清代陳文述《西泠閨詠》五百首詩，主要在吟詠上古以迄清代與杭州相關的女性。此書流露了陳文述對古今女性的高度興趣與關注。本文首先考察陳文述寫作的緣起與背景；其次探討《西泠閨詠》中的女性形象，依其身分階層，分為宮闈妃嬪、節婦烈女、閨閣才媛、姬妾侍婢、妓女歌兒、方外庶民六節論述。再者，探討《西泠閨詠》中的女性美學。分別由德、才、色三者分析陳文述對女性的觀看、期待及審美的理想，進而見出其女性書寫，實亦為自我展演。

The more than 500 poems in Chen Wenshu’s Xiling Guiyong dedicated to the writing of females of Hangzhou from ancient times to Qing dynasty. The whole book shows Chen Wenshu’s interest and concerns of women past and present. This article will first of all look into the origin and background of Chen’s writing and then go on to discuss the images of women as presented by him in the book, which can be roughly divided into the categories of palace ladies, virtuous women, talented ladies, concubines and maids, prostitutes and singing girls, and Buddhist and Taoist women. Lastly, the author will venture an exploration of female aesthetics, discussed from the aspects of Virtue, Talents, and Beauty, so as to present how Chen sees women, what he expects from them, and his aesthetic ideal. In the final analysis, Chen is not simply “writing women,” he is in fact writing himself through his women writing.