Gender in History

Author: Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks (USA)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-01-01
Features: This book provides an overview of gender in world history from prehistory to the present, organized thematically rather than by geographic region. In many chapters, you will find content related to traditional and modern China. For example, the second chapter on the family discusses marriage patterns during the Han Dynasty and the influence of Confucianism, comparing them with classical Eurasian cultures. The chapter also mentions the efforts of the Chinese government in the 20th century to limit family size, comparing them with similar measures in India and Latin America. The fourth chapter on ideas, ideals, norms, and laws analyzes explanations for the foot-binding custom and discusses how terms used to refer to women in 20th-century China acquired political connotations. The fifth chapter on religion includes a lengthy discussion of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism in China, highlighting the various ways these religions both restricted and empowered women. The seventh chapter on education and culture examines learned women in traditional China, particularly Ban Zhao (50–115 AD), a Han Dynasty court historian, and the relatively high educational status of contemporary Chinese women. The sixth chapter on political life explores the rule of Lü Zhi, the wife of the founding emperor of the Han Dynasty and the mother of the successor emperor. Lü Zhi ruled effectively during her son's minority but was later described by court historians as the "tyrannical Lü Zhi," who viewed any female rule as inappropriate. The chapter also discusses the role of women in the Chinese Communist Revolution and the gender ideology of the Communist Party. Throughout all this content, you will find evidence that China's gender patterns are particularly unique, differing from other East Asian cultures and from patterns elsewhere in the world. You will also find evidence that China's gender patterns align with broader patterns, as well as many examples showing how China's gender and gender relations models have influenced those elsewhere: how Confucian ideas about women's "three subordinations" spread to Southeast Asia; how Buddhist nuns in China established nunneries in Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and the United States; and how Mao Zedong's arguments against the traditional constraints on women influenced the ideals of other communist countries.