The “Other” in Comparative Historiography: Female Disempowerment in Multitextual Analysis

Abstract

In recent years, as women’s voices have become increasingly prominent in contemporary society, feminist research has gained prominence. This study primarily employs Simone de Beauvoir’s concept of the “Other” as its core framework. Through a comparative reading of multiple texts, including Records of the Grand Historian, Book of Han, and Commentary of Zuo, this analysis delves into how the Han dynasty’s establishment of “Exclusive Reverence for Confucianism” and the “Three Cardinal Guides and Five Constant Virtues” theory imposed subordinate value norms upon women. Current scholarly research on female figures in the Records of the Grand Historian largely remains confined to traditional literary and historical analysis, lacking deep integration with modern gender theory. This study aims to fill this gap. The findings demonstrate that although Sima Qian adhered to the principle of factual recording, his narrative strategies, material selection, and value judgments were profoundly influenced by orthodox Confucian values. By framing women’s deeds within patriarchal evaluative frameworks such as chastity, righteousness, and “femme fatale” tropes, he systematically undermined women’s historical agency, constructing them as “Other” objects meant to highlight male virtue. This study concludes that Records of the Grand Historian’s narrative model is a paradigmatic official history. It not only reflects the transformation of gender concepts during the Han dynasty but also participated in and reinforced the institutionalization of women’s status as the “Other” in subsequent eras, providing a model for understanding the relationship between historical writing and power construction.