Gender Roles In The Qing Dynasty

Gender

Prior to the establishment of the Republic of China, women had a significantly different role in society. During the Qing dynasty, there was a tremendous emphasize on society for individuals, both male and females to get married and produce sons. Women’s essential role in society was “childbearing and childrearing” and depending on their efforts, by raising a successful official can gain them merits and recognition. According to Paul Bailey, there are arguments that claim that Confucian ideas could be perpetuated was because of mothers’ efforts in raising the children. Women seem to have took pride in their role as there exists evidence of how elite women wrote about “exalting motherhood and their role as the transmitters of Confucian …show more content…
The idea of female chastity that the Qing government promoted was one where it encouraged women such as widows and betrothed girls to preserve their chastity in any means possible, even if suicide is necessary. While the idea of preserving female chastity may have the implication that women during the Qing were weak and submissive, some women actually used their chastity to their advantage. Widows would often remain single and independent after inheriting their deceased husband’s property by adhering to Qing’s ideas on chastity. Women who would remain unmarried because their betrothal died would also use a similar method to remain unmarried. Oftentimes, these women would oppose their parents by either joining their in-laws household or would pursue their own goals while claiming it was for the purpose of remaining …show more content…
After the May Fourth Movement however, more and more reformers like Chen Duxiu condemned Confucian ideas. He believed that Confucian beliefs placed wives at the authority of their husbands and that widows should be allowed to remarry. Beyond that, he also believed that men and women should be allowed to freely interact with each other, something that imperial China has always disapproved