ABSTRACT The Little Nyonya is a Singapore produced Chinese-language historical television drama centring on the struggles of its heroine Yueniang in negotiating turbulent relationships among three Chinese Peranakan merchant families in Singapore and Melaka. Her life choices are made within the framework of Confucian moral binaries of filial piety and a traditional paternalism that distinguishes righteous protagonists from villainous antagonists. By focusing on Yueniang’s breaking of gender barriers through her inclusion of matrilineal ancestors and descendants as well as non-Chinese spouses in the Confucian family, her assumption of ritual family leadership, and her adoption of the roles of the Confucian merchant and cultural connoisseur, this article seeks to highlight screen portrayals of reformative notions of Confucianism in Asian television. The Little Nyonya’s dynamic reconfiguration of Confucianism mirrors the contemporary Singapore state’s ideological constructions on modernized ‘Asian values’ rather than a simple return to ancient Chinese discourses.

中文翻译：

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小娘惹：为全球化的新加坡重新定义儒家孝道和家庭仪式

摘要 《小娘惹》是一部新加坡出品的华文历史电视剧，主要讲述了女主人公月娘在新加坡和马六甲三个土生华人商人家族之间谈判动荡关系的斗争。她的人生选择是在儒家孝道的二元道德和区分正义主人公与邪恶对手的传统家长主义的框架内做出的。通过将母系祖先和后代以及非华裔配偶纳入儒家，她承担仪式家庭的领导权，以及通过儒商和文化鉴赏家的角色，关注月娘打破性别障碍，这文章旨在突出亚洲电视中儒家思想改革观念的屏幕描绘。