A Feminist Comparison of Li Qingzhao’s Poetry in Song Dynasty China and Christine de Pizan’s The Book of the City of Ladies in Medieval France

Abstract

Intellectual women in pre-modern societies often ran up against tough barriers. Patriarchal norms and political unrest stifled their agency, making it hard to speak out. This study steps into that space by comparing Li Qingzhao’s ci poetry from Song Dynasty China with Christine de Pizan’s The Book of the City of Ladies from medieval France. We look closely at how these works capture women’s quiet acts of resistance, filling a real gap in cross-cultural feminist literary analysis. Our approach centers on comparative textual analysis. Feminist theories steer the way—think Judith Butler’s ideas on performativity or Kimberlé Crenshaw’s take on intersectionality. Primary texts come straight from digital archives. We round it out with 10 to 15 secondary sources for solid historical grounding. The results paint a clear picture. Li Qingzhao turned to veiled metaphors. She critiqued war and exile while navigating Confucian constraints. This subtle style let her carve out an intellectual identity and a form of resistance that felt personal yet powerful. Pizan flipped the script entirely. She dreamed up an allegorical utopia. It stood as a bold stand against feudal misogyny, pushing forward a fierce feminist agenda. These contrasting moves reveal something deeper about early feminism. Eastern subtlety clashed with Western explicitness, each shaped by its cultural soil. The study shows how women bent literature to their will. In the end, literature emerged as a key force for female empowerment. This comparison offers fresh angles on gender today and enriches comparative literature studies.