theme 4: Social and Cultural changes 1949-76 Flashcards
What did Confucianism say?
Men superior to women
Respect ancestor (ancestor worship)
Specific gender roles
What was foot binding
The breaking and binding of feet to make feet small which was considered attractive
When was foot binding outlawed
1911 but still continued in some rural areas
When was the marriage law
1950
What did the marriage law ban.
Arranged marriages, bride price, concubinage and polygamy.
Men could not divorce wife is she was pregnant or within a year of giving birth
What did marriage law allow.
Divorce, women could keep property already owned after marriage
How did mao try and implement marriage law?
Launched huge propaganda campaign initially an a second one in 1953
When was the land distribution campaign?
1950
What did he land distribution campaign allow
Women could own land in their own name. Short lived as collectivisation meant no one could own their own land
Why should have communes been good for women
Nurseries, launderers and canteens were provided
Why weren’t communes good for women?
Few communes had good facilities
Work points meant women earned less due to physical limits f
Why weren’t work points good for women
Physical labour meant women earns less. In times of famine men were prioritised for food as they were more productive. Caused many to turn to prostitution
Was there an increase in divorces during famine.
Yes. In gansu province divorce rate increased by 60 % during famine
How did the removal of family value impact children and old people
Children without mothers were sold or abandoned
Old people were abandoned and left to fend for themselves especially during famine
During cultural revolution what were children told
The CCP and mao were there real parents
What was the “lost generation”
The teenagers sent to the countryside when red guard disbanded as they found it difficult to reintegrate in society
Mao and birth rate
Mao was originally in favour of a huge population for mass mobilisation campaigns but realised there wasn’t enough resources for huge population.
In 1962 contraception became widely available
In 1970s mao wanted the birth rate to be reduced to 2%. Later pressurised women into limiting number of children to 2
What did maos ideas on birthdate lead to
One child policy in 1979
In first year of marriage law how many women divorced
1 million
How many women were in the workforce
1949-76 number of women in industry quadrupled
Still less than 1/3 of the work force
What did women have to sacrifice for emancipation?
Any feminine roles
Where was the strongest resistance to female liberation
Rural area specifically Muslim areas where arranged marriage was part of their culture
Example of resistance to women’s role changing
Many party officials disagreed so did not enforce policies such as the marriage law
Practices like foot binding continued in places such as xiangxi
Literacy in China
Majority of peasant illiterate
1950s set up national primary education system
Literacy increased from 20% in 1949 to 50% in 1960
Cultural revolution slowed progress and by 1976 only 70% literate
