Story of women in ancient China needs to be told faithfully

The introduction of gender as a social construct and the application of interdisciplinary research methodology in sociology and anthropology have largely expanded the scope and appeal of women's history.To get more news about woman in ancient china, you can visit shine news official website.

To further strengthen the dialogue with mainstream history, studies on women's history should not only focus on gender in terms of historical analysis but also take an interdisciplinary approach that draws on multiple perspectives, such as emotion and practice, while exploring the historical value of literary, film and television records. This pioneering approach will guide the future direction of the discipline.

Redefine women's role
The "oppression-liberation-contribution" continuum and research paradigm have set the tone for studies on the history of Chinese women. It has long played a vital role in the discipline's development.

However, going forward, if we continue to repeat or reinforce that stream of thought, we might be blamed for academic inertia and stay trapped in the mire of stereotyping. In this case, before systematically examining the real living conditions of women in history, researchers regard it as a foregone conclusion that women in ancient China were "slaves of the family and subordinate to men" with low social and familial status, deprived of all basic political, economic, legal and educational rights, imprisoned at home, bonded by the feudal view of virtue, and victims of a patriarchal social system.

In an attempt to correct the aforementioned perception, academics have begun to search for female subjectivity in recent years, resulting in discussions on a series of topics such as the survival of women in history, the evolution of the traditional gender system and its practical problems.

In Chinese history, it was not uncommon for empress dowagers to take up the reins of power. It was actually a standard contingency plan when emperors could not perform their duties due to young age or health conditions.

Empress Wu Zetian (624-705) of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) even deposed the emperor. Apparently, female rulers, to a great extent, elevated the position of women in family and politics.

Before the early Republic of China, many families that were heavily influenced by Confucian ethics, especially in the middle and upper class, upheld the rights of mothers. The status of women as wives was not so passive and inferior. In fact, throughout history, there are quite a few men who were recorded as being dominated by their wives, including emperors, high-ranking officials and ordinary people.

The feudal ideal of virginity that stressed "being faithful to the husband," even in the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1616-1911) dynasties, when ethics were unprecedentedly emphasized, was never fully realized. It was common for widows in the middle and lower classes to remarry.

Moreover, since the Song Dynasty (960-1279), it was, in a degree, customary to pawn or rent wives in the middle and lower classes, in particular in Zhejiang, Fujian, Gansu, Liaoning provinces and some regions even started sharing wives. Therefore, a comprehensive and objective review on women's economic role and status, education, freedom of enjoying public space is urgently needed.

As we can see, the roles women played in Chinese history were far more diverse and complex than conventional wisdom would have one believe. Undoubtedly, insufficient attention and the lack of a clear research approach are persistent shortcomings in research on the basic living conditions of women, especially women in ancient times. Before modern times, the family was the main arena for women to participate in society, so to objectively and fairly define women's status and function in ancient China, we must have a well-rounded understanding of their role in daily life.

Only by doing so can we grasp the gist of the evolution of women's status in history as well as the interaction among gender relations, gender systems and political, economic, and cultural fields.I want to point out that the role of mother and wife probably elevated the position of women within the family. Patriarchal gender systems and norms might not have been absolute in day-to-day life.

We could say that the patriarchal gender system tried to establish norms and ideals by stating what should be. However, the realities of social life were quite different. Studies on the history of Chinese women need to address the causes of such a difference as well as the application of gender systems and its impact.