Gender Dilemma and Fu Ji in Ji Shen in light of Power Theory
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53469/jsshl.2023.06(05).22Keywords:
Sun Pin, Fu Ji, Foucault, power, genderAbstract
Ji Shen, the masterpiece of Sun Pin, is an important part of contemporary Chinese literature. The novel shows the modern popularity of "planchette writing" culture and explores people's alienation in the influence of the culture. The core idea in Ji Shen coincides with the French sociologist Foucault's theory of social power systems, both mutually evident. This perspective reveals that although the protagonists, Chang Yong and Yang Deqing, keep trying to reclaim their gender, their journey of resistance is always manipulated by "power", culminating in the unsolvable gender dilemma described in Ji Shen. Similarly, Foucault believed that power could only be overcome through sadism and masochism, but that sadism and masochism could also result in severe self-harm and ultimately death. Moreover, Fu Ji has a long history in China and became popular again in the 1980s and 1990s. This novel is a refraction of this history and has significant cultural value.
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