If history has taught us anything, it is that societies have never readily accepted women as being equal to men. This has never been as evident as in traditional Asian societies. In China specifically, the consequences of being born female in traditional Chinese society can be found in traditional literature, traveller’s tales, personal recollections and scattered statistics mostly from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries . Women’s behaviour, in traditional Chinese society, had been strictly governed by a moral code and certain social customs that separated them from men. This paper attempts to illustrate the role that women in traditional Chinese society played. It argues that women in China during this time were relegated to a secondary …show more content…
The women were basically enslaved by their men who decided their fate, their roles in society and above all made them their private property . As such, their roles in summary were gendered and centred on caring for their husbands, cleaning, cooking and looking after their children. Girls were trained in domestic duties such as cotton-spinning, knitting, sewing, cookery, wine-making etc., as part of the preparation for their future domestic role . Traditional Chinese society was patriarchal and as per distinction of patriarchal societies, men had all control. This control extended to women who basically had no voice or rights to protect them from such a society as this was the way of life. It was even a rare occurrence if not outright unattainable for traditional Chinese society to allow their girls to attain formal education. What women learned in those days amounted to nothing more than cookery, sewing, knitting, cotton-spinning and housekeeping . With this background in mind, the roles played by women in traditional Chinese societies as will be discussed in the subsequent paragraphs should not come as a …show more content…
However even then, men were seen as the core of that family in traditional China . In connection with the first role then and men’s pre-established dominance, women have long been charged with upholding society's values in their roles as wives and mothers. While the expected values changed from the imperial period to the Communist revolution to the modern day, this responsibility for women has remained constant. Women were required to balance society's ideals with the reality of raising a family and maintaining a household . In other words, in the traditional Chinese society, women had the role of taking care of their husbands and children. Women were domesticated and their place in society was in the homestead. Because men were believed to have the role of providing for their families, they did not like women to have their own ambitions and believed that only they were the ones to have a role outside of the house . Women were simply expected to take care of the household, raise the children, and follow the lead of men all their lives which put them at a disadvantage
Freedom for a Chinese woman was about being independent and to be considered equally important as a man in the Chinese society. The women in traditional China were seen as child-bearers and that was basically considered their main role in their marriages. The women must give birth to a male in order for the family name and traditions can be carried on. If the child was a female, then she’d be of no use to the family and would be married off to another family. It was very difficult for the women since they weren’t able to live life their way due to the old Chinese traditions that were established long ago.
Some of the more fascinating documents of the Han period in ancient China were arguably those written by women. The writings were at once contradictory due to the fact that they appeared to destroy the common perceptions of women as uneducated and subservient creatures while simultaneously delivering messages through the texts that demonstrated a strict adherence to traditional values. Those are the paradoxical characteristics of prominent female scholar Ban Zhou’s work called Lesson for a Woman. Because modern opinions on the roles of women in society likely cloud the clear analysis of Zhou’s work, it is necessary to closely examine the Han’s societal norms and popular beliefs that contributed to establishing the author’s perspective and intent.
Gender hierarchies have been a central pillar of social orders almost since its inception. However, the balance has not been remotely even throughout history, with patriarchies far outnumbering matriarchies. Despite the large dominance held by men, it was not all black and white in East Asian societies. Even though Tang and Song China were all patriarchal, they were very different in their application and influences of gender hierarchies.
...c. 4). This is an example of one of the seven unequal relationships in Confucianism. Much of the social structure of classical China was based on Confucian ideals (Doc. 3). In Greece the relationship between a husband and wife also very unequal due to her young age and lack of education. Alone a woman had no political rights and limited legal powers therefore is was necessary for a husband to provide for his wife much like a father would (Doc. 6) A woman would learn house hold management and eventually produce heirs. These two similar systems of social roles was not a benevolent system. It did not take into account the welfare of individuals, particularly woman who had little power to leave in a bad marital situation. However by insuring that people know their place, which kept them in line, classical societies were more prosperous and able to run more smoothly.
The philosophy taught ‘The three submissions and four virtues’, where women were to submit to males in all stages of their lives as a daughter, wife and widow. Emperor Hsuan (73-48 B.C.E) stated that “a wife does not commit a crime if she attempts to conceal the crime of her husband….a husband is not allowed to conceal a crime committed by his wife…” portraying clear prejudice against women that is still a current underlying issue in China. The greatest duty of women was motherhood for which they were respected, however in all other aspects of their lives, they were essentially tools of society. Men were expected to be the head of their households and take on physical occupations, or intellectual pursuits in the case of higher class men. These established gender roles promoted gender stereotypes that continue to restrict Chinese perceptions on both sexes. Children were subject to the absolute control of their father who could order them to execute any tasks, determine their profession and education and physically punish them. Although Confucianism remained the official state philosophy until the end of Imperial China, the sexist views and family hierarchy remain rooted in the mindset of many Chinese
Chen, Jo-shui. "Empress Wu and Proto-feminist Sentiments in T'ang China." In Imperial Rulership and Cultural Change in Traditional China, edited by Frederick P. Brandauer and Chün-chieh Huang. 77-116. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1994.
Men and women were seen to live in separate social class from the men where women were considered not only physically weaker, but morally superior to men. This meant that women were the best suited for the domestic role of keeping the house. Women were not allowed in the public circle and forbidden to be involved with politics and economic affairs as the men made all the
Common in premodern China was the heavy discrimination of women and a strict social role that they were obligated to follow in order to survive. Women were assigned a limiting job at birth: be a good and faithful wife. For thousands of years, women were portrayed more as employees of their husbands than lovers or partners, and this is prevalent in imperial Chinese literature.
Throughout ancient civilizations, women were lower than men. In some civilizations like Mesopotamia society, women were below slaves. It is not shocking that they would still not be equal to men. In Roman society, women had more independence and people were more encouraging of women being educated in philosophy. In the Hans society, women did not have any freedom. They were required to follow what the men told them. By examining Gaius Musonius Rufus’ essay and Ban Zhao’s essay, the views of women were different. Woman in Roman society had more freedom and women in the Han’s society were required to fulfill her responsibilities.
The early part of the novel shows women’s place in Chinese culture. Women had no say or position in society. They were viewed as objects, and were used as concubines and treated with disparagement in society. The status of women’s social rank in the 20th century in China is a definite positive change. As the development of Communism continued, women were allowed to be involved in not only protests, but attended universities and more opportunities outside “house” work. Communism established gender equality and legimated free marriage, instead of concunbinage. Mao’s slogan, “Women hold half of the sky”, became extremely popular. Women did almost any job a man performed. Women were victims by being compared to objects and treated as sex slaves. This was compared to the human acts right, because it was an issue of inhumane treatment.
Kingston uses the story of her aunt to show the gender roles in China. Women had to take and respect gender roles that they were given. Women roles they had to follow were getting married, obey men, be a mother, and provide food. Women had to get married. Kingston states, “When the family found a young man in the next village to be her husband…she would be the first wife, an advantage secure now” (623). This quote shows how women had to get married, which is a role women in China had to follow. Moreover, marriage is a very important step in women lives. The marriage of a couple in the village where Kingston’s aunt lived was very important because any thing an individual would do would affect the village and create social disorder. Men dominated women physically and mentally. In paragraph eighteen, “they both gav...
In the Confucian hierarchy, Women were at the lowest level of the order. Husbands had multiple wives and concubines, but the wives were forbidden to see other men who are not family members, their husbands, masters, or the palace eunuchs. Abortion was disapproved of, except for cases where the mother's health was put in danger. Social relations were hardly exchanges between equals; it is about interactions between higher-ups and inferiors. Confucianism mirrored the hierarchy of ruler and subject with the household’s hierarchy of husband and wife and older and younger children. Women were required to show obedience before all other values, and throughout all stages of their life. Young girls were expected to obey their fathers; wives were expected
Examples of cultural constructions can be seen throughout history in several forms such as gender, relationships, and marriage. “Cultural construction of gender emphasizes that different cultures have distinctive ideas about males and females and use these ideas to define manhood/masculinity and womanhood/femininity.” (Humanity, 239) In many cultures gender roles are a great way to gain an understanding of just how different the construction of gender can be amongst individual cultures. The video The Women’s Kingdom provides an example of an uncommon gender role, which is seen in the Wujiao Village where the Mosuo women are the last matriarchy in the country and have been around for over one thousand years. Unlike other rural Chinese villages where many girls are degraded and abandoned at birth, Mosuo woman are proud and run the households where the men simply assist in what they need. The view of gender as a cultural construct ...
Women usually worked as secretaries or on the assembly line because “bosses felt that young women were more diligent and easier to manage” (p. 56). Men, however, were either in a high managing position in the factory or worked in the lowest of jobs available, such as a security guard or driver. It was interesting to learn that about one-third of all of China’s migrants are women. These women go to the factory towns to work, but also, a majority of them leave their homes to see the world and experience life on their own for the first time. Chang makes a point that “to some extent, this deep-rooted sexism worked in a woman’s favor” (p. 57). The statement is supported by the idea that women are less treasured in their families; therefore, they had more freedom to do what they wanted with little care from the family. Shockingly, Chang noticed that no woman ever complained about unfair treatment. “They took all of these injustices in stride” (p.58). The women were grateful for the opportunity leave home and gain a sense of freedom; injustice was not a prominent
Korea adopted Confucianism as the guiding principle for reform with the founding of the Chosôn Dynasty in 1392. For women in Korean society, this meant virtual doom. The Chosôn period is considered to be the dark age for women's culture and women in general. The philosophy of Confucianism considered the relationship between man and woman to be the root of all human relations. The union between man and woman is regarded to be the foundation of human morality. In Confucianism, there is a hierarchical order between man and woman that is cosmologically sanctioned. This order must be maintained for the proper functioning of the human order and society. To accomplish this, human passions had to be kept in check. Thus, Confucianism drew a clear distinction between the woman's domestic sphere and the man's public sphere. To Confucianist, the law of nature gave women an inferior and subordinate position in all aspects of life.