Women in “Guo Feng”: A Comparative Study of Upper-Class and Working-Class Women

Abstract

This qualitative study examines the representations, roles, and lived experiences of women in the Guo Feng section of the Classic of Poetry (Shijing), comparing upper-class and working-class women within the sociocultural framework of the Zhou dynasty’s Ritual and Music system. The poems are categorized into three thematic groups—marriage, social roles, and the appreciation of beauty—and analyzed through the lenses of social role theory, social structure theory, and feminist theory. The findings show that although upper-class women held higher social status, they had less freedom of choice, whereas working-class women possessed relatively greater expressive space despite remaining constrained by prevailing social norms. The study also reveals that the poetic techniques in Shijing both reflect and reproduce dominant ideologies regarding beauty, gender regulation, and ideals of womanhood. Nevertheless, certain poems disclose subtle forms of women’s negotiation with existing power structures. Overall, the analysis highlights the complex relationship between literature, society, and gender in the Zhou period, demonstrating that the Shijing not only mirrors social reality but also functions as a mechanism that shapes, regulates, and reinforces women’s roles in profound ways.