Patriarchal Dogmas Confucius - Essay Example

The Analects of Confucius The purpose of this essay is to not only discuss Confucius but also the role of women in his life. The role of wives in relationship to their husbands as well as the role of mothers and their relationships with their sons will also be discussed. Confucius was born with the name K’ung Ch’iu. He came from a poor family within the town of Lu. His life began at a time where China was controlled by princes, each aspiring to pursue war, high taxation and oppression of the people. China was divided into feudal states at the time. The boy who would grow up to be Confucius, was almost entirely self educated. Although the goals of Confucius were to reinstall virtue among the Chinese people, his patriarchal dogma served only to further oppress women through male dominance and opinion. As Ch’iu grew into adulthood, he began to ponder heavy philosophical questions and topics. Specifically, Ch’iu was concerned with ethical philosophy. He wanted to take his ideals and share them with others, particularly those in positions of power such as the ruling princes. Although his principles were rejected by the princes and warlords, they were embraced by the people who had spent their lives in oppression. Confucius’ views on women and their roles were not in any way parallel to progressive feminist thought. Confucius’ life spanned from 551BC to 479BC during a time when male dominance was common in most societies and women were considered to be less than men in worth, intellect and overall contribution. Confucius felt that women needed to be kept “in their place” as to not become insolent towards the man or the master of the house, “Analects 7:23: The Master said, Women and little people are hard to handle. If you let them get close, they presume, and if you keep them at a distance, they resent it.”(Women and Confucius, 2004). Like so many other philosophy and religion of old, the philosophy of Confucius excluded women and their possible rights and values. Confucius documented much of his theory and teachings, which are still observed and followed today in China. In fact, it is thought that some of the gender roles etched in stone among Chinese culture, originated with the teachings of Confucius. China reveres the birth of male children but frowns upon female children. China remains a male dominant society with expectations of submissive, passive women. This ideology is though to have originated with Confucius’ teachings. The role of a wife according to Confucius, was to serve her husband. A woman was thought to be weak and also dark or somewhat sinister. Men were viewed as the strong, intelligent and good. Confucius taught that everyone had a role in society and the embracing and excepting of that role made society as a whole, a better place to be. The role of women was simply a lesser, subservient position that existed to aid the men. The roles applied to both the husband and the wife within Confucius doctrine, is that the husband’s role is protector of the wife while the wife’s role is to serve and take care of her husband. It is described as a master/servant relationship and has little to do with mutual respect or equality. When a woman and a man became husband and wife, the wife was instructed by Confucius doctrine, to move into the husband’s house and serve and cater to his every need and demand. There was little room for the needs of the woman or her feelings. The role of woman also extended to that of motherhood. Confucius viewed the mother/son relationship as an important one as the raising of a son was paramount to a patriarchal society. Interestingly, when a woman gave birth in Confucius society, she was allowed to rest for a month and was given a special diet. Items requires by the new baby were to be provided by the family of the mother of the baby on specific dates during the baby’s first year of life. Confucius taught that pregnant women were guarded by the growing fetus within them. He taught that if anyone disturbed or upset the pregnant women during her pregnancy, that the spirit of the fetus would punish the offender. Confucius placed a great deal of emphasis on the different relationships within society and how those relationships effected society overall. The main relationships that Confucius acknowledged were as follows: Husband/wife, father/son, Older person/younger person/ minister/follower and friend/friend. Again, the idealism behind Confucianism teaching focused mainly on male centered importance versus male and female equality. Women in Confucius societies had little to no power to make any decisions for themselves. Their marriage partner was almost always chosen for them and they were expected to be subordinate not only to their husbands but also tot their sons and brothers. Incidentally, demographics of Confucius societies show a much higher death rate for female babies as opposed to male babies. It was a great honor (and remains so tot his day in China) to give birth to a male baby but not a great honor at all to give birth to a female child. One particularly barbaric custom that originated with Confucianism is the biding of feet. This custom involves tightly wrapping the feet of young girls on through to adulthood to first and foremost symbolize the pain of the female role within society. Another possible reason for this practice has been said to be to keep the feet of women from growing too large. It is considered an unattractive attribute for women in China to have large feet. Feet binding is extremely painful and damaging to the bone growth in the feet. Each month, young girls would have their feet re-wrapped by a binder. This custom frequently involved broken bones and permanent deformities, not to mention agonizing pain. Overall the women in Confucius society were expected to be servants and silent ones at that, ‘The ideal woman becomes someone who is retiring, silent and fertile. She possesses inner strength and is known for her forbearance and patient sense of restraint. In South Korea, the cumulative effect of the Confucian tradition led Harvard professor Tu Wei-ming to write, the "blatant insensitivity in deprecating gender equality reflects an East Asian mentality with deep Confucian roots.’”(Confucianism, 2006). Works Cited: Confucianism, 2006, retrieved from website at: http://confucianism.freehostingguru.com/ Women in Confucianism, 1996, retrieved from website at: http://www.womeninworldhistory.com/lesson3.html Women and Confucius, 2004, retrieved from website at: http://www.umass.edu/wsp/implications/ask/women.html Read More