A Cultural History of the Chinese Character “Ta (她, She)”

Invention and Adoption of a New Feminine Pronoun

Huang Xingtao

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2023
• Print ISBN:
  9781032417240
• eBook ISBN:
  9781000825862
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Social History
• Index: History

This book offers a thorough examination of the history of a Chinese female pronoun – the Chinese character "Ta (?, She)" and demonstrates how the invention and identification of this new word is inextricably intertwined with matters of sociocultural politics.

The Chinese character Ta for the third-person feminine singular pronoun was introduced in the late 1910s when the voices of women's liberation rang out in China. The invention and dissemination of this word not only reflected an ideological gendering of the Chinese script but also provoked heated academic and popular debate well into the 1930s. Thus, the history of Ta provides a prism through which to explore modern Chinese history. The author provides an ambitious and informed examination of how Ta was invented and promoted in relation to the gender equality movement, the politics of neologism, and other domestic elements and international catalysts.

This book is the first major work to survey Ta's creation. It draws on diverse sources, including interviews with eight historians who experienced the popularisation of Ta as youths in the 1930s and 40s. This book will be an essential read for students and scholars of East Asian Studies, Chinese Cultural History, and those who are interested in the history of China.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Illustrations
• Preface
• Introduction: The Character Ta 她, or She, and “Events in the History of Culture”
• 1 The Conundrum of the English Term “She”: A New Problem Arising From Contact With Western Languages
• 2 The Emergence of the Character Ta 她, plus Ta’nü 他女 and Ta/To 𡛥: The New Youth 《新青年》 Editorial Group’s Early Discussions and the Experimentation Which It Engendered
• 3 An Account of the Early Written Use of the Character Ta 她 Before April 1920: A Survey of the Literary World
• 4 The Debate Over Preserving or Abolishing the Character Ta 她 and the Contest Between Ta 她 and Yi 伊: Adopters and Adoptees in the Linguistic Competition
• 5 Gender Confusion: Sensitivity Over “Female”-Related Terms: Concepts of Gender Equality and the Fate of the Character Ta 她
• 6 Ta (她, She), Ta (他, He), Ta (牠, It) and Ta (它, It): The Formation and Establishment of a New Pronoun Regime
• 7 The Socialisation of the Character Ta 她 after April 1920: An Examination of Its Deepening Acceptance and Popularisation
• 8 The Quest for Modernity and the Interaction Between Foreign Language Factors and Chinese Language Traditions: The Roots of Ta 她’s Victory and Its Historical and Cultural Impact
• Appendix I: Some Reflections on Cultural History Research
• Appendix II: Revisiting the Question of the Character Ta 她 and Understanding “Modernity”: A Response to Dr Yang Jianli 杨剑利
• Appendix III: Illustrations and Figures
• Afterword
• Afterword to the Revised Edition
• References
• Index of Translated/Transliterated Titles Referred to in This Work
• Index of Proper Names Used in This Work (in Pinyin Order)