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Gender Roles
Gender roles in today's society
Gender roles in society
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The Six Records of a Floating Life by Shen Fu is an autobiography, majorly about Shen Fu’s love life and his marriage to Chen Yun, a smart girl he falls in love with as a child. Throughout the Six Records of a Floating Life, different situations faced by the couple can reflect to the family structure of the peasants at the time. Shen Fu was born in an official family which works for the government. Although his family was not at a very high status, they do care a lot about the reputation of the family, and they also care a lot about manners. Chen Yun, according to Shen Fu, is a very smart and well-mannered woman, she thinks a lot about Shen’s family, and always try to do her best for them. Chen Yun’s father died when she was 4 years old, which …show more content…
However, not even a woman sounds so ‘ideal’ can survive in Shen’s family. A lot of misfortune were recorded in the chapter “The Sorrows of Misfortune”, and these ‘misfortunes’ made the relationship between Chen Yun and Shen’s family collapse. Some may call those incidents unlucky, but I don’t think those incidents are the results of misfortune, in fact, they are closely related to the family structure and personality of Shen Fu as a person. In some sense, it is majorly Shen Fu’s fault that Chen Yun can’t live happily with his family. But since the Six Records of a Floating Life is an autobiography, it is not surprised Shen Fu name those incidents “misfortune” as he wouldn’t admit that those were his …show more content…
However, this “ladder of success” was not as simple as it seemed. First of all, the class of both families will be a huge barrier. We are not even talking about freedom to love here, there is no such thing in late imperial China. Although we can’t say that love doesn’t exist even in such systems, such as Shen Fu and Chen Yun, but most marriages are not about love. Rather, it was about exchange of values. For example, when two families want to become business partners, the parents of the family will have their son and daughter married, so the two families will have closer bonding which made the business much easier. In this sense, we can see that the couple is simply a tool. In the same sense, the families which has not much “values” can only have marriages with the same class of families. Meaning for a women to climb up the ladder of success is not quite possible as the class of her family is a huge deciding factor for marriage in the
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
Ban Zhao wrote Lessons for a Woman around the end of the first century C.E. as social guide for (her daughters and other) women of Han society (Bulliet 167). Because Zhao aimed to educate women on their responsibilities and required attributes, one is left questioning what the existing attitudes and roles of women were to start with. Surprisingly, their positions were not automatically fixed at the bottom of the social hierarchy. Ban Zhao’s own status as an educated woman of high social rank exemplifies the “reality [that] a woman’s status depended on her “location” within various social institutions’ (167). This meant that women had different privileges and opportunities depending on their economic, social, or political background. Wealthier noble women would likely have access to an education and may have even been able to wield certain political power (167). Nevertheless, women relinquished this power within the family hierarchy to their fathers, husbands, and sons. Despite her own elevated social status, Ban Zhao still considered herself an “unworthy writer”, “unsophisticated”, “unenlightened’, “unintelligent”, and a frequent disgrace to her and her husband’s family (Zhao). Social custom was not, however, the only driving force behind Zhao’s desire to guide women towards proper behavior.
Because of this, many people snuck off to mountains to sing songs and committing suicide with someone they love, rather than spending the rest of their lives with someone they don’t. This became so well-known across China that Lijiang became known as the city of lover’s suicides. Today these stories are all a thing of the past, and getting married has become a traditional thing. Some even believe that women having multiple lovers and were held to such a high status is all just a made up theory. Years ago anthropologists traveled up the mountain from Lijiang to visit a group of people known as the Moso. The first thing noticed when arriving is the way women acting. Most Chinese women at this time are shy, and don’t speak much, while these women are vocal and open. Also, these women work all day, doing everything that their families require, while the men only work when there is something that needs to be done. When asked about it the women just say that it has always been this way, and actually prefer it, they have a big sense of pride for the work they do. The story this custom is said to originate from is there was one a boy that loved working around the house, but the women teased him for this making him feel weak and
In the film To Live, a man and his family experience the effects of historical events of their own lives while living in China from the 1940s until the late 1970s. This film is a work of fiction, but it creates a generalization about the lives of the common folk and their imaginable struggle through life that they went through during the war. The war represented an ideological split between the Communist CPS and the KMT’s brand of Nationalism. Xu Fugui is one of the main characters and his name in Chinese means “Lucky & Rich.” Describing his character at the start on having an addiction to gambling and does not take responsibility for his actions. The film also hints slight social norms of gender inequality, such as with his wife, Jiazhen,
...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.
Before her father’s death, Hong had lived a comfortable life, as her father held a position of power. However, “After her father died of bone cancer, life was hard for the Chens. [...] By now, both the mother and daughter had experienced the difficulty and humiliation caused by lacking power in their own hands. (Jin 560)” Along with the hardships after her father’s death came the realization of Hong’s purpose in life―to elevate her family’s place and prestige in society. Blinded by her pursuit for power, Hong would eventually find herself at a standpoint, suddenly having to choose a husband and marry for power. Facing a deadline for her choice, Hong picked her husband through lots, as she did have love for any of her suitors. As did Hong, Hulga would also fail to properly set out her life due to the restraint of
As seen in Shen Fu and The Story of the Stone, the women are quite unlike the ideal women described in the Position of Women in Early China. These
This is because she recognizes the debt she accumulated herself by living longer than expected. She tells Fugui that giving birth to their children was “[her] way of repaying [him]” (211) for a good life. To her, she receives a longer life than what she deserves and feels an obligation to “repay” Fugui for it. From beginning to the end, Fugui has seen numerous deaths, but Jiazhen and his children counteract that aspect of his life. In her role as a mother, she actively participates in the balance by giving birth to her children. With her knowledge towards birth’s place in the greater balance, Jiazhen recognizes it in her own daughter death. It prompts Jiazhen to choose the name Kugen, “Bitter root,” because he is “without a mother” (211). Therefore, she maternally understands balance through the name “Bitter root” to illustrate her resentfulness from such knowledge. The author compares the two mother figures in order to establish the relationship of new life and death. Overall, balance affects Jiazhen differently than other characters since she is a mother. Each character is unique in their experience with balance; it will either benefit or destroy a part of their
In Yeh-Shen, the cultural aspects, such as her name, the theme of fish on her shoes, along with her attire help represent the Asian aspects of this version. Similarly, the father in the story has two wives, showing us that China’s laws about marriage are much different than the United States’ laws. In addition, Yeh-Shen shows themes of love, dead advising the living, and good versus evil. The archetypes in this version help convey the traditional story of love and a happy ending by the hero or heroine.
Ying-ying gradually lost herself over the years during her two marriages, and her loss causes her much anguish because she watches her daughter’s unhappiness knowing she has passed on her tiger ghost. Being born in the year of the tiger Ying-ying’s spirit possesses the strength and fierceness of a tiger. Ying-ying’s loss of herself is due to absence of her tiger spirit. This loss began during her first marriage. Ying-ying was not fond of her first husband, but she grew to love him because of the “part of [her] mind that swims to join [him] against [her] will” (Tan 247). She, essentially, domesticated herself for her first husband by focusing on pleasing him and not herself, she was taught that “it is wrong to think of [her] own needs” (Tan 70) and in doing this she silenced her voice. Her passivity tamed the “wild and stubborn” (Tan 243) aspects of herself. And the pain she felt when her husband committed adultery caused her tiger’s fire to finally go out, resulting in Ying-ying no longer being the “heartstrong” (Tan 248) girl that she remembered. “[Ying-ying] became a stranger to [herself]” (Tan
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...
Fugui, in both stories is portrayed as a young naïve man that is consumed with gambling and whoring around. Due to his lack of concern for his family and future, his wife Jiazhen returns home to her father after failing to stop his catastrophic path. The novel exhibits a vibrant image of Fugui’s misconducts. That involves his demeaning outlook towards his “fat prostitute” of a wife. Fugui would have her carry him on her back like a horse, each time stopping by her fathers shop to mock him (Hua 14). After losing everything to his gambling obsession, the father-in-law took his daughter and unborn son away from Fugui, while she “wailed with grief” (Hua 42). Exposed to poverty, Fugui has no chose but to move to the country with his parents and daughter. The decision to settle in the countrysi...
Wang’s father tells him that he will get an ugly woman if he wants her to help him in the fields. Nevertheless, Wang Lung learns to love his wife, O-lan. After becoming the rich man everyone comes to know, Wang Lung becomes disinterested by the shops he had always visited as a poor man. He begins to explore and finds a teahouse where there are beautiful women he thought only existed in dreams. He goes home and realizes how dissatisfied he is with the way O-lan looks. Wang Lung thinks he deserves a more beautiful woman now that he is a rich man. O-lan is a great wife and both were happy and relied on each other. She is very dear to Wang Lung but this quickly changes as soon as Wang becomes wealthy and this, sadly, is not a
Today, modern day China is plagued with gender imbalance that threatens societal stability in the Chinese government’s eyes. Currently there is about 20 million more men than women of marrying age throughout China. In looking at the issues that surround women in China, it is clear to see that the problems prevail on social, political, and economic fronts. Women face pressure from their peers, family, and the government to mold to the standards of society no matter what it costs them. In the book Leftover Women: The Resurgence of Gender Inequality in China by Leta Hong Fincher, an argument is made that educated women over the age of 27 are pressured by the government to resist becoming a “leftover” woman and marry early to promote a harmonious
The Zhou Yu’s story is a paradox, which question the reality of existence of her relationship with Chen Qing. Firstly, there is an emotional or physical distance between them that is not typical for couples who are together. For example, when they walk on the street they have couple of meters between them and they do not hold hands. Another example is the distance between the places they live. They do not live together in the same house, but Zhou Yu has to travel to reach her lover. Furthermore, in the scene where Zhou Yu gives the brochures to the people, symbolically Chen Qing escapes from her desire to make him famous and the line wagon brings him further away from her. In addition, Chen Qing sought to have less contact with Zhou Yu in any possible way. He goes in Tibet without to consider taking her with him or he to find a new job and stay in his town. He does not want to have communication with her, by saying that he does not like the pager she bought him as a present, using it only to say her last “Goodbye” and he does not send her letters after he leaves, which indicates the lack of desires to contact this person. Another argument is that Chen Qing does not deepen his relationship with Zhou Yu. He does not call...