Ban Zhao In Lessons For Women By Bah Zhou

Empress Wu, the only female to ever rule China, was a devout Daoist. Also, as the Tang Empire expanded eastward, contact with India increased and Buddhist influence reached its height. Many people traveled to India. Monks like Xuanzang went to India, brought back many sutras, literary compositions based on the teachings of Buddha, and translated them into Chinese. Seeing the rise of Daoism and Buddhism and the fading of Confucianism, Tang scholars set out to defend Confucianism. Han Yu, an essayist, vehemently argued against Buddhism and asked the Chinese to go back to their roots by studying and interpreting the Confucian Classics. His main argument against Buddhism was that the foreign religion preached equality among all and didn’t place proper importance between the five relationships (ruler vs. the ruled, father vs. son, husband vs. wife, older brother vs. younger brother, and older friend vs. younger friend) necessary for social tranquility. He urged that this was destroying social order. Nonetheless Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism all coexisted as the "three teachings" under the Tang.

Shen Fu’s work doesn’t construe the treatment of women during this time, but provides a glimpse into an exception to the rule. Women were harshly treated and received little attention during the Qing Dynasty. They were regarded as property and not allowed to leave the house without a man to accompany them. It was highly discouraged that they learn to read or write and they were not allowed to lead fulfilling lives, as they were bound to their husbands. Shen Fu does express some of these characteristics, such as being with courtesans and other mistresses, but he truly had a heartfelt love

Throughout Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club, it is very easy to see that the book revolves around this idea of sexism and authority in chinese culture. This is seen when Lena St. Clair isn’t allowed to get a raise because she is a woman, when she is happy someone is standing up to her husband because she feels she can’t and or shouldn’t talk back, as well as when she feels she is not good enough for Harold because of how she acts due to how she was raised. This is also seen with Lindo Jong when she is given away to another family just because she can’t control the future, when she tries to stand up for herself but is cast to the side as the boy is looked at more favorably, and when she loses grip of what she wants to do with her life because her husband has

Within chinese society, this meant that the ideals for a women were strictly tied to their role within the family home, and specifically the inner chamber. The prevalence of this model of feminine behavior is backed by the many writings directed toward the instruction of women. One of these is written by Song Ruozhao, and her Analectics for Women became a text of rules to aspire to within the Tang dynasty (SEAT, 415). This writing emphasises the role of women in maintaining the family, and the shame associated with “the ways of lazy women” (p. 419). In actuality, it is unlikely that this perfect female ideal could ever be achieved. This did not mean that women did not try, but it can be assumed that this would have been more common for those of the elite classes. For those women who were of lesser birth, it is probable that they would have had more flexibility with the gender roles, as their labor would have been needed to supplement with tasks that were seen as traditionally masculine, such as in

Society looks at daisy as if she is weak and deserves to only serve her husband. They believe she should do what she is told and obey her husband and family’s wishes. Daisy is the ideal woman of wealth through society's eyes in

Another conflict that arises from Confucianism is when Jing-mei was told to go back to China and tell her half-sisters about their mother. She said “‘what will I say? What can I tell them about my mother? I don’t know anything.’” (Tan 31). In Confucianism, very little of tradition is explicitly told from mothers to daughters in the form of text. Ritual actions are supposed to be observed, absorbed and understood in order to be preserved and handed down for posterity. But Jing-mei, who grew up in America, did not have a sense of following the tradition her mother brought to America, or rather considered the Chinese tradition to be eccentric.

In Confucianism, it was expected that a woman should always be correct in manner and upright in character, and that by following these traits, she could bring honor to her family. One of the first scenes in the beginning of the film has Mulan preparing to impress the matchmaker. During this process, the servants sing of the right traits a proper woman should possess, such as “calm” and “obedient”. For followers of Confucianism, woman must always speak appropriately and with respect, especially towards elders and men. In the movie, Mulan’s father walks outside of his home and is commanded by the emperor’s soldiers to join the war effort against the Huns. Concerned for the wellbeing of her father, Mulan talks back to the presumably older male soldiers, begging them to allow her father not to fight. Although Mulan does the exact opposite of what a Confucian follower should do, Chi-fu’s scolding towards Mulan’s father, as well as the latter’s disappointed reaction provides the movie with historical accuracy concerning the expectation of womanly behavior. A final example of the expectation of womanly behavior is the scene in the alps, when it is revealed to the soldiers that “Ping” has secretly been a woman all along. The reaction from the men is one of disgust and anger, which is a fit reaction because, according to Confucian values, women are supposed to work at

Though authored possibly centuries apart, the Confucian Analects and court historian Ban Zhao's Lessons for a Woman have far more similarities than they do differences. The reason for this complementarity is that Ban Zhao's writings are intentionally constructed to mirror the teachings of the Analects with a focus on the roles of women in society rather than those of men. She very specifically focuses on relationships between men and women, thus between the two texts a well-rounded picture of the proper marriage relationship in ancient Chinese culture can be formed.

In Six Records of a Floating Life, Shen Fu writes of his wife, “Yün came to this world a woman, but she had the feelings and abilities of a man.” (Fu: 89) Shen Fu and Yün considered each other to be intellectual equals. However, their relationship was still constrained within the gender roles set by their society. They lived during the Qing dynasty, which was a prosperous time for China (“The Manchus”: 266) but also a time when, as Professor Scarlett states in the lecture Daily Life in Imperial China, “the outside world was for men and the inside world was for women.” Shen Fu and Yün’s relationship was pushing the bounds of their culture, but they still kept (mostly) within the lines of social acceptability.

Furthermore, instead of arranged marriages that only benefited the patriarchal head, intellectuals pushed for marriages based on love which would create happy and productive citizens . In addition, based on her mother’s experience, Bao Qin rejects arranged marriages and intends to only marry for love . After hearing of two concubines who drug Cousin Hu’s mother to feign adultery and gain the favour of her husband, Bao Qin is enraged by the historic “powerlessness of women, [the] barbarity of age-old customs, cloaked in tradition .” With the broad shift from tradition as well as her own personal experience, Bao Qin rejects traditional gender roles and seeks to create her own. Furthermore, as China became divided into separate spheres of influence and opened to international markets, British and American industrialization brought new ideas of opportunities for women, challenging established gender relations . With new economic opportunities and education, women could become self-reliant, broadening their choices and their role in society. Consequently, after disobeying her parents’ command to attend Mr. Liu’s funeral, Bao Qin was able to support herself by enrolling in a new teacher training department . Reducing patriarchal control, industrialization allowed children to head to schools and factories, no longer needing to rely on their parents for education and work . As a result, while foreign

In this time in China, the role that women and men had were very different from each other. Women were expected to be quite, obedient, and respectful. While men were the provider, the intellectual and the decision maker in the family. In Shen Fu and his wife, Yun marriage it started out like the typical relationship in eightieth century China, each one fulfilling the roles that society had in place for them. But as they became to know each other more, Shen Fu saw Yun real personality and wanted someone to experience life, so he started to encourage her to be herself and told her she didn’t have to live up to this gender stereotypes for women. They both were always

Have you ever heard the fascinating Chinese story “The Story of Miss Li”? This short story is about two main characters. One being Miss Li, a beautiful young Prostitute, and a young man of great wealth and power. Soon in the story Miss Li finds the young man and convinces him to marry her. Unfortunately, two years later they spend all of their money and end up having nothing to their name. So, Miss Li, tricked the young man and left him with nothing to his name. years pass and the young man was very sick and almost dead, he runs into Miss Li one more time. Miss Li felt so terrible that she did this to him that she took him in and cared for him. Soon, she became an ideal Confucian woman and led him back to great wealth in power by helping him learn “the five texts” and making sure he was ready to take the Civil Serves Examination. Even though Miss Li was not what most Chinese call a proper woman, later became an ideal Confucian woman and wife by following the Admonitions for Women and the Analects for Women.

In Murasaki Shikibu Nikki, the author says: “To be pleasant, gently, calm and self-possessed: this is the basis of good taste and charm in a woman” (Shirane, 450). Women were supposed to act a certain way, and this diary specifies the boundaries clearly. Most of this is because she herself was the object of criticism from those around her, despite the popularity of her tales. Another tip from her is “No matter how amorous or passionate you may be, as long as you are straightforward and refrain from causing others embarrassment, no one will mind” (450). If you do not follow society’s guidelines, you will be judged in every movement you make, and “people will find fault with whatever [you] say or do; whether it be how [you] enter a room, how [you] sit down, how [you] stand up or how [you] take [your] leave” (451). She goes on about how she is regarded by others because of how much she knows, and the rumors that spread about her. People generally think she is worth making fun of and talking about because she knows Chinese and because she referenced the Chronicles of Japan, a classic text about Japan, in The Tale of Genji (451).

In the Diary of lady Murasaki, she is very educated woman who can read and write chinese characters unlike other females. The daily states that she learned to write and read when her brother learned by just listening with him. This shows that women in this society did not have equal right as men who can be educated. In addition, there are gender inequality presents which is supported by her daily. Her father would say that “what a pity she was not born a man.” Murasaki seems to concerned about how other people viewed her and those views seems to be the main concern that she had. Because she was educated, some women said that “what kind of lady is it who red Chinese books?”. This shows that women was not suppose to be educated. She was also

The actions performed by Mulan clearly shows how Confucianism is not portrayed in this movie. Finally, when the Huns kidnaped the emperor, Captain Shang tried to break in through the main gates by smashing it with a statue. Mulan being as clever as she was, thought of an elaborate plan that would get them into the palace and save the emperor. After thinking about this plan she immediately took charge and ordered men to carry out this plan with her. The saying “A woman's duty is not to control or take charge.” is being contradicted by Mulan’s actions.