Abstract: The Book of Female Talents by Yuanhu Yanshui Sanren of early Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) is embedded with a total of 210 poems and eight-line verses, which, from the perspective of poetic art, feature diverse techniques of expression with a unique, personal language both elegant and popular. The imagery is structured into two systematic groups, one centered on flowers, the moon, shadows, jade and fans, the other on mirrors, curtains, windows, lamps and steps. The combination of them is achieved through two methods: similar overlapping and binary juxtaposition. Serving as an important narrative strategy from the perspective of poetic function, these poems and verses undertake multiple functions in characterization, plot unfolding, environment creation and structure building. From the perspective of poetic implication, they carry the psychological traits of the lower-class literati during the period of dynasty change and the deep cultural and social connotations in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, or in approximately the 17th century. More than manifesting the writer’s unfulfilled talent, they compensate for something missing in his own marriage. Moreover, these poems serve as the proof of the emergence of numerous talented women in this era and reveal the aesthetic imagination of ancient male literati towards the opposite gender. Classical short stories, as a vehicle for poetry, embody their aesthetic inclination and self-identity consciousness as scholars living between dynasties. In conclusion, the poetic writing of The Book of Female Talents continues the classical novel tradition of “incorporating poetry into prose” while profoundly influencing later novels such as A Dream of Red Mansions that center female characters as narrative protagonists, thus playing a crucial role linking the preceding and the following stages in the development of ancient Chinese novels.

Key words: The Book of Female Talents, poetic image, narrative function, Ming-Qing transition, traditional literati