Female Cross-Dressing in Chinese Literature Classics and their English Versions

Anna Wing Bo Tso

doi:10.2478/ipcj-2014-0008

Authors

Anna Wing Bo Tso The Open University of Hong Kong

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.2478/ipcj-2014-0008

Keywords:

Female cross-dressing, gender role, patriarchal hegemony, parody, performativity

Abstract

Cross-dressing, as a cultural practice, suggests gender ambiguity and allows freedom of self expression. Yet, it may also serve to reaffirm ideological stereotypes and the binary distinctions between male and female, masculine and feminine, homosexual and heterosexual. To explore the nature and function of cross-dressing in Chinese and Western cultures, this paper analyzes the portrayals of cross-dressing heroines in two Chinese stories:《木蘭辭》 The Ballad of Mulan (500–600 A.D.), and 《梁山伯與祝英台》The Butterfly Lovers (850–880 A.D.). Distorted representations in the English translated texts are also explored.

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Author Biography

Anna Wing Bo Tso, The Open University of Hong Kong

Anna Wing Bo Tso, PhD, is a lecturer in English Language and Applied Linguistics at the Open University of Hong Kong. Her research interests lie in children’s fantasy, gender studies, language arts and translation studies. Recent publications include: “Transgressing the Gender Borders: The Subversive Re-inscription of Eve in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials” in Crossroads: A Journal of English Studies, Issue 2, 2013; and “The Representations of Monstrous-Feminine in Selected Works of C.S. Lewis, Roald Dahl and Philip Pullman” in Libri & Liberi: Journal of Research on Children's Literature and Culture, 1(2), 2012. She is currently working on a research project about creative approaches to teaching Shakespeare in school.

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