Traditionally, a Chinese woman is known to have lived a very tough life, through continuous humiliation from their men. No woman had a right to education, but they were supposed to live according to the Confucian guidelines. These guidelines stated clearly that women should not be equal to men, and during her childhood she should always obey her father and her male siblings.
A woman was not given any name in the family, but they were named numerically as daughter no 1, 2, or 3. Once they get married, women were supposed to act as slaves to their husbands. The women voices could not be heard anywhere in the family (Shaughnessy, 102). A Chinese man could have as many wives as possible, but a woman could not remarry if her husband died, and if she happens to remarry a death penalty would be given to her. The main activity of a Chinese woman was to bear sons, and failure of which she was divorced.
Some of the famous women who existed in traditional culture of china include, Empress Wu who used to challenge the guidelines that were meant to be followed by women, when she was the Empress ruling china. Her main theme was to raise the status of a woman in china. During her reign several temples and sculptures of caves were made until when she died (Chinnery 59). She also managed to come up with matriarchal rule in traditional china.
The mother famous Chinese woman in those old days was Xi Shi, who gained popularity as she was behind the fall of Wu kingdom. After the king approved her beauty, she was taught noble manners and ordered to work closely with the Prince of Wu. Her heritage is remembered even today in china.
Mulan took the responsibility of being a warrior. This was a non traditional role of a Chinese woman, although through it she manifested how powerful a Chinese woman can be in her activities. She managed to fight courageously and came back alive from the battle such that taking over her father’s role in war. This step acted as an inspiration to many young Chinese girls.
The story of Nuwa who was also referred to as a beautiful and full of mercy goddess has some lessons of how a woman can be determined and hardworking. The mind of a woman here is portrayed to be beyond just what was expected by the Chinese men (Shaughnessy, 113). More than giving birth, a woman was portrayed by Nuwa as an equal human being who can achieve even more than men can do. To many Chinese girls, a lesson was learnt that a woman given a chance and freedom she can achieve many productive things.
The reign of Wu Zetian was marked by several rules. Such rules included raising the status of Buddhism, preserving the 7 generations of that land ancestors, creation of a crown prince and placed the name of Wu on this prince. There was a time when she declined the request of Wang to promote Wu chengsi with the crown of a prince.
Also during her reign, Wang was beaten to death by her official just because she was angered by Wang visiting her too often (Chinnery 61). She enjoyed much the work of looking for the talented workers, and elevating their status as she knew these were the people to raise the status of the whole society for the benefits of all the citizens.
The Confucian historians criticized the ruling of Wu Zetian because as she violated the normal tradition beliefs of a woman being a wife and not a ruler. In addition, she was criticized as she managed to form a secret police branch to enforce her in retaining her authority. Apart from elevating the status of a woman in the society, she brought more scholars into the central government.
Yang Guifei was a typical figure for beauty, and her beauty made Huaqing Chi also famous as she used to take her bath there. She is ranked among the four well known beauties in traditional china. Although the girl child was discriminated, her beauty changed the whole perception.
During her time, parents stopped the act of favoring boy child only and started giving attention to girl child as well. It was a wish of every parent to have a daughter who was as beautiful as Yang. Due to her beauty, the king started falling in love with her and finally married her (Shaughnessy, 85).
Due to her presence in the king’s palace, her people were all over as the government officials. Despite the fact that her people were not well educated and had bad manners they were the officials and her family became famous and very rich making other people very angry. Although she was the source of the world appreciating baby girls, she was considered to be the source of conflict and was hanged.
The Tang Dynasty is considered to be the china’s greatest because of what was achieved during that period. The government operations were improved, technological progress was realized, and the improvement of the culture. This great dynasty started declining when Tang fell in love with concubine Yang, as he neglected much of his responsibilities and started delegating them (Chinnery 60).
Tang concentrated much on the issues of this beautiful lady and the operations of his government started collapsing due to uneducated official who came to serve other citizens.
Many people considered this lady as ruthless because of killing her own son, and they in turn associated her negative traits with Tang their ruler. The weakening of this great dynasty was associated with Tang because, if he concentrated with his work without delegating his responsibilities he would be keen and ready to meet the challenges of the rebellious groups.
In the song dynasty, despite that women were on lower status than their men, there were several privileges that were to enjoy. The song dynasty continued to become more advanced day by day, and the parents started receiving large dowries for their daughters. With time, women started even owning some legal items. Women started getting education and passing the same to their offspring. Some women went to an extent of becoming literature writers and poets as well.
The traditional Confucian family system came to an end during the song dynasty, and the Chinese women gained power over several things. At homes, a woman would now be allowed to make some decisions. Even if a woman failed to bore a son, there was no right to be divorced or be considered useless (Chinnery 56)
Incase of death of the husband a woman had a right to remarry depending on her wish. Children were treated all the same whether it’s a boy or a girl. Right now, it can be the best time to be a Chinese woman as they know their rights and no form of discrimination is imposed on them. In matters of investments, women have power to invest just as men as well as owning properties.
In conclusion, a modern Chinese woman has evolved from an unbearable environment to what can be referred to as paradise. Such a tradition is unhealthy to any human being as it may be a cause of psychological problems due to inferiority complex. Gaining confidence by such a person in future may be a great challenge. Such traditions should be buried completely to give people equal chances in this
Works Cited
Chinnery, John. Family and Society. Beijing: Michigan press, 2003.
Shaughnessy, Edward. China: Empire and Civilization. London: Oxford University Press, 2005.