Confucius's Roles In China During The Tang Dynasty

In 690, Empress Wu assumed the title of emperor for herself –the lone woman to act as emperor in Chinese imperial history – thereby finally facilitating the great improvement in China that Wu’s legacy left for women, the Buddhist clergy and the classes less fortunate than the aristocracy. Despite her despotism in ascending to

Confucianism has been a part of Chinese culture for over a thousand years. Many who have studied Confucianism would say that it is not a religion. It is better described as a philosophy or moral code. The philosophy of Confucianism comes mainly from the speeches and writings of Confucius, a great Chinese thinker and educator. He believed that Humanity, Rite, Neutrality, Virtue, Education, and Cultivation were the basis of human behavior. In addition, Confucius felt that this philosophy was the best way for people to behave and interact with others in society.

The author of this passage, Ban Zhao, seemed to be very knowledgeable and influential to young women. Since the setting takes place in Asia, I think that the author may have been influenced to write this piece by other woman of her country. Taking clues from the style of writing I can infer that this piece was written in a past since it uses words and phrases that seem dated. When looking over this writing piece I can heavily agree

In contrast, during the era of The Story Yingying, the cultural norm for a woman was to be submissive, patient, and passive. Yingying upheld all of these cultural standards. After meeting Zhang for the first time Yingying showed no interest in him at all but overtime Yingying finally gave into Zhang and fell in love and they became engaged. Unfortunately, Zhang had to leave for a year to go take a civil service examination, but he promised her he would come back to her. She waited patiently and after a year, her fiancé returned but shortly after had to leave again to retake the examination. Again she waited patiently for his return, but he never came back. After waiting for years for her fiancé to return, she became eager to

The role of women is China has changed a lot over the years. When we consider the position Chinese women held in ancient society, we find that they have come a long way to be where they are today.

The Tang and Song dynasties are regarded as the Golden Age of Chinese history for its revamped and complex political system, a massive boom in economy and production, and an influx of various religions that made it a diverse time period. This turn in Chinese history was made possible by the switch from subsistence farming, in which people farmed only as much as they needed, to a more industrial farming, where they produced for the whole state. This allowed certain people to specialize in certain topics. Rather than needing to be hunters, farmers, and warriors all by themselves, people would specialize in hunting, farming, or fighting. This allowed for a boom in skill; in the modern world, a person who learned about fluid mechanics would be

Wu Zhao belonged to the Tang Empire, which according to the author which “…was a true empire, encompassing many lands, many peoples, and many ideologies. Multi ethnic and cosmopolitan, Tang China was perfectly suited for the ascent of a historical anomaly like Wu Zhao…” (Rothschild, 2008, p. 11) In a sense, there was a conflict of traditional Confucian values which promoted a patriarchal society and the liberal Steppe culture which gave women more freedom and rights. China at that time was a cocktail of these cultures which led to a significant impact on the lifestyle and values of peoples in that era. Women were bold and tough, and unlike earlier societies, were no longer confined socially and sexually (Rothschild, 2008, p. 12). While did not exist a perfect equality between men and women, women of that era were allowed to live without hiding under the dominance of the male Yang. As the author talks of the Silk Road, it is mentioned that,”…In this free-wheeling milieu, women donned men’s attire and rode horses…” (Rothschild, 2008, p. 15) .This “cosmopolitan” (Rothschild, 2008, p. 16) society was the foundation for the Tang Empire. Another important factor was the prevalence of Buddhism as a religion of the masses. Buddhism, in itself, helped united much of Asia, and was a common platform for men and women, unlike in Confucianism where

In the history of imperial China, The Tang dynasty Empress Wu Zetian occupies a unique place. She is the only one Empress that ruled a dynasty in China with its thousand years of history. For almost 50 years she enjoyed the supreme power, first she was in partnership with Tang Gaozong, a ruler usually considered weak and ineffectual, later as de facto regent for her youngest son and finally, from 690 to 705 A.D., as China’s sole female emperor. Her rise from the obscurity of Tang Taizong’s harem was dramatic and her pursuit of power was ruthless. Her political policies were controversial and her lifestyle flamboyant.

As she recalls back on this time by telling her daughter what she calls her Kweilin story, Suyuan describes her feeling during this horrible time as “And inside I was no longer hungry for the cabbage or the turnips of the hanging rock garden. I could only see the dripping bowels of an ancient hill that might collapse on top of me. Can you imagine how it is, to want to be neither inside nor outside, to want to be nowhere and disappear?” (22) At this point in her life Suyuan was separated from her husband who is in the military and eventually is forced to abandon her two young daughters. This aspect of Suyuan’s life parallels the life of Amy Tan’s mother. Daisy tan was also married to a military man during the Chinese Civil War and like Suyuan was forced to abandon her two daughters in Shanghai. This was an experience that would affect her mother for the rest of her life and a story she would continue to tell and never forget. The life of Amy Tan is also a parallel to the life of Jing-Mei Woo of “June”. As a young girl June was forced to play the piano and practice constantly to become the best like Amy Tan was as a child. Along with playing the piano Suyuan also had high expectations for June as far as her future. She wanted her daughter to be the best in her class and go off to medical school to become a well educated doctor, the same expectation’s Amy Tan’s mother had for her. Both daughters decided to follow their dreams and

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.

Wu Zetian is known to be the first empress in China to have ruled in her own right. However, to get to the position of an empress, Wu Zetian did many unpleasant things but nonetheless, I still believe that she ended up did many good things for China that made up for all the bad she did. As an empress,Wu did a lot to help China. Some things she did was she stabilized and consolidated the Tang Dynasty, she began a campaign to elevate the position of a woman, she found the best people to run the government, she lowered oppressive taxes, raised agricultural production, and strengthen public works. Empress Wu did many great things but she was also very cruel at times. For instance, Wu arranged series of murders within her own family, smothered

After Xianglin died, Xianglin’s wife escaped alone from her husband home to Lu town as a widow. She looks nice and her limbs are strong plus her hard working attitude, so she quickly became a formal female worker at the home of Lu Si. However, her mother in-law kidnapped her one day and force her to married her second husband He Laoliu. They marriage life is better than her thought, and they had their first boy A Mao after years. Unluckily, both her husband and her son died for bad things happened.

Born in 624 AD, Wu Zetian was the first female emperor of China. She was born in Guangyuan in the Tang dynasty. She later became a concubine of Tang Taizong. After his death, she became a nun. But Taizong’s Successor, Gaozong, really liked her and brought her back to the palace where she became his second loved wife. Being jealous of the other wife, Wu killed one of their sons and blamed it on the other wife, making her Gaozong’s favourite. Gaozong loved her very much and let her do a lot of his work. When he died, Wu took the throne and became the first empress of China. Did Wu Zetian do the right things to get to the place she was? In fact to a very great extent Wu Zetian was a successful ruler even though she did many wrong things. It will be argued that she introduced an effective

I chose this topic because I view women as the backbone to the development or a nation, therefore the Chinese woman is paramount in one of the world’s great civilizations. The role of women in Chinese culture has changed over the years. When we consider the position that women held in ancient Chinese society we find that they have come a long way to be where they are today.

In the feudal era of China, when Confucianism played a dominant role in human thoughts and was the measure for all ethical standards, so that a woman became the Emperor, holding power absolutely could not be possible. The men chauvinism affected deeply in the root of each generations, each classes in the society which is heavily feudal as China. But Wu Zetian, from a very normal woman, with her intellect, cunning and also cruelty, she rose to be the Emperor and till now, she was the only female Emperor in Chinese history.