Women in China

WOMEN IN CHINA East Asian Studies

PATRIARCHAL Traditional

relationships Ruler— subject Father— son Husband– wife

Confucianism order Women must obey

fathers, husbands, sons

“RIGHTS” Could not pick

spouse Could not initiate

divorce Was discouraged

from remarrying Could not inherit

property or wealth Could manage it for

underage sons Sometimes taken as

concubines

ADMONITIONS FOR WOMEN1. HumilityHumility defined the relative natural positions

between the male and female sexes. Accordingly, the female was deemed to be the more diminutive of the two and naturally, the more humble.

2. Husband and WifeThe sole role of a woman as a wife was to serve her

husband.3. Respect and CautionAs defined by the yin-yang duality, in yang (men's

hardness is his virtue) whereas in yin (women's weakness was an asset), husband and wife should mutually respect each other.

ADMONITIONS FOR WOMEN4. Womanly QualificationsSimply the qualifications deemed necessary for the ideal

woman whether in her virtue, her type of work, or the words she uses (wifely virtue + wifely speech + wifely appearance + wifely work).

5. Whole-hearted DevotionThis was usually depicted by the woman's devotion to the

husband. For example, if the husband were to die, there would be no re-marriage for the widow. This was deemed to be the most virtuous task in later dynasties.

6. Implicit ObedienceA section that is dedicated to obedience towards the

mother and father-in-law.7. Harmony Between Younger In-laws

CONCUBINES Second wives,

mistresses Children were

legitimate Middle to upper class

families would likely have concubines Status symbol

Poorer families would only take on a concubine if no male heir came from original marriage

TANG DYNASTY Considered

“progressive” Land distribution

included widows Mutual divorce and

remarrying okay More access to

education Some social

restrictions lifted

TANG DYNASTY Empress Wu Zetian

(624-705) Only female to rule

alone Very educated Attracted scholars to

court Made many land

reforms Cruel, sadistic

FOOTBINDING Origins unknown Began in Tang, fully

accepted by Song Dynasty

Small feet = beauty lotus, lily feet

FOOTBINDING Feet bound by ages

5-7, sometimes earlier Process of breaking

toes by binding with cloth

Started with upper class girls Why did it

spread to other economic groups?

FOOTBINDING Outlawed in 1912,

after end of Qing Dynasty