Chinese history made its mark on the Chinese women’s position in society. Throughout the whole history, the position of women was constantly changing, and it had its reflection in Chinese literature. In this paper, we will make an attempt to study various aspects of the position of Chinese women’s in society judging from the books of Chinese authors.
Our research presupposes a thorough consideration of the following books: To The Storm: The Odyssey of a Revolutionary Chinese Woman by Yue Daiyun and Carolyn Wakeman, A Daughter of Han: The Autobiography of a Chinese Working Woman by Ida Pruitt and Ning Lao T’ai-T’ai. China’s Path to Modernization: A Historical Review from 1800 to the Present by Ranbir Vohra will serve as a source of background information on Chinese history.
First of all, we should mention the fact that there exist three phases of studying women’s experience in literature. They differ depending on the general trends of development the women’s position in society. The first stage embraces the works which describe the position of a woman in terms of historical development. The woman’s history is an inseparable part of the history of the whole country: the great powerful men seized power over the women. Obedient women are the main characters of the books of this group. Passive victims of their husbands, wives are described as reluctant to change their social and political position.
The second phase covers the works where the female characters become more powerful and make the first attempts to improve their status, whereas the third stage characterizes the women as a gender, not as a group.
To The Storm: The Odyssey of a Revolutionary Chinese Woman and A Daughter of Han: The Autobiography of a Chinese Working Woman, which serves us as the basis for our understanding of the status of the Chinese women in society, may be regarded as those occupying intermediate position between the first and the second stage with the prospects on the third stage.
If we consider the historical background of the works under consideration, they refer to the end of the nineteenth century, the beginning and the middle of the twentieth one. These are the Republic years, the years of the Communist state under Mao and the years of Modern Communism.
Under the Republic, Chinese woman’s main destination was to stay at home and to care for the family. Only a few of them got an opportunity to get an education, others remained uneducated.
The main character of To the Storm is a highly educated woman. Together with her husband, she is a relatively successful third-generation academic. The poem is autobiographic. Intellectual and academic features of the author’s worldview are rendered in it. We understand the woman’s position in China of that time through the main character’s assumption of everyday life.
Being a revolutionary intellectual, the main character of the book tries both to preserve her family and to remain faithful to the Chinese Communist Party. These two desires present the major themes of To the Storm.
We can judge from the book that Chinese women kept faithful to her family. Mother’s and wife’s responsibilities are the main targets Chinese women had in her life. Even in the routine labour life, the Chinese woman could find pleasant. This ability to see the best, even in the worst, enabled the woman to become strong when facing difficulties. The main character did her best to preserve her family; her everlasting spirit and courage gave her the force to gain her children a better education.
The most difficult thing for Chinese women of the described period was to combine their traditional family values with political ones. How not become disillusioned with the ruling Party if everything around is so chaotic and constantly changing? How to remain faithful to the Party, not sacrificing one’s family? These were the main questions Chinese women needed to answer.
The main character of To the Strom was able both to preserve her family and her political ideals. Being made by the Party, she never doubted its policy. One may blame the main character for her reluctance to see the failures of the Party. But this was her personal decision, and she never hesitated about it. This was certain courage to remain a Marxist intellectual all life long.
The main character serves as an example of how the Chinese Communist Party trained the generation of Chinese intellectuals: they were bred like party members instead of intellectuals capable of independent thinking.
A bit different perspective is set in another piece of Chinese literature. Though the Daughter of Han also presents the autobiography of a Chinese working woman, here, the woman is described as the one who does not dare to resist her fate at all. The authenticity of the work is achieved through retelling the story of the woman who really lived in the period described. The woman’s duty was to stay at home, to bring the children up, and to wait for her husband. Meeting one hardship after another without the support of the opium-addicted husband was the destiny of the main character of this book. We understand from here that not all women in Chinese society were powerful enough at least to observe the ongoing changes in China of that period, not to speak of their possibility to react to those changes. In the Daughter of Han, there is a character that differs from the woman type described above. This is Ning Lao’s granddaughter, who has the freedom to choose her destiny. This character is an embodiment of the new era in the Chinese treatment of a woman. Career opportunities, no urgent need to marry, the political power of a woman – these are the changes of the Chinese society the granddaughter were ready to benefit from.
More interest in the woman’s destiny that Mao’s politics advanced gave way to the equality between man and woman. Women of China of that period started to hold powerful positions in society. This time was a springboard to the new status of the woman. In Modern China, women can be seen everywhere: they are successful actors, gifted musicians, skilled scientists, promising writers and politicians.
Nowadays, we observe the results of the long-time transition of the status of a Chinese woman in society. Starting from Ancient China where Chinese women were simple objects for marriage holding no position of power, through the Republic years, the years of Communist state under Mao, the years of modern communism up to the modern status of Chinese women – this is a long-run history of Chinese women’s struggle. Looking back at their predecessors, Chinese women are thankful for the attempts that were made to improve their position. Now, being a highly-developed country, China is proud of its history and the maturity of the woman’s thought, which has enabled the woman to gain the position she deserves.
Chinese women proved once more the importance of their traditional values and their abilities to preserve them along with keeping abreast of the times. Traditional Chinese ethics plus Chinese women’s desire to meet the standards of modern life – this is the formula of their success.
References
Daiyun Y, Wakeman C. (1985). To the Storm: the Odyssey of a Revolutionary Chinese Woman. Los Angeles. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Hasan J. H. Position of Women in Chinese History. Web.
Pruitt I, T’ai-T’ai N. L. (2007) Daughter Of Han: The Autobiography Of A Chinese Working Woman. Kessinger Publishing, LLC.