Women in ancient China

History of China
ANCIENT
3 Sovereigns and 5 Emperors
Xia Dynasty 2100–1600 BC
Shang Dynasty 1600–1046 BC
Zhou Dynasty 1045–256 BC
 Western Zhou
 Eastern Zhou
   Spring and Autumn Period
   Warring States Period
IMPERIAL
Qin Dynasty 221 BC–206 BC
Han Dynasty 206 BC–220 AD
  Western Han
  Xin Dynasty
  Eastern Han
Three Kingdoms 220–280
  Wei, Shu and Wu
Jin Dynasty 265–420
  Western Jin 16 Kingdoms
304–439
  Eastern Jin
Southern and Northern Dynasties
420–589
Sui Dynasty 581–618
Tang Dynasty 618–907
  (Second Zhou 690–705)
5 Dynasties and
10 Kingdoms
907–960		 Liao Dynasty
907–1125
Song Dynasty
960–1279
  Northern Song W. Xia
  Southern Song Jin
Yuan Dynasty 1271–1368
Ming Dynasty 1368–1644
Qing Dynasty 1644–1911
MODERN
Republic of China 1912–1949
People's Republic
of China
1949–present		 Republic of
China (Taiwan)
1949–present

Traditional Chinese society has been male-centered. Sons were preferred to daughters, and women were expected to be subordinate to fathers, husbands, and sons. Far fewer women were educated than men, and many of their readings consist of book such as Nü Xun (女訓, Advice for Women) and Lienü zhuan (烈女傳, Biographies of Notable Women), which instruct them to be subjects of men. Sketchy but consistent demographic evidence tends to show that female infants and children had higher death rates and less chance of surviving to adulthood than males. Bound feet, which were customary even for peasant women, symbolized the painful constraints of the female role.

Throughout the thousands of years of Chinese history, it was common for rich Chinese men to have a wife and various concubines. Before the establishment of the People's Republic of China, it was lawful to have a wife and multiple concubines within Chinese marriage.

Muslims

Hui women practiced Foot binding just like Han women, it was noticed that it was extremely prevalent among Hui in Gansu.[1] Hui women are self aware of their relative freedom as Chinese women in contrast to the status of Arab women in countries like Saudi Arabia where Arab women are restricted and forced to wear encompassing clothing. Hui women point out these restrictions as "low status", and feel better to be Chinese than to be Arab, claiming that it is Chinese women's advanced knowledge of the Quran which enables them to have equality between men and women.[2]

Different ethnic groups had different attitudes toward prostitution. The Europeans noted that Turkic Muslims (Uyghurs) would prostitute their daughters, while such a thing would never happen among Tungan Muslims (Chinese Muslims), which was why Turkic prostitutes were common around the country.[3]

References

  1. ^ James Hastings, John Alexander Selbie, Louis Herbert Gray (1916). Encyclopædia of religion and ethics, Volume 8. T. & T. Clark. p. 893. http://books.google.com/?id=eEwTAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA893&dq=dungan+foot+binding#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 2011-01-01. 
  2. ^ Maria Jaschok, Jingjun Shui (2000). The history of women's mosques in Chinese Islam: a mosque of their own. Routledge. p. 203. ISBN 0700713026. http://books.google.com/?id=jV9_YvgUmpsC&pg=PA203&dq=chinese+satisfaction+arab+strict+lives#v=onepage&q=chinese%20satisfaction%20arab%20strict%20lives&f=false. Retrieved 2011-01-23. 
  3. ^ Ingeborg Baldauf, Michael Friederich (1994). Bamberger Zentralasienstudien. Schwarz. p. 352. ISBN 3879972354. http://books.google.com/?id=lThtAAAAMAAJ&q=For+these+and+other+reasons+the+country+is+filled+with+Turki+prostitutes,+which+one+would+scarcely+ever+see+among+the+Tungan&dq=For+these+and+other+reasons+the+country+is+filled+with+Turki+prostitutes,+which+one+would+scarcely+ever+see+among+the+Tungan. Retrieved 2010-06-28. 

See also

Sexuality and Gender in the People's Republic of China
topics
Organizations