The Body in Ho Xuan Huong’s Nom Poetry from A Comparison with East Asian Literature

Abstract

The issue of “body” and “sensuality” in Ho Xuan Huong's poetry has been interested by some researchers. However, there are currently no works that place her work in the system of East Asian sensual literature. This article compares Ho Xuan Huong's poetry with the sensuality poetry of some East Asian male and female poets such as Tiet Dao, Vuong Ngan Hoang, and Hwang Jin Yi to explore these poetic phenomena as a rebellion against the neglect of the “body” in medieval Confucian and Buddhist society, thereby conversing and challenging the classic poetics of medieval East Asian poetry and the repressive Confucian and Buddist culture which places the burden of virtue, social responsibility and success on the women in particular and the individual in general.