南洋女學的印跡：近現代畫報與雜誌中南洋知識女性圖像的意涵

The Imprints of Women's Education in Nanyang: Graphics of Nanyang Female Intellectuals in Early Modern Chinese Pictorials and Magazines and its ignificance

教育一直是南洋華人念茲在茲的民族事業，早在一九零八年即有女子學校。除了近現代南洋書籍與報刊的新聞或文化記述，上海出版的畫報雜誌亦偶見南洋知識女性圖像。這些照片提供我們回溯近現代南洋微觀卻具體的小歷史。本文因而嘗試通過近現代刊物中的南洋女子圖像，勾勒南洋知識女性的面貌以及圖像所凸顯出來的南洋知識女性教育與校園生活。這些畫報與雜誌中刊出的多為女教員與女學生身影。知識身份成為她們姿容重要的添加物，展現了知識女性新氣度、時代精神及積極展現自我的自覺。一些畫報也突出女運動員的英姿風貌，強調女性得以步入現代化的教育方式，注重女性身體健康與自我超越。此外，通過女學集體照，我們可以看見隨著時間逐漸增長的人數以及女學生大型集體活動如運動會、演劇、西式體操等，拓展女性身體的公共空間。

 

Prior to the formation of the Federation of Malaya, the Chinese community which has settled in Nanyang sees education as a very important issue. Hence in 1908, the girls’ schools were established. There are images and accounts which depict the condition of women’s education in Nanyang, either in the local news report or cultural narrative. Occasionally, there are also some photos of Nanyang female intellectuals published in Shanghai’s pictorials and magazines. This paper examines the graphics of Nanyang female in pictorials and magazines, and tries to highlight their educational environment and life in schools. These visual materials mostly feature female principals, teachers and students, which exhibit the lively character of female intellectuals. Besides that, the print media also drew attention to the heroic appearance of sportswomen, emphasized the women’s ability to integrate themselves well in the modern education system and responded with a consciousness on physical health and self-transcendence. Furthermore, group photos of their participation in gymnastics, sports competition and drama performance were also published on the pictorials and magazines. The increase of female participants in large-scale group activities as presented in this paper shows the expansion of the female public sphere in that era.