TY - JOUR
T1 - Jia Baoyu in Honglou meng
T2 - Boyhood, adolescence, and adulthood in pre-modern China
AU - Farquhar, Mary
AU - Edwards, Louise
PY - 2005
Y1 - 2005
N2 - Honglou meng is perhaps one of the earliest novels about adolescence. It is certainly one of the most detailed. And, as an iconic work in Chinese literary history, it transports the idea of childhood, adolescence, and adulthood to the centre of Chinese cultural life. Until recently, however, scholars and readers have not recognized the main characters in Honglou meng as adolescents. As in the pre-modern West, Cao Xueqin is vague about the lifespan developmental psychology that underpins modern ideas of childhood. He does not describe Baoyu's life in terms of his age. Rather, he locates Baoyu's boyhood and adolescence in different social spaces with different daily rituals and expectations as he grows towards adulthood, marriage, and fatherhood. The social spaces of elite Chinese boyhood and adolescence in Honglou meng are culturally specific. We argue in the final section that Baoyu's adolescence is defined by the different social spaces he inhabits. These spaces revolve around relationships, especially family relationships. They are highly regulated, with boundaries that forestall and contain childhood explorations through regimes of discipline, play, and education. The precise delineation of the architectural space in Honglou meng suggests that pre-modern Chinese views on childhood, adolescence, and adulthood are spatially, rather than temporally, constructed.
AB - Honglou meng is perhaps one of the earliest novels about adolescence. It is certainly one of the most detailed. And, as an iconic work in Chinese literary history, it transports the idea of childhood, adolescence, and adulthood to the centre of Chinese cultural life. Until recently, however, scholars and readers have not recognized the main characters in Honglou meng as adolescents. As in the pre-modern West, Cao Xueqin is vague about the lifespan developmental psychology that underpins modern ideas of childhood. He does not describe Baoyu's life in terms of his age. Rather, he locates Baoyu's boyhood and adolescence in different social spaces with different daily rituals and expectations as he grows towards adulthood, marriage, and fatherhood. The social spaces of elite Chinese boyhood and adolescence in Honglou meng are culturally specific. We argue in the final section that Baoyu's adolescence is defined by the different social spaces he inhabits. These spaces revolve around relationships, especially family relationships. They are highly regulated, with boundaries that forestall and contain childhood explorations through regimes of discipline, play, and education. The precise delineation of the architectural space in Honglou meng suggests that pre-modern Chinese views on childhood, adolescence, and adulthood are spatially, rather than temporally, constructed.
KW - Adolescence
KW - Adulthood
KW - Boyhood
KW - Childhood
KW - Honglou meng
KW - Pre-Modern China
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=33646002911&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Review article
SN - 0049-2949
VL - 36
SP - 35
EP - 66
JO - Tamkang Review
JF - Tamkang Review
IS - 1-2
ER -