Definition:
Social roles refer to the identities, rights, and obligations assigned to individuals within a specific social system. In traditional agrarian societies and patriarchal feudal systems, women's roles were largely confined to the private sphere, manifesting primarily as domestic nurturers and informal laborers.
Within the context of The Epic on Palm, these roles are explored through three intertwined dimensions:
- The Silent Nurturer and Laborer Women bore the responsibility of raising offspring, caring for elders, and performing strenuous domestic labor (such as weaving and farming). Although these roles are the bedrock of social survival, they remain largely invisible in historical narratives. Their bodies, as vessels of labor, endured both physical and psychological pressure.
- The Secret Narrator and Introspector The emergence of Nüshu created a social role for women that transcended domestic duties: the “Recorder.” Through this script, women began to examine their independent existence in spaces free from the male gaze. They were no longer merely "someone's wife" or "someone's mother," but introspective individuals who documented suffering, desire, and wisdom through their own words.
- Member of a Mutual Aid Community The role of "Laotong" (sworn sisters) broke the constraints of the blood-related family, establishing a female social network based on emotional resonance. This mutual aid role provided a spiritual sanctuary under systemic oppression, demonstrating the indispensable emotional support function of women in maintaining social stability.
Application in The Epic on Palm:
This work materializes and visualizes these abstract roles through artistic means:
The Metaphor of the "Hand": The sculptural form of the "Hand" is a direct symbol of women's social roles. It represents the hand of labor, the hand of nurturing (lightly holding the baby), and the hand of writing. This form transforms women from passive objects into active creators.
Transformation from Fragility to Resilience: The work utilizes the contrast inherent in ceramics—the fragility of unfired clay versus the hardness of the fired piece. This parallels the seemingly fragile social status of women under feudal ethics and the porcelain-like resilience they forged through mutual aid and creation.
Narrative of Light: As an interactive light installation, the light penetrating the ceramic shards symbolizes wisdom and introspection flickering in the darkness of the private sphere, revealing the brilliance of roles long obscured by history.
Sources:
Chiang, W. W. (1995). We Two Know the Script; We Have Become Good Friends: Linguistic and Social Aspects of the Women’s Script Literacy in Southern Hunan, China.(https://archive.org/details/wetwoknowscriptw0000chia/page/n5/mode/2up)
Zhao, L. (2004). Nüshu: China's Secret Writing System.
Federici, S. (2004). Caliban and the Witch: Women, the Body and Primitive Accumulation.
Bray, F. (1997). Technology and Gender: Fabrics of Power in Late Imperial China.(https://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.5232966)
Miller, D. (2010). Stuff.(https://books.google.de/books?id=wY_bFiI4MXsC&printsec=frontcover&hl=de&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false)