Chinese society: Encyclopedia II - Chinese society - Gender

Chinese society - Gender

Mencius outlined the Three Subordinations. A woman was to be subordinate to her father in youth, her husband in maturity, and her son in old age.

A cliche of classical texts, which is repeated throughout the tradition, is the familiar notion that men govern the outer world, while women govern the home.

In the Han dynasty, the female historian Ban Zhao wrote the Lessons for Women, advice on how women should behave. She outlines the Four Virtues women must abide by, proper virtue, proper speech, proper countenance, proper merit. The "three subordinations and the four virtues" is a common four-character phrase throughout the imperial period.

As for the historical development of Chinese patriarchy, women's status was highest in the Tang dynasty, when women played sports (polo) and were generally freer in fashion and conduct. Between the Tang and Song dynasties, a fad for little feet arose, and from the Song dynasty onwards footbinding became more and more common for the elite. In the Ming dynasty, a tradition of virtuous widowhood developed. Widows, even if widowed at a young age, would be expected not to remarry. Their virtuous names might be displayed on the arch at the entrance of the village.

Many see a symptom of patriarchy in the 20th c. and in contemporary China in the immense pressure many women still feel to get married before the age of 30.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Gender", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki