王士祿《燃脂集》考論

Besides the efforts of the writers themselves, the flourishing of traditional women's writing during the Ming and Qing was also due to many supportive male literati behind the scenes. A prime example of such men was Wang Shilu王士祿, who, dissatisfied with the many shortcomings of previous anthologies of women's writing, devoted his life to compiling his own collection, the ”Ranzhi ji” (燃脂集The Lamp Oil Collection). His meticulous approach to compilation, the large number of poems and wide range of authors he included, and his skill in arranging the poems make this one of the most important anthologies of women's writing. Moreover, ”Gonggui shiji yiwen kaolue” 宮閨氏籍藝文考略, a biographical reference work on women writers included in this anthology, was one of the important documentary sources for Hu Wenkai's 胡文楷 ”Lidai funu zhuzuo kao”歷代婦女著作考. Wang Shilu's remarkable contribution in compiling and editing this anthology of women's literary works and achievements warrants detailed examination. Investigating the process of compiling the ”Ranzhi ji” also reveals the ambition of many early Qing male literati to remold how women were perceived.