East Asian History - Coursework Example

East Asian History Paper Story of Poor Ancient Chinese Woman Table of Contents Introduction 03 Life of Poor Women in Ancient China 04 Problems and Solutions 08 References 09 INTRODUCTION The paper is dedicated to describe the life of poor ancient Chinese women keeping in mind the traditions and value of women in ancient china. The paper includes every aspect of poor Chinese women from her child hood to married life. In ancient china life of a poor women was much harder and difficult then that of a man. She has to work more hard then her husband or other males. A woman was considered to be the slave of man and she was not allowed to marry if her husband dies and if she did so, death sentence is her destiny. She had no right to express her emotions or to give suggestions in any case. A man is allowed to marry if his wife fails to give birth to a baby boy. People use to sold their daughters if they want to work in the lands of rich land lords. The subject of this paper and my ancestor is one of those poor women who struggled hard to live her life, the one who loved her daughters and value them. She had to bear pain of foot binding and post marriage customs but she didn't give up and continued to work hard and serve her family and children. Life of Poor Women in Ancient China I was glad to know by my mother that my ancestors lived in song dynasty as I was very fond of knowing about ancient China specially song dynasty. My ancestor was born when the country was under Confucius rule, so according to the traditions she was named "daughter no 2" as she was the second daughter of her parents Her father was a farmer and she daily saw her mother working harder than her father and other males. Her mother loved her a lot as she had to sell her elder daughter (daughter no 1) to a rich land owner in order to earn bread and butter by farming on their land. It was one of the happiest days of her life when she takes the first step and gets clothes to wear and straw shoes by her mother first time since she was born. It was made up of hemp (the cheapest material). While playing with her friends in the land, she was deeply impressed by the silk material wore by the daughter of the land lord and wishes to express her desire but was scared as she never saw her mother expressing anything My ancestor loves to play with children's living in the vicinity " such as flying kites and sliding down a stairway railing, to activities meant to emulate the adult males around them - playing the zither, writing poetry, and enacting a ritual washing of the Buddha."1 . As she grew up she had to wear old clothes of her mother. She always wore her hairs in two coils. She was amazed one day when unexpectedly her father took her to the market and was excited to see shopkeepers as' "one merchant is raising banners above his shop, another is supervising the unloading of grain sacks from transport boats on the Canal. Another individual is getting dressed, and the establishments, many of which seem to be for eating and drinking, seem on the whole relatively deserted2 . She looked strangely when she saw a person walking with them with his young son and another man came and did a strange practice. She asked her father what the man did and he replied that this is a tradition: "When a father goes out The son must follow behind If on a road he meets a senior He puts his feet together and joins his hand In front of a senior, He does not spit on a ground"3 She became happy as she thought his father will ignore her question now she expected something more from he father and thought he might buy something for her but her excitement comes to an end when her feet were binded. When my ancestor grew up she thought that it is said that Confucius tells us how to"act in accordance with the principle of humanity"4 then why she and other girls have to face this inhuman act of foot binding. When my ancestor turns 19 her mother told her that the greatest duty of women is to have a son. On one morning when she gets up she saw an astrologer in her home who was discussing something with her father whereas her mother was sitting aside. Suddenly she remembered that her mother told her once that, "Fortune tellers were called upon to determine the most appropriate time for a wide variety of important life events within the family, including the best day to open a business, hold a funeral or inter the dead, or start school. When two families proposed a marriage arrangement, a necessary step included taking the names of the prospective bride and groom to the local prognosticator, who would then determine whether or not the match was auspicious, based on an evaluation of the characters in the names"5. When the astrologer went away she asked her mother what was happening there and she gets to know that she is getting married very soon with the boy selected by her father. He was the son of a fellow farmer working with her father. Many thoughts arouses in the mind of my poor ancestor, she couldn't remember a single day when her father looked at her with love and affection and she was truly aware with the upcoming life after watching her mother working more than her father. Finally my ancestor and daughter no 2 for her parents gets married to the guy chosen by her father and went to the home of their in-laws. She was now named "saakhi". Her husband carries his newly married bride over a pan of burning coals when she was about to enter her in-laws home in order to check if his wife would pass through labor successfully. My ancestor soon gets pregnant after her marriage and got many instructions from her mother-in-law including not to gossip or laughing loudly, to sit on a crooked mat and to look at clashing colors. She also gets a strong herbal potion to drink in order to minimize the strains of labor. After nine months my ancestor delivered a baby girl. She was very happy and looked at her husband who didn't seem to be much happy. When Saakhi got rid of the post delivery strains she started working with her husband in farms. It became very hard for her to work on her knees as she was unable to stand because of her binded feet. She again thought of the love and affection given by her mother and that she always use to say that, "nature is spirit and destiny is material energy. When nature is supported by destiny it is like a bird buoyed up and carried along by wind _flying freely with little effort" 6.She had a desire to live a life of free bird. All the poor women working in farms use to express their feelings in "NUSHU language" as the males of community didn't understand this language. My dear ancestor saakhi was very hard working and worked in home and farm as well. She told her daughter not to fight with any other child as "unity and expansion have been as much more to the credit of Chinese people then fragmentation and contraction".7 Despite the pain of foot binding she never gave up her work. Though her husband never bothered to talk to her other than work and treated her as slave but she loved her husband deeply and had great respect for him. She had to face taunt and regret from her in-laws as she was unable to give birth to a son and was a mother of three daughters. One night her husband informed her that he is planning to get married as she was unable to give birth to a baby boy. My poor ancestor had nothing to say as she was not asked for permission but was informed only. Alas! How broken she would be after thinking that how hard she struggled to make her life better, to help her husband, to bring little smile on face of her angel girls. She wished to bring a silk frock for her daughter, that she never get to wear but now what will happen All her dreams shattered in a while and she had nothing left, my ancestor was all broken with many questions in her mind i.e. her husband never loved her Was she just a slave for him He used her to satisfy her sexual needs Did she mean nothing to him She thought that it's a principle of nature that women have to face problems or if,"Principle is something that people and animals alike get from heaven"8 With all these thoughts in her mind she went into the lap of that disappointed night. In the morning her life continues with same routine house job and then farms and her three beautiful daughters. My ancestor was happy with her three daughters and her normal life. As her husband said he married a women and my ancestor have to share her husband with another women. Both of them lived in the same house but never bothered to talk to each other and so did her husband. He avoided coming to my ancestor's room and started living like if he doesn't know her and as if my ancestor thinks she doesn't meant anything to him. Though she was behaving normally but her mind was busy in thinking,"what can I do to attain a reverent attitude"9 Soon after their marriage the second wife of her husband gave birth to baby boy and obviously gained love and affection of the whole family. My ancestor and her daughters had to bear the ignorance of her husband and in-laws. Saakhi kept on working in farms and whatever she used to get from her husband; she kept it safely for the bright future of her daughters. My ancestor did not want make them feel that they are inferior to boys and that's why are being neglected. She raised her daughters making them feel proud that they are girls and are special for their mother. She didn't call them daughter number 1, 2 or 3 but gave them a name. She makes them proud by saying that they are girls and girls are more beautiful then boys in every sense. They are special and have feelings and emotions. My ancestor wanted to but fails to save her daughters from the cruel customs. Her daughters often questioned her about why ,"women do not take part extra familial affairs"10 They had to face all the problems that she had faced and she couldn't do anything as she had to survive in the society where women are inferior to men, and where the problems for women never come to an end. They have to suffer one way or other. But the difference is that my ancestor was brave enough to make her daughter think that they are special and are very dear to her without any regret that they are girls. Problems Foot Binding: My ancestor doesn't want her daughters to bear pain of foot binding but their father takes them and did the cruel act. All the three daughters have to bear the same pain faced by their mother. The practice of foot binding was very common in ancient China as it was considered a symbol of beauty and was used to make women feel inferior to man. After foot binding women is not able to walk comfortably and become physically weak Boys vs. Girls: In ancient China men are allowed to marry if their wife fails to give birth to a boy. And in case if the husband dies women are not allowed to marry and if women married after the death of their husbands, they were given death as a penalty. Solutions: The lack of proper education is the only reason behind all these issues. Especially men of such society need guidance and education so that they could understand that foot binding is an inhuman act and that, daughters and sons, both are of same importance. In ancient Chinese civilization poor women use to work more hard than man so they should understand that if their women will be healthy and physically fit they will get more benefit. As they will work more hard and will help them earn bread and butter. Works Cited Gernet, Jacques, Daily Life in China, On the Eve of the Mongol Invasion, 1250-1276, Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1962. Ebrey, Patricia Buckley, Chinese Civilization: A Sourcebook, 2nd Edition, Michigan, UM: University of Michigan, 1993. Zurndorfer, H. ed. Nan N: Men, Women, and Gender in Early and Imperial China, Virginia, US: University of Virginia, 1999. Chu, T. C., Mrs. Ping-sa (Hu) Chu, The Women of Old China: A Review of the Position of Women in Ancient China, Peking, China: Peking Leader Press, 1929. Schafer, Edward H., Ancient China, New York, NY: Time-Life Books, 1967. Young, Serenity, e.d. Encyclopedia Of Women And World Religion, Volume 2, New York, NY: MacMillan, 1999. Read More