Female and feminism: a historical overview of women and art in China

Abstract

The question of “why there have been no great women artists,” initiated by Linda Nochlin in 1971, elicits different responses from art domains in China. In addition, the notions of feminism or feminist art criticism, translated from English and practiced by Chinese artists, create distinct connotations reflective of different gender conditions. Zhu and Xiao, in their Feminisms with Chinese Characteristics, claim that “Chinese feminisms must remain plural because those concepts represent the changing practical consciousness in response to historical and social developments” (Zhu and Xiao, 2021: 1). Dai Jinhua, a Chinese scholar, views feminism as “the search for different worlds and alternative possibilities other than global capitalism” (Dai, 2002: 29). A historical overview of woman and art in China demonstrates a plurality of female and feminism, and this article shows how alternative responses to Nochlin’s question become possible if one views sexual difference and gender politics as a non-binary system in specific historical contexts.