women in chinese culture

To many Westerners, the parenting of a Chinese figure would largely be considered as tiger parenting because of it’s growing fame in the media. This style of parenting is generally defined as a child having absolute obedience while being forced to excel in any field of the parent’s choosing. Many would think that tiger parenting is a common practice in Chinese households because of the seemingly successful Asian community. However, not all Chinese homes are centered primarily around academics and instruments. Large works that attribute to giving the Chinese community this dreadful connotation are Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club and Amy Chua’s “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior”. Both the novel and article damages the reputation of Chinese

“See’s emotional themes are powerful...the bonds of sisterhood and the psychological journey of becoming an American” - (The Washington Post)

But this is not necessarily the way it was perceived by the Chinese. There were plenty of unhappy women. However, there were also men who thought that the private (inner) life of the family was more desirable than the public life which they faced.

When it comes to discussing the manners and customs that dominated in China in the past century, numerous topics appear. Thanks to the numerous written testimonies, we can almost reconstruct the life and experiences of people in ancient China. Of course, many of the practices described are not only interesting, but surprising. In this paper I am going to take a closer look at the status of women in ancient Chinese family.

Because of his efforts and the ripple-effect they created, Chinese women, who make up 49 percent of the Chinese population and 46 percent of the labor force, have obtained a higher proportion of management than women in many Western countries (Hu). While those who possess anti- communist sentiment continue to focus on societal restrictions, it is more important to recognize the benefits of the ideological underpinnings on which communism was founded and enabled to strive for equality so quickly. The newly established Constitution of the PRC and the Marriage Reform Law swiftly demolished China’s strict social structures and allowed women to escape traditional mentalities (Hu). In doing so, unprecedented progress in achieving equality was made under the communist reign, faster and more efficiently than can be touted by even today’s most democratic and free

Across cultures, many times similarities lay within them that go unnoticed. It is true that obvious differences set them apart; but if a closer look is taken, it is surprising what can be found. The Chinese culture is obviously different from the American culture, but underneath the surface there are similarities. One of them is how the treatment of women has evolved and changed. Anti-feminism in China has been present since ancient times, and has just recently decreased. Anti-feminism in America has never been as severe as it was in China; however, instead of the value of women gradually increasing over the years - it has reversed. The value of women in America has decreased. There are many similarities between the ancient Chinese women

Women have had changing roles in every society for centuries. Depending on the country, some women have had a harder time achieving equality. One of these countries is China. These women have faced such obstacles as foot binding to concubines. Until the twentieth century women were not considered equals in their society.

Women’s lives in China have changed dramatically throughout reforms in the Qing Dynasty, the Nationalist period, the Chinese Civil War, etc. In the historically male-dominated society, there still is not the gender equality that women have been hoping for. “Millions upon millions of women are missing. They are not lost, but dead: victims of violence, discrimination, and neglect” (Baute). Why should one gender be valued more over the other? Why should one gender be viewed as more important? Females in countries like China are discriminated against, mistreated, and are valued less since many women and girls are not allowed to get an education, the violence/abuse that they have to go through, and because the one-child policy rule that is placed in countries like China.

China is an ancient civilization, patriarchal society, and an extremely large country. Why is China significant in our society? According to the Asia society, the article stated, “more than 1 billion people live in China” (Zimmerman, 2015). The role of women in China has changed drastically at the end of the Qing dynasty in 1911, and the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. The transition of the women’s role was from enslavement and oppression in ancient China, to one of egalitarianism in modern communist China. Chinese women lived with rules by Confucius in his analects for two thousand years. The Confucius doctrine mentioned women were not equal to men because women were inadequate of an academic education. Throughout ancient

The idea of feminism has not always been common. The term “feminism” wasn’t introduced until the 1970s. This shows how society didn’t allow anything that had to due with everyone being equal because of the standards that society constructed. In all the versions of Mulan, I think that Disney’s Mulan was the most strict on her having Ancient China’s role of being a woman. This would be having kids, helping clean around the house and not working for money, but working for her husband and kids. In Disney’s Mulan, her family is more hard on her to be a lady and for her to be the proper role of a women. This is because they went to a “matchmaker” to find her husband, and after saving everyone several times, she was still looked down upon because she was a woman.

During the Postclassical era, which spanned from 500 and 1450 C.E, the roles of women in China and Japan experienced change, as well as continuity. China and Japan both experienced several stages of change, from arranged marriages and not being allowed to participate in government, to more freedom in marriage and property rights and becoming priestess and empresses. Continuities in this time included a strict patriarchal society and practices such as foot binding that remained throughout an entire dynasty. China displayed continuity as well as change between 500 C.E. – 1450 C.E. A patriarchal society (the order of society with Men higher than women, and Fathers higher than sons) continued, and had a heavy connotation with Confucianism.

As mentioned previously, Hsi-li, the triumphant heroine in P’u Sung-ling’s fantasy, is expounded on prior to an exhortation about the tragedy of Woman P’eng. Ultimately, this fictitious story reveals how the intersectionality of class and gender unequivocally shaped the quotidian experiences while also dictating how women comported themselves. Huang Liu-hung grappled with adjudicating the Wang family whom was viewed as aberrant and outlaws according to cultural and social mores in imperial China. This episode paves the way for a meaningful discussion about the plight of women in traditional Chinese society.

In traditional Chinese culture, women were inferior to men. They were not allowed to make any decisions concerning their families. Their only purpose in life was to stay home and take care of the households. "A woman's duties are to cook the five grains, heat the wine, look after her parents-in-law, make clothes, and that's all! ...she must follow the `three submissions.' When she is young, she must submit to her parents. After her marriage, she must submit to her husband. When she is widowed, she must submit to her son. These are the rules of propriety." ("The Mother Of Mencius", p.34) That's the principle that was followed in traditional China. Some of the examples of this are discussed in this

The stereotype that Chinese parents raise the most successful children is universal. The question is, how do they accomplish this? In her novel, A Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, Amy Chua illustrates how she raises her two children to be stereotypically successful Chinese kids. “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior,” is an excerpt of this novel, which appeared in the Wall Street Journal. The editors of the Wall Street Journal presumably chose this title to draw attention and promote controversy. Throughout the excerpt, Chua’s attempts to respect her audience are overpowered with her heavy criticism of the “Western parents”, referring to typical American parents. She also fails to convey the multitude of problems this style can cause. Chua is biased toward the “Chinese Mother” parenting style because of her personal experiences, thus her arrogance makes her ignorant to the detrimental effects of this style and is unappealing to her audience.

Some westerners believe that Chinese women’s role in society mirrors that of western women’s. This especially the result of westerners understanding of Confucian beliefs. While the beliefs of society at the time do play a role, the role of women in ancient and imperial China changed throughout the centuries. Some dynasties saw women controlling empires and having immense power while others saw women confined to the home. This change is mirrored in late-imperial China. Late-imperial China (960-1911) saw a gradual increase in the restriction of women’s roles in many aspects of society.