Women in Traditional China

Early Perceptions of Woman

• Patrilineal Focus: Ancestors worshipped through male lineage (father’s father, etc.)

Women in Early Records

• Often potrayed as problematic (e.g., scheming for their sons, conflicting loyalties)

• Example: In 697 BCE, a woman betrayed her husband to protect her father, causing her husband’s death.

Confucian Views on Women

• Confucian principles emphasized:

  • Women’s roles in kinship: daughter, wife, mother, etc.

  • Subordination to men at every stage of their life (father — husband — son)

• Mencius’s View: Greatest unfilial act was failure to produce descendants, leading to preference for sons.

Yin-Yang Theory

• Women (Yin): Soft, passive, reflective.

• Men (Yang): Hard, assertive, dominating.

• Natural order: Men lead, women follow; imbalances risks social/cosmic disorder.

Segregation

• Inner/outer home division: Women confined to inner spaces.

• Role limited to domestic tasks like weaving.

Women in Han Dynasty (202 BCE - 220 CE)

Family Structure

• Patrilineal, patrilocal, patriarchal system.

• Senior male as family head, or widow if no adult sons.

Marriage Laws

• Monogamy enforced; concubinage allowed.

• Men could divorce for seven reasons (e.g. barreness, talkativeness).

• Women could not divorce but mutual consent was possible.

Virtues for Women

• Humility, obedience, and industry promoted (e.g. Ban Zhao’s Admonitions for Women)

• Stories of exemplary women highlighted loyalty, sacrifice, and chasity.

Changes in Song Dynasty (960-1279)

Role of Women

• Diverse activities: midwifery, weaving, managing inns, financial contributions.

• Pressure on widows not to remarry increased

Foot Binding

• Began during Song, spreading gradually

• Symbolized beauty but restricted mobility, mainly for elite women.

Widow Chastity and Later Dynasties

Development

• Neo-Confucian influence emphasized widow chastity (e.g. Cheng Yi’s idea that widows should not remarry)

• In Yuan and Ming periods, widows could not bring dowries into new marriages, pressuring them to stay with in-laws.

Qing Dynasty

• Widow chastity became widespread among educated classes.

• Some childless widows commited suicide or served their finace’s family as symbolic daughters-in-law.

Literacy and Cultural Roles

• Seventeenth and eighteenth centuries saw more women learning to read and write:

  • Many published poetry

  • Prominent in literature, such as The Dream of Red Mansions

  • Educated women had little control over their futures despite literary accomplishments

Modern Criticisms of Old System

• Twentieth-century reforms eliminated:

  • Foot binding, widow chastity, parental control of marriage, and concubinage.

• While the system limited women’s opportunities, some women found fulfilling lives within it.