins, which symbolize the beauty and status of Chinese women, while the veil represents their oppression and lack of freedom. Moreover, dwellings like mansions and palaces and the innermost part of the dwellings reflect Chinese women as having a high social origin but being oppressed, bound by rules and power. Vehicles like palanquins and horse-drawn carriages symbolize the status and wealth of Chinese women. However, these vehicles also indicate that women are confined to specific spaces and oppressed by societal norms, lacking autonomy. Third are the cultural signifiers in the category of social behavior, such as divorce, setting up a charitable kitchen, the practice of serving tea, or being flogged symbolize that Chinese women possess courage, independence, compassion, experience social stratification, and are under male dominance, often being the victims of male actions. Finally, the fourth kind of cultural signifiers are those in the category of belief, such as the deity of fate which symbolizes the representation of Chinese women who have faith in order to bring peace to their hearts. This study demonstrates that Thai writers have an accurate understanding of Chinese culture.