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Equality of men and women
The influence of Confucian culture on Chinese culture
Chinese revolution mao zedong
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Women Are Not People
Women in China were not people. According to traditional China and Confucian culture women are nothing more than objects. Lu Xun wrote the “New Year’s Sacrifice” to criticize the conventional confusions ideals and the traditional Chinese way of life are not fair or just for women. Lu Xun believed in a new china, a china similar to the one the New Culture Movement was striving to achieve. New Culture Movement wanted to create a place of equality for all.
New Culture Movement wanted a complete break from the traditional confusions ideas and desired transform China in to a country based around more western society by incorporating democracy and scientific discovery. The New Culture Movement hoped to create a modern society based on female equality, so that no woman would be abused like Sister Xianglin. The nephew is a symbol of the revolutionaries he does not believe in the old Chinese traditions and is even
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Women go from being controlled by their parents to their husband and then their sons. If she is unfortunate enough to lose her husband, then she should either stay celibate or kill herself. Sister Xianglin is a perfect example of how women in the traditional Chinese and Confucian culture are discriminated against and take advantage of. For example, Sister Xianglin was never referred to by her real name, because no one knew or cared enough to know Sister Xianglin’s real name, her husband had died and yet people still refer to her as his property (227). Sister Xianglin was an extremely hard worker. Although she was “more capable than a hardworking man”, and yet she was not considered an equal (227). Even though she had run away from her mother-in-law, Sister Xianglin was forced to return with her, because she was still her husband's property (227). She had no control over her life and yet would constantly be blamed and tormented for
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.
Before her first words she is already considered a disappointment, “a girl child is Mo Yung- useless” (32). From the time she is born, her grandmother, “the old one” (choy), relentlessly tells her how the world will treat her as a girl. She explains to Jook-Liang, ‘“If you want a place in this world… ‘do not be born a girl child’”(31). She is cast aside before she is given a chance and is never given the same opportunities as her brothers. Instead she is forced to help take care of her little brother (insert quote). The excitement surrounding a baby is always extreme, and it doubles in Chinese culture when that baby is a boy. When her little brother is born, she is truly considered to be nothing in the family. “ I recalled how Sekky had received twice the number of jade and gold bracelets that I had got as a baby, and how everyone at the baby banquet toasted his arrival and how only the woman noticed me in my new dress, and then only for a few minutes to compare Poh Poh and step mother’s embroidery”(32). She is a ghost in her own family, and treated as nothing from the moment she is born. It is because of her gender that she is looked upon as a burden and never given the same opportunities as her brothers so that she may excel in life. Through the shadowed life of Jook Liang one can see how gender roles are enforced by cultural
Yan Zhitui states that, "women take charge of family affairs, entering into lawsuits, straightening out disagreements, and paying calls to seek favor...the government offices are filled with their fancy silks." (Differences between north and south, 111). Yet, even in the Qing dynasty women were still restricted by and expected to uphold more traditional ideals, especially in the public eye. So, in the end, through her virtue, Hsi-Liu’s two children we able to become upright. Here, there is a split between what a woman is supposed to be according to old Chinese tradition, and the realities facing women in Tancheng. The loss of her husband, and economic hardship had forced His-Liu to behave in a different way, as if she were usurping the power from the eldest son so she could teach the two boys a lesson about being good family members. While she still maintains the ideals of bearing children, and being loyal to her husband, even after he dies, out of necessity she is forced to break from Confucian ideals of being only concerned with the domestic issues. This too put her at odds with the more traditional society around her, as the villagers pitied her sons, but vilified the Hsi-Liu for being so strict with them (Woman Wang, 65). Had she remarried, she would have been looked down upon even more because she would had broken her duty to remain faithful to her deceased
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.
In today’s world, many societies would treat the children indifferently, caring for them and respecting them as an individual. However, in the Qing Dynasty, the gender of the child made a huge difference. This is viewed in The Story of the Stone by the children of the several concubines and how they are able to progress through society. Boys born through concubines are able to reach a place of power in the instance that a male child that is going to be the heir of a royalty or family dies. Therefore, the next male child would fill in to place, including concubine’s children. This is another example throughout The Story of the Stone of the differences in gender relations. Men are able, despite being the child of a mistress, to prevail in society during the Qing Dynasty due to their gender. Males are able to assume positions of power in their life despite who their mother is. Women who are born from a concubine, however, do not have such opportunities, and are viewed as just another girl in the family, and will never have the chance to excel from just being the daughter of a mistress. This shows the Dynasty’s lack of respect for women as a gender in a powerful position as the head of a family or ruling. Girls in the Qing Dynasty did not get the same opportunities as men, as seen above when it comes to positions of
Although we have yet to discover complete equality among the sexes in any pre-existing or presently existing society, the !Kung people are among the closest to reach such equality. The !Kung are an egalitarian society, meaning everyone has access to the valued resources. While the amount of access does vary, just the fact that everyone is includedat least on some levelwhen it comes to meeting the essential needs of living is significant.
In a village left behind as the rest of the China is progressing, the fate of women remains in the hands of men. Old customs and traditions reign supreme, not because it is believed such ways of life are best, but rather because they have worked for many years despite harsh conditions. In response to Brother Gu’s suggestion of joining communist South China’s progress, Cuiqiao’s widower father put it best: “Farmer’s have their own rules.”
The main thing is the protest “Occupy Men’s Room”. This is very unique, not only their parents’ generation would not do this, but never think about this. Read through this chapter, I think it is one thing - equal treatment of women (or the author said, “Gender equality”). I believe this challenge is from China’s tradition thinking. This forms long way ago, even communist party try to solve this problem (“Po Si Jiu”, though it’s not a good way as far as now), but not very successful. Consequently, the unequal treatment between men and women haven’t completed removed yet. In my mind, this protest is not just about the men’s room, but the equal treatment. In nowadays, millennial women in China care more about their rights that related everything of their life, like job opportunity or marriage.
In the beginning half of the 20th century, China experienced an intellectual revolution, known as the May Fourth Movement. Among other things, May Fourth thinkers were passionate about women’s rights, and fought for equality between the sexes. Like in any school of thought, ideas about women and their roles evolved over time. In 1925, Lu Xun wrote “Regret for the Past”, a story about Shih Chuan-Sheng and Tzu-chun, a modern couple whose relationship falls apart. Ten years later, in 1935, the film “New Woman” was released. The film follows Wei Ming, a music teacher whose life begins to crumble due to the machinations of a lecherous businessman. Both Tzu-chun and Wei Ming represent a version of the “modern woman, but their similarities and differences illustrate how the idea of the modern woman changed and stayed the same over time.
Lessons for Women was written by Ban Zhao, the leading female Confucian scholar of classical China, in 100 C.E. It was written to apply Confucian principles to the moral instruction of women, and was particularly addressed to Ban Zhao’s own daughters. As her best remembered work, it allows the reader insight into the common role of a woman during this fascinating time-period. The work starts off by Ban Zhao unconvincingly berating herself, and claiming how she once lived with the constant fear of disgracing her family. This argument is rather implausible, for the reader already knows the credibility of Ban Zhao, and how important her role was in ancient China.
Firstly, the relationship expectations in Chinese customs and traditions were strongly held onto. The daughters of the Chinese family were considered as a shame for the family. The sons of the family were given more honour than the daughters. In addition, some daughters were even discriminated. “If you want a place in this world ... do not be born as a girl child” (Choy 27). The girls from the Chinese family were considered useless. They were always looked down upon in a family; they felt as if the girls cannot provide a family with wealth. Chinese society is throwing away its little girls at an astounding rate. For every 100 girls registered at birth, there are 118 little boys in other words, nearly one seventh of Chinese girl babies are going missing (Baldwin 40). The parents from Chinese family had a preference for boys as they thought; boys could work and provide the family income. Due to Chinese culture preference to having boys, girls often did not have the right to live. In the Chinese ethnicity, the family always obeyed the elder’s decision. When the family was trying to adapt to the new country and they were tryin...
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...
The social dynamics and norms of any culture are directly correlated with the ideological principles held by the ruling political regime. In the case of China, drastic change in political authority gave way to drastic change is gender relations and social structures. Prior to the rule of Mao Zedong and Communist China, many different regimes fought for power. Although there were minor changes in social structure during this period, Chinese culture was still saturated with traditional Confucius ideals for the most part. By comparing the societal norms of pre-Mao China, in regard to gender relations and social structures, with the societal norms of post-Mao China, this paper will illuminate the changes that have taken place as a direct result
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