동아시아 팜 파탈, 번역된 기억과 혼혈의 상상력

Abstract

Xishi and Daji, beautiful women appearing in ancient unofficial histories and Empress Dowager Cixi (Cixi Taihou), the last sovereign ruler of the great empire have been recalled as representative Chinese evil women. Three women who have been narrated as those who represent pre-modern China have been long consumed vulgarly through hidden histories of the Royal Court. However, Chinese ancient women were progressively re-interpreted by translating European modern literature in the early 1920s. Geonsik Yang, the double translator (second-hand translator) of A Doll’s House written by Henrik Ibsen, translated Xishi’s story novelized from the Japanese language and published in Shanghai. He also captured Nora’s images from Chinese modern plays about Wenjun Zhuo, Zhaojun Wang, Guifei Yang, and Jinlian Pan. Myounghui Jo’s drama, Pasa, featuring Daji as the protagonist, was affected by Oscar Wild’s Salome, but was turned to a historical play about public intention to resist ruling classes. On the other hand, Empress Dowager Cixi’s story which began to be narrated just after Xinhai Revolution and had been repeated up to Pearl S. Buck’s novel in the 1950s showed aversion and mockery toward Chinese women, while reproducing popularly the downfall of the Qing Dynasty and hidden history of the Royal Court.