Shen Defu’s Multifaceted Views on Palace Women: Insights from Empress and Consort Accounts in Wanli Yehuo Bian

Abstract

Shen Defu constructed a systematic framework for understanding court women through his extensive knowledge, meticulous observations, and profound reflections. This intellectual system encompasses political, ethical, scholarly, and existential dimensions: it not only analyzes the complex relationship between court women and political power at a macro level but also scrutinizes their individual destinies and existential predicaments within political turbulence at a micro level. The formation of Shen Defu’s perspectives on palace women was shaped by the subconscious influence of Confucian ideology, the direct impact of imperial institutions and policies as political-cultural forces, and the integration of distinctive elements from Jiangnan regional culture and the cultural ethos of the Shen clan. Through a dynamic interplay and synthesis of these factors, Shen Defu ultimately developed a uniquely nuanced discourse on court women.