Chinese Women in Myth, , and Film - Literature review Example

Shiyuan (Sarah) Huang Zhang Laoshi Chinese Women in Myth, Lit and Film 04/15 Chinese Women in Myth, Literature and Film The roles for women in contemporary Chinese society has significantly changed through reforms that took place in the late Qing Dynasty, a period of Chinese civil war, followed by the creation of the people’s republic of china, which dedicated itself to gender equality. Efforts on behalf of the communist government was always met with a lot of resistance from the male dominated Chinese society. Tremendous social change followed the rise of the People’s Republic of China in 1947. Among the changes experienced during this period was the general perception of women’s role in Chinese society (Chia et al, 148). Beyond the political and social explanations for the lit, film, and myth of Chinese women anticipation lie various factors. Some of this factors include the lack of consciousness among the women themselves and psychological burden for purposes of self-sacrifice. They tend to put the needs of everyone above their own making them defined to have values of a virtuous woman. During the pre-revolutionary period, traditional marriage was a contract between two different families rather than being between individuals. The parents of both the groom and the bride made marriage arrangements with emphasis on continued alliance between their families. Spouse selection during the time was often based on the socioeconomic status of the husband and the needs of both the families. A woman’s hand in marriage was often exchanged for monetary compensation, and women were associated with property that could be traded and sold at the whim of their husbands. The establishment of the marriage act in 1950 meant to create fundamental changes in society with an intention of reforming marriage practices of the past (Wolf et al, 16). The main role for a woman during that period was to give birth to a son who would be able to continue the lineage of the family. The marriage arrangement was often conducted by a matchmaker, who was the link between the two families. Marriage arrangement often required a dowry of jewelry, furniture, or clothing from the bride’s family, and gifts were bestowed to the bride’s family as negotiation of bride price took place. According to Xiaorong Li, a researcher at the Institute for Public Policy and Philosophy at the University of Maryland, the Chinese marriage act of 1950 banned the most extreme forms of oppression and subordination, while providing women with a chance to make their own marriage decisions. Additionally, the marriage law passed in 1981 shifted its focus from men who were dominating society to the interests of children and women. The second article of the act focused on ensuring the lawful interests and rights of women and the elderly were protected. Additionally, both women and men had the lawful right to divorce. Article three of the same act banned polygamy, concubines, and bigamy. Even though the act opposed the extraction of money in exchange for marriage, the custom was still practiced in most rural parts of the country (Chia et al, 150). The marriage law also banned the interference of third parties, and that marriages were only based on the willingness of both the groom and the bride. Polygamy was legal in traditional Chinese society and concubines were considered a luxury, especially for the aristocratic families. The marriage law of 1950 allowed women to initiate divorce proceedings themselves, which had never been the possible in the past and requests for divorce were only justified for politically acceptable reasons. The law however, barred divorce when it was sought only by a single party. The marriage act of 1980 rectified this by allowing divorce in cases where mutual emotional affections were broken. The liberal atmosphere increased the number of divorces in the country. The rise in divorce rates across the country led to tension and resistance from men, especially in rural areas. Even though divorce had already been legally recognized, many women lost their lives attempting to divorce their husbands, and others committed suicide when divorces failed (Wolf et al, 34). Divorce was a rare occurrence during the Mao era, but turned into a common phenomenon and is still experienced today. The marriage act of 2001 allowed marriage parties to request compensation from their partners who committed bigamy, cohabitation, desertion, or family violence. Even though the communist victory in 1947 led to the destruction of the old bureaucracy and Mao’s proclamation that Chinese society was a state without oppression and hierarchy, efforts to industrialize and unify crystallized the bureaucratic process. After the 1950s, people renewed their commitment to the private pursuit of family obligations. This rebirth of sorts led to the renewal of social customs and traditional beliefs. Mao, who thought of himself as the embodiment of the collective will believed that the Cultural Revolution was a war against oppression (Wang, 63). A woman’s hand in marriage was often exchanged for monetary compensation, and women were associated with property that could be traded and sold at the whim of their husbands. Despite moves made by the party to eliminate or narrow the great differences between workers and peasants, city and country, and mental and manual labor, social inequalities continued to increase among the population. As inequality increased, Marxian social goals became more popular, which separated political and social practices while collective values declined. The Cultural Revolution was thought to have favored the collective spirit while at the same time eliminating social hierarchy. At the end of the 1970s, Chinese society embarked on the path to modernity that involved the transformation from a centrally planned economy to an economy that was market driven. The social values seem to have moved toward individualism and away from collectivism, which can be attributed to the dissemination of the western values as well as the long-term oppression of individual interest. Since the late 1970s, China has implemented policies aimed at driving the country towards becoming an example of neoliberal capitalism. This redirection of initiatives has encouraged people to pursue personal wealth instead of collective development of the country (Ebrey, 16). Among the most significant changes that took place during the reform policy period was the transformation of roles for women in society. When Mao began to establish a new society, he saw gender inequality and patriarchy as a hindrance to the socio-political order he intended to develop. The liberation of women in Chinese society was accomplished through the elimination of labor restrictions and the acknowledgement of women as agents of change within society. Even though women were promised gender equality, their liberation process was still conducted under the national development goals. Before the period of economic reforms in the country, Chinese women were portrayed as strong and self-assured. (The section is not irrelevant it only clarifies the various perspective that women get from the society based on the myths, and lit that surrounds them) The women who participated actively in the labor force also politicized the nature of social life. Traditional feminine features were ignored following socialist asceticism, whose tenets denied romantic love and sexual desires between women and men. In modern China, the image women in society has continued to change (Wang, 71), and women have become more empowered. Western values such as the aspiration for self-actualization, the value of individualism, and the worship of western lifestyles have found resonance in Chinese women who are better educated, young, and have greater financial stability. Meanwhile, the increase in the level of unemployment rates among women results from intense competition and many Chinese women have begun to return to the traditional values of taking care of the family and men as socially dominant. Traditional images of women have resurfaced, and current Chinese modernity has been associated with issues of gender. Modern women adhere to a blend of westernized and traditional standards of feminine physical beauty. Although the Cultural Revolution tried its best to combat individualism, the failure of collective economic policies renewed those desires (Ebrey, 50). Chinese people at this time returned to their private pursuit of family obligations, while most interest groups struggled for a greater freedom of speech despite efforts directed at remolding old ideology. It can therefore be understood that during the pre-cultural revolution era (1949-1966), China fought for more individuality. The period was believed to be more class-conscious about social customs and religious beliefs. At the time, men dominated women, age dominated youth, and family dominated the individual. During the period of the Cultural Revolution from1966-1976, women actively participated in the public labor force and were exposed to highly publicized lives. The push toward gender equality at this time was implemented in the extreme between both the domestic and public spheres. Any assertion of feminine identity was often rejected during this period, and women were portrayed as strong and self-assured. Women had been liberated from old traditions of oppression and were expected to play a crucial role in nation building in terms of social, political, and economic responsibility. Women were not a priority to health care in traditional Chinese culture because based on Confucius practices society believed that men were superior so health care was focused on them instead of women. The health care system has undergone many reforms since the foundation of the People’s Republic and has tried to ensure both men and women are able to receive health care in an equal measure (Cui, 40). The change took place when women who were active in the work force were provided with health services just like men were. The People’s Republic of China has enacted various laws aimed at protecting the rights of women in society, including child and maternal care. Sen, a Noble Prize winning economist, has revealed that the reduction in the number of women in Asia was primarily a result of the sex-selective abortions, the one child policy, and the inadequate nutrition for girls rampant before reforms. In the current Chinese society, both men and women enjoy nearly equal rights in owning property. However, Chinese women previously had no or little right to property either under law or customs in society. Property often belonged to the eldest male in the family, or the head of the clan. Properties were also held communally and not by individuals (Ebrey, 66). Ancestral inheritance was passed on to the males and not the females. Women were unable to share the family’s ancestry because they were not included in the male-based lineage. In cases where the lineage lacked a son, the family went to the extent of adopting a son to extend the linage. A law passed during the Ming Dynasty in 1368-1644 C.E required a man’s property to be given to his nephews in the absence of a direct male descendant. The Kuomintang who took over power in 1911 advocated for gender equality even though less changes took place. The enactment of the republic civil code in 1930 was a setback because it changed the basic definition of family and property inheritance. The law stipulated that the family property belonged to the father and that the inheritance was to focus on family lineage regardless of gender. The People’s Republic of China has assumed that power since 1949, and has often advocated for gender equality throughout the country. At the peak of Cultural Revolution, women were no longer just daughters, mothers, or wives, but were observed as public servants who worked for the collective. Women were depicted by the media as housewives and their roles were to free their family members, especially their husbands from household tasks so they would be able to devote their time towards building the country. The feminine characteristics of these women were neglected because the society expected them to be as physically able and strong as their male counterparts. Men and women during this period had contact with one another as comrades, friends, and co-workers. Women were able to establish meaningful careers, enjoyed sexual and romantic relationships, accrued wealth, and strove to become beautiful. Women were also described as wives and mothers whose duties were also to work outside the home. Individualism, materialism, and consumerism were a reflection of the women of this period. Modern society has witnessed several for women, whose roles have shifted from traditional to modern (Wang, 80). Apart from their roles as mothers and wives, Chinese women couldn’t do anything else in the past. Women’s education was never supported, and therefore many of them during that period never learned how to write or read apart from their own names. Women could not go to school or take exams. In the old culture, women prepared food, cleaned the house, took care of the house, and submitted to their husbands. The current image, however, is different because men and women are treated nearly the same. Throughout the rich and vast history, from the time of the Shang Dynasty to the reign of Mao, and the present day, the country has undergone serious cultural and social changes to ultimately end and uproot discrimination, sexism, and gender imbalance. Even though the situation is still far from being considered perfect, Chinese society is moving in the right direction towards ensuring that women are empowered through the promotion of gender equality (Wolf et al, 20). China is known globally for various things, such as the invention of gunpowder, the great wall, and its delicious cuisine. However, there is a significant phenomenon that is ongoing in China and is rarely discussed even among scholars and historians. This is the phenomenon of women’s rights, their responsibilities, and roles in the contemporary Chinese society. Annotated Bibliography Chia, Rosina C., Linda J. Allred, and Page A. Jerzak. "Attitudes toward women in Taiwan and China." Psychology of Women Quarterly 21.1 (1997): 137-150. This source offers an explicit review from both Chinese and the English sources on the modern attitudes of society towards women in both Taiwan and China. The authors have been able to discuss the cross-cultural issues affecting the reporting and discovery of these effects conclusively. The authors indicated that Chinese women have a more traditionally oriented attitude when compared to their counterpart in Taiwan. Additionally, the authors revealed that women from both countries had liberal attitudes towards women’s rights. The authors utilized the Yang modernization theory of 1986 to explain these results. The authors reported an overlap of gender roles between the two cultures, with some traditional feminine or masculine roles played by the opposite gender. This study provides effective information on the current roles and responsibilities of women in the Chinese culture. Cui, Shuqin. Women Through the Lens Gender and Nation in a Century of Chinese Cinema. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, 2003. ISBN 0-8248-2532-2. The author discusses gender issues and the image of women in the Chinese culture. The author raises the question of how gender acts as a discursive and visual sign in the development of the nation state of 20th century China. The author establishes how women have been denied positions as characters in the screen and in cinema, while at the same time being granted a privilege for visibility. The author’s careful attention to cinema’s visual language system has shown how women have influences the changing political and social climate. By placing the nation and gender in a historical perspective, the author has been able to identify how early production of cinema held a form of shadow-play that was considered entertaining. This source is significant because it offers information on the changing roles of women in the Chinese society as revealed in the cinema. Ebrey, Patricia Buckley. The Inner Quarters: Marriage and Lives of Chinese Women in the Sung Period, Los Angeles: University of California, 1993. This source offers details on the lives and marriages of Chinese women during the Sung Dynasty of 960-1279. The author asserts that this period was an absurd era for Chinese women because the Sung period encouraged the spread of foot binding, and Confucian leaders insisted widows were starved to death rather than remarrying. In addition, the author insists that the period allowed some improvement for property and marriage rights. The author’s original work bring to life what it was like to be born a woman during the Sung period, from rearing children, serving parent in-laws, having an arranged marriage, coping with a concubine, and deciding what to do after being widowed. The author reveals the roles and responsibilities for women during the period and the various changes that took place. This source discusses the various roles of women in traditional Chinese society. Wang, Robin. Images of Women in Chinese Thought and Culture. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing Company, 2003. ISBN 978-0872206519. The author explains the historical journey of Chinese culture by tracing the roles and responsibilities of Chinese women during a period covering almost two thousand years. The author discusses the image of women in the thoughts and culture of society across the various dynasties by revealing women’s roles from Pre-Qin period to the Song Dynasty, and in the current world. According to the author, the role of giving birth and taking care of the children continued for a very long time in traditional Chinese culture. Women were mistreated and oppressed in the society, and men had more privileges. This information reveals the journey that Chinese women have undergone in search of gender equality. Wolf, Margery, Roxane Witke, and Emily Martin, eds. Women in Chinese society. Stanford University Press, 1975. This book offers an assessment of the changing status, roles, and the lives of Chinese women in rural and urban, poor and wealthy areas in both Taiwan and Mainland China. The author explains that roles for women have been neglected and considered irrelevant by Chinese institutions and culture. The author examined the lives of Chinese women by utilizing scholarly objectivity in societal contexts with an intention of dispelling old myths related to the culture of Chinese women. The author was able to compare the lives of women both in wealthy urban families to those of rural workers in the silk factories. The author concludes that women’s roles have kept on changing from one generation to the other. This book offers conclusive evidence on how roles for women have changed through the ages. Read More