Social and cultural changes 1949 - 76 Flashcards
Before 1949, what was life like for women?
Birth of a daughter not celebrated (sometimes killed), arranged marriages were common, not provided with educational opportunities
What was foot binding
The practise of a girl having her feet bound at the age of 6 to make them as small as possible to be sexually appealing to suitors. Often would leave them crippled.
What law did Mao instate and when in support of women.
The 1950 marriage law
What famous quote did Mao make about women
“Women hold up half the sky”
What did the 1950 marriage law entail
Concubinage and arranged marriages were banned, husbands and wives had equal status at home, a wife could inherit husbands assets, divorce much easier
In what way was the new marriage law not entirely effective
The law led to increased divorce rates which made husbands feel they had lost their investments, violence broke out as mobs tried to reclaim divorced wives.
How were women treated on the communes
Almost on par with men however they still did domestic chores, they did equal work on the fields, they had to leave children in dirty kindergartens.
What were the issues with women being equal to men on the communes
Women physically less strong than men hence found hard manual labour far more taxing which resulted in less work points, they turned to prostitution for food, sex abuse common, pregnant women forced to work during pregnancy.
What association did Mao start in support of women
The Women’s Association
What did the Women’s Association campaign against
Prostitution, domestic violence, encouraged women to denounce men who had beaten their wifes.
How many members did the Women’s Association have at its peak
76 million
How many rural girls completed primary school in 1929 compared to 1959
38% in 1929 and 100% in 1959
What did the PLA encourage
For women to join and pursue officer rank, a degree status unheard of not only in China but the world.
What evidence was there to show the improved status of women
Women actually started courting party cadres to secure economic stability (for the streets), women attended ‘speak bitterness’ meetings, ballet called the Red Detachment of Women showing them as civil war heroes
Problems with reforms for women
Took time for many people (men) to adjust to as they still saw domestic chores as a women’s job, in more rural areas the practices still continued such as Xingjiang.
What percentage of males and females attended school before 1949
45.2% of males and 2.2% of females
What percentage of the population was illiterate before 1949
80%
How MANY children attended school between 1949 and 1957
approx. 26 million to 64 million
Who did ‘Winter Schools’ cater for
short courses for old peasants
What was the new language created for everyone to speak
Pinyin
What were the failures of educational reform
Education woefully underfunded at 6.4% of budget spent on education and culture, standard of teaching very poor some teachers barely literate themselves, during the Great Leap Forward many students did not attend to tend to their furnaces
What happened to education during the cultural revolution
Schools and Universities closed, 130 million people received no formal education
Who were the ‘barefoot doctors’
They were paramedics sent to rural areas to provide basic care for peasants, only trained for 6 months
What did the CCP launch to educate peasants on how to prevent illness
Patriotic Health Movements
How many operas were allowed
8
Who was in charge of cultural changes
Jiang Qing Mao’s wife
What did Mao say about Art and where
“There is no such thing as Art for Art’s sake or art that is detached from or independent from politics” said at Yan’an
What were Mao’s quarters in the forbidden city filled with
Full of books about classical Chinese Culture. He loved the stuff ironically.
What famous quote did mao say about culture in general
‘the dead still rule today’
What campaign did Mao launch against Culture and when did he launch it
The Four Olds Campaign in 1966
Which religion did the CCP particularly persecute
Islam and Buddism
What ancient Chinese religion was also persecuted
Confuciansism
What did people do during Chinese New Year before Mao
Burn joss sticks to honour their ancestors, make offerings to the Kitchen God and receive ‘hongbao’ small packets of money
What did people do during Chinese New Year after Mao
Erect a portrait of Chairman Mao with banners reading ‘long live the peoples republic’, instead of money giving children should be read traditional folk tales about the struggle for liberation.
