Premodern Women and China
Posted on May 5, 2019 at 2:00 PM
Premodern Chinese history is the history of a deeply entrenched patriarchal society, yet one with windows. Women were treated as secondary citizens and indoctrinated with a set of strictly prescribed rules on how to be a good wife. However, even as these expectations continued to evolve, the ideal role presented to women did not reflect their realities and there are notable exceptions in all dynasties. Class also had a significant influence as the powerful had greater opportunity and status and the poor were focused on survival over ideals. Despite increasing limitations women found ways to express themselves through religion, didactic authorship, and artistic pursuits.
Even in the Shang Dynasty, the first recorded Chinese Dynasty, there was the expectation that the royal line would be continued by male descendants. Bone carvings by the Shang kings express a desire for male heirs, indicating marked disappointment on the birth of a girl1. Surviving Shang writings are minimal but there are indications that women did have their own spiritual spaces. Female ancestors were consulted on issues of childbearing. The king would specifically pray to ancestresses for fortune in impending births1. The other primary mention of women in the oracle bone carvings is through the names of consorts of what Han historian Sima Qian deemed the main royal line1. These consorts were ritually independent from their kings, receiving separate name days when they were to be entreated1. Whether these consorts offered advice in life is unknown. Yet these women were valued for their input in death and could in theory become advisors to the scrying king. The successive dynasty of Zhou kings continued this tradition of seeking advice from the ancestors.
During the Spring and Autumn period of the Zhou Dynasty Kongzi (Confucius) taught what would become Confucianism. From his teachings arose the Analects, a collection of his lessons gathered by a group of his disciples. Among these ideas, Kongzi promoted five major relationships including that of a husband and wife, with the wife expected to show respect and deference for her husband1. Women were to accept a subordinate role in relationships, going from daughter to wife. Notably there is no explicit role for unmarried women in this set of relationships.
A multitude of other works began to develop around Kongzi's ideas, many of which are unprovably attributed to Kongzi himself but were likely compiled by his disciples after his death. One such book, the Book of Rites, details the roles of various participants in ritualistic ceremonies. Filial sons were expected to perform sacrificial rights for parents1. Daughters are omitted from mention in this part of the text, suggesting that only sons could perform these parental honor ceremonies, not daughters. Wives are given a supportive role in certain ceremonies. If a ruler conducted a ritual his wife as well as the wives of the other present ministers were responsible for placing the offering dishes while the ruler conducted the ceremony1. This domestic task provided women some place in the ceremony yet restricted them from conducting a ceremony. The book further used the ceremonies as a platform to explain the proper balance of a husband and wife relationship. The Book of Rites explicitly defined a husband (夫) as one who supports his wife and a wife (妇) as one who submits, calling upon the meaning of the respective Chinese characters1. The presence of gender roles in the foundation of the Chinese language indicates that this view is older and deeper than just Confucianism. However, Confucianism was becoming an increasingly potent vehicle to spread ideas of morality, behavioral norms, and gender roles.
It should be noted that while these ideals are constrictive by modern standards they were often more prescriptive than descriptive. Reality for women varied greatly depending on social class, wealth, and the need to support their families. While the ideal woman was a domestic force content to serve as a silent supporter for her husband, women found opportunities to express themselves, whether through the necessity of poverty or by dedicating one's life to a school of thought.
Confucianism waned during the turbulent Warring States period as influencers sought a system to structure society and consolidate their power. In its place rose Legalism with an emphasis on rules to control natural human tendencies towards immoral behavior1. Confucianism would later take on Legalist elements to codify the moral rules.
The short-lived rule of the Qin Dynasty set a precedent of how to construct unified government, centralizing many components of governance traditionally ascribed to local level control. The Han Dynasty that followed carried on this example, though not without criticizing its predecessor. The Qin Dynasty was depicted as having lost both the Mandate of Heaven and the proper Way, which the Han tried to promote by adopting Confucianism as the official religion during the reign of Emperor Wu1. Part of this effort included endorsing the Five Confucian Classics of the time: the Spring and Autumn Annals, the Book of Rites, the Book of Documents, the Book of Songs, and the Book of Changes1,2. Strengthened by government endorsement, Confucianism then spread further among general society.
Records from the Han Dynasty include the writings of multiple upper-class women who contributed to the compilation of a singular history of China up to that time. After Sima Qian's death, Ban Biao continued his chronicle, Records of the Grand Historian1. This was then continued by his son Ban Gu and afterwards by Ban Gu's daughters, who were instructed in reading and writing, and his highly educated sister1. These writings indicate that women from privileged backgrounds benefited from both education and opportunities for active participation in the public sphere. Ban Gu's sister, Ban Zhao, was quite renowned even in her time, writing Admonitions for Women, a book that would become a didactic Bible for women's conduct in China. Her work, centered around how a woman could best serve her husband, became core reading for women for centuries. Her view on the husband and wife relationship was relatively modern. Ban Zhao argued for women's education on the basis that once two people are married they are indispensable and responsible for each other, so both should receive similar treatment1. This idea laid latent until the 10th century with the increasing awareness of women's roles in educating young children. Other women became poets, mostly after dedicating themselves to Daoism or Buddhism. While women from all social strata could be seen in art and writing-based roles, a majority were from upper-class backgrounds3. The upper-class had more resources to instruct their children while lower-class women tended to glean their agency from the necessity that they help support the family monetarily.
Schools of thought offered women relative freedom from their prescribed roles. Note that divisions between the schools were not as visible during the time so there was regular cross-over and borrowing. These religious systems offered women new roles. Daoism accepted both male and female initiates. Love poems that these adepts wrote for divine Daoist figures have survived to this day1. The relationship was a pseudo-sexual one with the adepts making an intangible “union” with the divine subject of their devotion1. This sense of connection aligns with the goal of seeking immortality by following the Way, a concept that would continue to fascinate Daoists even in the 12th century. Further, even though the love poems were usually written in metaphors they allowed women to express the passionate side that they were generally expected to keep private. More information on Daoist women up to the 12th century is available here (link group paper with permission). Starting in the 500s CE women also had a place in Buddhism as bhikṣuṇī nuns. They took on a spiritual journey, remaining unmarried and pursuing a study of the Way1. Yet being a woman in religion was still not ideal. One story told of a dragon princess who evolved into a man and changed her gender to become a Buddha1. This "evolution" implies that men were a higher life form and the only perfect enough forms and beings to achieve full enlightenment. Despite this story, these religious tracks allowed women to avoid marriage with a lifelong promise of nunhood. Whether it was writing joy-filled letters for divine loves or participating in rituals, women took active roles in schools of thought.
Women were still legally recognized during the Northern and Southern Dynasties. Records indicate that women held and exercised property rights, though likely jointly. In the 5th century Lu Xiujing, a Daoist patriarch, wrote The Five Sentiments of Gratitude in which he credits both his father and his mother with his upbringing, his education and his subsequent marriage, and with the gathering of his eventual property1. Lu Xinjing's mother had a role in land ownership and property ownership, implying involvement in the legal system, and the freedom to co-direct her children's futures.
Empress Wu (r. 684-705) of the Tang Dynasty is the only woman to have ruled China in her in own stead. She was married to Emperor Taizong but remarried his son after his death. Ruling in the stead of their children as regent she took on solo rule after their untimely deaths. Empress Wu is still often villainized by her potential involvement in her children's demises. She maintained rule quite well, making her own short-lived dynasty before being overthrown in a coup d'état, but still became a cautionary tale that inspired a backlash against women in power. Her rule inspired the tradition of killing the mother of any appointed heir to the throne, in part to ensure no more heirs would be born and in part to prevent a mother's involvement. Instead a grandmother usually served as regent.
See more information here about Princess Yuzhen, an 8th century Daoist of the royal line.
By the Tang Dynasty women's ideal roles were well entrenched. This change is evident in the Tang Code which has a significant part of its book on “The Household and Marriage” on the taking of a wife or concubine1. Implicit in this code is the assumption that the audience is male. No clauses exist for men and there are uses of ‘another man' at points in the code. This code was written by men, for men and dictated the legal rights of women during and after the process of marrying. Women are implied to be legally dependent entities, going directly from their father's care to their husband's.
Multiple women's books were written during the Tang Dynasty, reviving old standards and introducing new ones. Two often-read books were Madam Cheng's Classic of Filiality for Women and Song Rouzhao's Analects for Women. The Classic of Filiality for Women adds a new dimension to the husband-wife relationship, arguing that criticizing one's husband is preferable to obedience if it is for the husband's moral well-being. Women took on the mantle of upholding household morality. Song Ruozhao, the other writer, was the daughter of an important Tang official and had her own entry in the official Tang history1. She publicized her sister's work, Analects for Women, and chose a single life after being appointed as a court scholar to instruct the princesses on proper conduct1. Analects for Women indicates that this kind of conduct was marked by knowledge of sewing and weaving, the preparation of tea for female visitors, early rising for domestic work and cooking, serving one's superiors, educating the young children, managing the house, and entertaining visitors1. The house was the women's traditional domain as these responsibilities would leave a woman primarily housebound. Song Ruozhao's position in court was uncommon but indicates that women could still hold high-ranking roles within the palace. Although her elite background makes her somewhat of an exception it was not inconceivable to the Emperor or to the court that a woman could be a scholar. These works became classics for later women.
Remarriage was also a shifting issue, becoming less acceptable as time passed. A story from the Tang Dynasty reveals that widow remarriage was not unheard of though it was undesirable. The trouble in the story is tied to the extramarital affair the newly remarried widow has with her husband's older male relative, resulting in the relative's death when he plots to kill her husband1. While the situation is resolved, no further mention is made of the wife for the rest of the story. The bad omen of a widow remarriage hangs over this tale, making it likely that remarriage was firmly discouraged.
See more information here about Yu Xuanji, a 9th century Daoist priestess-poet, Hu Yin, a 9th century Daoist medical practitioner, and Sun Buer, a 12th century Daoist leader turned immortal.
Women's education was a rising focus in the Song Dynasty. As women were the first mentors to their children they instructed their children before they received formal schooling1. It was primarily for the sake of their children and their husbands that they learned rather than for a career. Two sets of texts, the Confucian classics and the Four Books for Women, made up a woman's education; the latter was composed of Admonitions for Women (Han Dynasty), Madam Cheng's Classic of Filiality for Women (Tang), Song Rouzhao's Analects for Women (Tang), and Empress Xu's Instructions for the Inner Quarters (Ming)1. While the style of these works suggest they were targeted for daughters of elite families some were simplified for more general consumption1. Generally social change in Chinese society moved between families, beginning with the imperial family and the elites and spreading out through society. This is evident in the process of educating women and in the spread of Confucian views.
Women who followed the proposed standards were often honored in funerary inscriptions; those who did not were generally not recorded. The writers were often renowned Neo-Confucian philosophers, such as Zhu Xi who wrote for a Madam You to praise her moral life; his inscription describes her wise selection of companions for her growing children and their resulting accomplishments1. Women remained defined by the actions of their children though it was also a way of honoring their efforts. Yet one rural woman of the surname Lin became the goddess Mazu during the Song Dynasty, canonized by the Emperor and inspiring the creation of a shrine after her regular acts of healing and saving others at sea4. Courage and aiding the community was honored even though it was not part of official expectations. This gap is one example of the difference between prescription and reality. Some women were honored for breaking boundaries despite the presence of strict standards.
The Ming Dynasty brought with it a new set of more stringent laws, The Great Ming Commandments. One section of this code addresses marriage and divorce. Marriages in the Ming Dynasty were to be arranged by a man's grandparents or parents1. Women were not allowed to petition for themselves in seeking a marriage, limiting their role in deciding their own future. Engagements and marriages could be broken though. Severe criminal activity, a 3-year refusal to marry, or a 5-year disappearance in the case of the boy could end an engagement1. When in a marriage there were protections to protect a woman from divorce. While there were Seven Grounds for divorce, among them barrenness, being too talkative, jealousy, and a terminal illness, a faithful wife could not be divorced if she followed proper mourning protocol, made the family richer, or lacked living family; women with extramarital partners had no such protections1. There existed a clear double-standard for sexual conduct with women told to be dedicated to their husbands and husbands often having multiple wives or concubines, cost permitting.
Increasing numbers of stories also glorified women's martyrdom upon losing their husband. This course, considered preferable to remarriage, was initially stressed as a political strategy during the Yuan Dynasty and would continue to dominate thought until the later years of the Qing Dynasty4. The result was around 20 times more cases of martyrdom and 75 times more remarriage refusal recorded than in any prior Chinese dynasty4. Lü Kun, a Neo-Confucian scholar who supported women's education on the basis that it made the path to a moral life clearer, argued against the positive portrayal of martyrdom; instead he favored conduct such as that of Miss Han, a woman who disguised herself as a male soldier for seven years to preserve her chastity until she was discovered and rescued by an uncle.1 Even though he disapproves of extreme actions to protect chastity he is still a product of his time, subscribing to the great value of female chastity. This ideal, which would lead to thousands of lives lost, would last for centuries.
Music was an area in which women managed to achieve recognition by defying traditional goals. During the Ming Dynasty there were many female musicians and musical ability was a favorable trait in servants and concubines; many talented courtesans came out of this time period4. Ironically Confucius was a proponent of certain forms of music as he saw it as a higher form of expression; society publicly disapproved but privately indulged. Lü Kun allowed female performers, oft labelled morally dangerous, in the house to entertain his blind mother, which improved her health1,4. Historical records indicate that he was far from the only man to do so. Music became a hidden avenue for female expression.
Diligence, subservience, and frugality were core words used to describe the ideal woman in the Ming Dynasty. Empress Xu, a peasant turned royal by her husband Taizu's political rise, was noted in the Dictionary of Ming Biography for her strong spirit1. After teaching herself to read and write she penned a book on women's conduct titled Instructions for the Inner Quarters to share lessons imparted to her by her mentor and mother-in-law Empress Ma; she also recorded the legacies of women in government, possibly influenced by Fan Ziyu's Learning of the Emperors, which focused on female scholars1. No matter the push for domestic women, they remained active contributors to the public sphere, never entirely losing their agency. Historical records have these women underrepresented so the full extent of female involvement of the time is difficult to ascertain.
Confucianism was also adapted to become slightly more inclusive. Empress Xu contributed to redefining Confucianism as part of the larger Neo-Confucian movement. She presents the concept that sagehood, the goal of living a Confucian life, was possible for women too; as part of this push she held many group meetings for the palace women to study the Confucian classics1. Adapting Confucius's original idea for gentlemen she argues that if women are to follow their moral roles they can change society on a broader level, not just in the household. Empress Xu also actively participated in matters of law and the state. On one occasion she saved the life of Song Lian, one of her husband's Neo-Confucian advisors, convincing her husband to soften his punishment; to justify her intervention she argued that if he was the Father of the country then she was its Mother1. She was also the subject of controversy. It can be seen from the debate surrounding her unbound feet that foot binding was common by the Ming Dynasty, a move which altered foot growth and made it painful and nearly impossible for women to do more than minimally walk. This factor in conjunction with the imperative given to women to become hidden and omnipresent domestic managers suggests that women of at least the upper classes were well restricted. Yet even here we see exceptions with women wielding power, such as Empress Xu.
Chinese society was historically very limiting for women, favoring men in the public sphere over women, with some scholars even explicitly assigning the sexes to the respective spheres of public and domestic work. Women were told from childhood that their worth was predominantly from supporting a husband and raising successful children. Yet reality never quite met ideals and even though the pressure of these rules became stronger over time women managed to retain some of their agency in every dynasty, whether by active choice or by necessity. Class was a significant factor in both education and opportunity. In this patriarchal premodern society women managed to use religion, the arts, and education as ways to realize their own potentials.