Life for Women

Question 1

What were the rules in Imperial China, as set out by Confucius?

Answer 1

• loyalty of ministers and officials to the emperor
• respect of children for their parents
• obedience of wives to their husbands

Question 2

What was Mao’s experience with women in his early life?

Answer 2

• Mao was in an arranged marriage to his cousin in 1910
  
  • Mao was only 14, his cousin was 21
  • Mao never accepted this as a real marriage
• Mao’s first ‘real’ marriage was in 1920
• involved in ‘Changsha fight’ against the practice of forced marriages in 1919

Question 3

What was the ‘Changsha fight’ in 1919 about?

Answer 3

• against the practice of forced marriages
• young girl was to be married off to a rich landlord, but she slit her throat in front of the guests
• this divided the guests into pro-arranged marriage and anti
• Mao witnessed this as was in support
  
  • later used this as an example
  • referred to it as ‘indirect rape’ and women being ‘relegated to the dark corners of society’

Question 4

What was the early CCP stance towards women?

Answer 4

• 1930-1940: Mao insisted women were the equals of men
• ‘foot binding’ was outlawed in 1940

Question 5

What happened during the Marriage Reform in 1950?

Answer 5

• Mao supported female rights with practical measures in Marriage Law
• concubinage was abolished
• arranged marriages were discontinued
• paying of dowries and ‘bride-price’ was forbidden
• men and women that had been forced to marry were entitled to divorce
  
  • many women used their freedom to divorce and remarry multiple times
• all marriages must be officially recorded and registered

Question 6

What was the ‘bride-price’?

Answer 6

Women were assessed for the likelihood of number of children they would bear and then a price was calculated for how much the husband’s family would have to pay to the bride’s family.

Question 7

What was the impact of collectivisation on the status of women?

Answer 7

• law passed that allowed women to own and sell their own property
• collectivisation 1950: women were granted land in their own name
  
  • broke tradition of men controlling all property
• life in communes meant women no longer had to be responsible for finding food and preparing it for the family

Question 8

What were the disadvantages of the increase in female rights?

Answer 8

• women could be called on to do work or men as they were now ‘equals’ in Mao’s China
  
  • usually labour-intensive jobs that women were not trained or suitable for, so took great tolls on their health
• social values and attitudes hadn’t been changed overnight
  
  • deeply ingrained Chinese tradition of male-dominated society
  • unchanging peasant attitudes
• restrictions of women in high power roles
  
  • Song Qing Ling
• tragic consequences for children
  
  • many parents divorced and women left home
  • increase in child abuse and prostitution
• increase in illegal arranged marriages and wife selling in countryside provinces

Question 9

Who was Song Qing Ling?

Answer 9

• wife of the founder of the GMD
• joined the CCP government following her husband’s death
• became the highest ranking woman in power
• complained about the unequal treatment of women
  
  • restrictions of accepting women into key roles in government and party
  • if she saw problems, then there must still be issues with the system

Question 10

Who was Ding Ling?

Answer 10

• famous Chinese feminist writer
  
  • involved in Yan’an years
• criticised Mao and CCP as hypocrites
  
  • believed they didn’t truly include women