Women From the Song Dynasty - Term Paper Example

According to Helen Tierney, “Song Dynasty, covering the period 960 to 1279, was characterized by great social, technical, economic and ideological changes. Urbanization and the rise of the merchant class transformed society. Technology was altered by printing and new chemical processes. New Confucianism became the dominant political ideology for nearly 1,000 years to come. The rise of the money economy along with new systems of landholding and taxation that took over in the middle of the Song Dynasty changed the Chinese economy throughout its history” (232).

During the Song Dynasty, “the severe restrictions on women began to appear, and with the rise of Neo-Confucianism, women’s roles began to diminish and to receive strict definitions. The boundary of activities for women revolved merely within the family’s needs” (Tierney, 232).

1. Discussion

“Feudal China made women more submissive to men” (Fan, 196). It was during this time women stayed at home, took care of the household chores, bear children, and reared and nurtured them. “This became the most significant role of women who were merely associated as men’s attachments, slaves and possessions” (Fan, 196).

“Footbinding became the ultimate tool to deny women the physical expression of freedom” (Fan, 196). It became a symbol of oppression as women because of victims of physical and psychological abuse. “More often than not, a woman accepted her physical castration and acknowledged herself as inferior, and accepted the negative roles of femininity. Footbinding was therefore the pre-eminent symbol of sexual oppression” (Fan, 196).

The late nineteenth century was the period when anti-footbinding campaigns began in China. It was during the visit of Helen Snow to Yan’an in 1939 that she noticed that most of the women in that area, including peasants had bound feet. It was during this time when equality between men and women was declared by women’s associations.

The rationale behind the practice of foot-binding among Chinese women is that “it marked the beginning of the womanhood of a young girl” (Rosanlee, 143). It became a family affair and not just a private occasion as the mother of the young girl sought the “divine blessings before the commencement of footbinding” (Rosanlee, 143). It became a part of the family’s heritage, as the “technique of footbinding varied not just from different regions, but from different families as well, and was sort of knowledge and work that was passed on from mothers to daughters and from aunts to nieces” (Rosanlee, 143).

“Correct attire was a sign of civility of Wen, the woman’s needlework and artifacts, whose meaning encompasses not only literary patterns of artifacts and clothing” (Rosanlee, 144).

In the seventeenth century, “footbinding in China was regarded as: First: an expression of Chinese wen civility; Second: a marker of ethnic boundaries separating the Han from the Manchu; and Third: an ornament of the body that is the correct concealment of the female body” (Rosanlee, 144).

1. Conclusion

Chiu Chin became a symbol of freedom and liberation among Chinese women. “Towards the end of her short life, she became one of the most passionate and influential among revolutionaries and was beheaded by the still-ruling Manchus when she was only 31 years of age. Before her death, she fought valiantly for the rights of the women, the poor, and the oppressed” (Yan Ma, 92).

The death of Chiu Chin symbolized that women are no longer submissive towards a male-dominated society. It became an awakening for women to fight for their rights, beliefs, and aspirations in life. It was the time when women struggled to be given a place in society, the right to receive education, and the right to suffrage to partake in important decisions in building a better nation for their community. “The meaning of the life of the Chiu Chin was symbolic as it paved the way towards the abolition of footbinding and fought for women’s rights to restore their dignity. For her, she saw the act of unbinding the feet as symbolizing that women freed themselves from unbearable strictures that bound their souls for a long time. She castigated any form of oppression among women which included the act of footbinding” (Yan Ma, 96).