The Sufficiency Of Popular Theories Like Mao 's, An Alternative Theory

John King Fairbank, the renowned scholar of Chinese history from Harvard, in his essay ‘Footbinding’ talks in detail about the social malaise that dominated Chinese society for almost 1000 years. He says, “Foot binding spread as a mark of gentility and upper class status” and was a means to “preserve female chastity.” But I agree with his opinion that it was ultimately the manifestation of the oppression of women. Since ancient times, women in China were considered chattels, born to serve the men in their lives, their fathers, brothers, husbands then sons. Foot binding was a custom started possibly during the reign of the T’ang dynasty to reinforce their subjugation.

In the excerpt from Mao's Little Red Book, we can understand that he used these sayings to gain more supporters during the Cultural Revolution. This is because, he says things that praise the youth, and make them want to join the Red Guard. For example, he says, "The world belongs to you. China's future belongs to you." This quote demonstrates that Mao is placing his hope on the children. This makes the children feel that they have the power and control what goes on. Not only does Mao make them feel like they have all the power in the world, but he also makes them feel special about themselves. Likewise, when he says the children are the bloom of life, Mao wants to gain their support by making them feel good about themselves. What child would

Women working men’s jobs were not as welcomed in society as they were in factories. People held on to the belief that women should be house wives and not have to do much in the way of work. The man should provide for the family, and the women should take care of the family. Many of the women who worked were lower class and had to help provide for their families, or were the only providers for their families. Women who worked men’s jobs were looked down upon and thought to be no better than dirt. Although women working in factories were still women, men did not show them the same respect as they did a woman working as a secretary or teacher.

As civilizations grew and morphed into the international superpowers of today, they also gave rise to vast seas of inequalities. Inequalities between those of different social rankings, inequalities in the workplace, and, most importantly, inequalities between genders were just a few of the looming stratifications accompanying the rise of society. However, these inequalities were expressed differently by different peoples and societies. Although patriarchies were the social norm of the time, the patriarchies of Han Dynasty China, Tang Dynasty China, and Song Dynasty China each had small nuances that made their patriarchies positively peculiar. These nuances include, but are not limited to the level of social and economic freedom afforded to women, the powers women held, and the level of brutality women experienced.

Although females had push into the right direction, they still did face some adversity. “Many fully employed women defined themseleves as ‘homemakers’, outside the sphere of wage work” (Abelson, 117). This shows that even with all these changes for the better women did not shy away from their traditional roots.

Mao ZeDong is one of the greatest leaders in the history of New China. The influence of Mao’s theory is profound and lasting. He is a great thinker, poet, and a highly intelligent military strategist. Under his leadership and the actions he performed during The Long March, Chinese Civil War then defeating the Kuomintang Party to built the New China are the main epic episodes. Mao ZeDong's extravagant actions made two of the many changes to China. They are the shift from a capitalist system to a socialist system and the achievement of China's independence against Japanese imperialism (Somo, 2013a). The influence of Mao’s theory has been widespread to the world up until this day. Especially, in the countries of the third world have

Women’s privileges in society transformed due to new opportunities that enabled possession of freedom and high esteem. Within Sub-Saharan Africa, if a woman was raised in a blacksmith family, she would enjoy special treatment since she obtained amazing pottery skills. Furthermore,

Women were traditionally seen as the weaker sex – second-class citizens with a lower social status than men. A woman’s place was in the home. Men did the “heavier” labor, like plowing and hunting.

During the Qing Dynasty Chinese women roles were more restricted than they had been during the earlier dynasties. According to Women in World history in the 19th China followed the Neo-Confucian or Confucian gender norms. These norms emphasized the family as the primary social unit and supported the dominance of women. Within the Chinese family structure, “one’s position in the hierarchy is determined rank and responsibility. Daughters were expected to obey their parent’s authority, assist their mothers in domestic tasks, and, in wealthier families learn how read and write.” History reflects during the Qing Dynasty the image of foot binding played such a crucial and significant role in gender and social change amongst Chinese women, where

It must be said that men of power create the structure of life--which is not necessarily profitable or fitting to women, nor to the human race in its entirety. Women do not live in this structure:“They lead beautiful lives--women. Lives not only divorced from, but irrevocably excommunicated from, all reality” (156).

It was expected of women mainly of a higher class to have their feet bound and to be married off. In common women, it was expected of women to do some sort of work and be married off. Women were used to everything ending in marriage and no sort of independence coming for them even though revolutions like the Xinhai one saying that they would advocate for women. There has been a change in China for women’s rights and “the tension between contending ideas of womanhood reveals not only the anxieties associated with changing roles for women but also the anxieties associated with modernity and the modern nation” (Stevens). This is shown in “Ties That Bind, Ties That Break” when Ailin decides she will move in with the Warner family and her uncle being upset about her changing role from a daughter that would never be married off because of her feet to a nanny in an American missionary home.

Women have had changing roles in every society for centuries. Those who were born in ancient China lived oppressed lives under the constant pressure to live and work by the rules and expectations set by society around them. They were given nearly the same rights as a servant. Things like having a say in how much work they had to do throughout the day, why they had to bind their feet, who they were set to marry, and so on. Women were expected to do all the household jobs such as cleaning, cooking, preparing ancestral offerings and child rearing. Confucius taught that “a woman’s greatest duty is the bear a son.” These roles that were set for women in ancient China are very important to analyze because they allow us to learn from the past and see what must be done in order to not make the same mistake twice. Two articles in Discovering the Global Past, “Mother-in-law Is Cruel” by Zheng Xie and “The Ways of Confucius and Modern Life” by Chen Duxiu, offer this crucial historical insight on women’s roles in family and society in ancient China. Although their means of conveyance vary, both authors portray the idea that by keeping women oppressed, society as a whole will become stagnant which in turn will lead to something that is more inhumane than what is currently present.

This piece highlights the extent to which workers were perceived in society, for example, “a woman sat in unwomanly rags” this image reveals the extent to a which these workers were degraded, they were stripped of their clothing, and even their gender held relevance in their work. Essentially, these workers became slaves to the factory owners, their work was their only purpose and use within this society, and it even encompassed their dreams, “And sew them on in a dream!” Thus, highlighting that women lose their femininity in a line of work that historically was work in the domestic sphere by dominated by women; creating a larger division between the producers and consumers within a society. Therefore acknowledging the disorder and change that the industrial revolution and bombarding presence that capitalism has

Centuries ago, women’s positions were inside the home, either in motherhood or with domestic labor. They were expected to comply to the demands forced upon them by a patriarchal society. Their opportunities were limited and their importance went unrecognized. Women were denied resources such as education and outside work. Their main role was to marry and take part in their husband’s business. Throughout the 19th and 20th century, women fought and struggled to attain social equality. They became increasing interested in their social position and initiated movements in aim of redefining their status. One way they aimed at justifying their demands was through their writing, defining their roles in marriages and the norms imposed on them by society.

In 1949 a powerful communist leader by the name of Mao Zedong came to power based on his idea for a, “Great Leap Forward.” This idea was meant to bring China’s economy into the twentieth century. He had assembled a revolutionary government using traditional Chinese ideals of filial piety, harmony, and order. Mao's cult of personality, party purges, and political policies reflect Mao's esteem of these traditional Chinese ideals and history. However, the product of this revolution created a massive national shortage in vital materials and initiated a wide scale famine to China’s people (Gabriel).