"Lessons for Women" by Ban Zhao has been a work of literature that has survived the many ancient empires of its time. This piece impacted the Confucian women of the Han Dynasty and has lived to keep on giving its lessons today. Her work has acted a legacy to a great woman and has offered insight in regards to the life in Ancient China. Except, where did Ban Zhao grow up in? What caused her to have these ideals? Why did she write this? How did she intend this piece to be used? As a successful historian and important female role-model and leader in the Han dynasty, Ban Zhao 's Confucianism influenced her to write this work. I think that Ban Zhao wanted to help out all women when she wrote this piece.
The author, Ban Zhao, came from a prominent …show more content…
There is a sense beyond that, perhaps it is addressing not only Confucian women, but rather, all women in general. In the 4th and 5th paragraphs, Ban Zhao uses the sentence starters "Let the woman..."Ban Zhao always addresses the woman, while she never explicitly says 'the wife ' or 'the mother, ' based off of the text, she speaks to the role of a woman in the home. She addresses the woman of the home in the remark "Let a woman retire late to bed, but rise early to duties;" As the woman of her home, Ban Zhao is telling other women to play the proper role in the home, that is, assist all around the house and take up the typical duties of a woman. She explicitly states that "Let her not refuse to perform domestic duties whether easy or difficult. By 'domestic, ' Ban Zhao means the duties of the home, this only supports the fact that Ban Zhao is speaking to the woman of the home. Ban Zhao 's intention with this piece is that all women try to take in to account the advice she is giving and incorporate it into their daily lives. There are multiple themes in this piece, for example, some women can view it as a guideline on how to be a wife, some other people can view it as advice for a lifestyle, regardless if you are the woman of the household. I think that some people that read this today may not weigh the same amount of value to this piece. Some women may find submitting to their husbands and staying at home as some sort of oppression. Still, there are women out there who take part in certain religions that practice having a humble wife and these women may seek for help and refuge in this piece
The author, Ban Zhao, came from a prominent …show more content…
There is a sense beyond that, perhaps it is addressing not only Confucian women, but rather, all women in general. In the 4th and 5th paragraphs, Ban Zhao uses the sentence starters "Let the woman..."Ban Zhao always addresses the woman, while she never explicitly says 'the wife ' or 'the mother, ' based off of the text, she speaks to the role of a woman in the home. She addresses the woman of the home in the remark "Let a woman retire late to bed, but rise early to duties;" As the woman of her home, Ban Zhao is telling other women to play the proper role in the home, that is, assist all around the house and take up the typical duties of a woman. She explicitly states that "Let her not refuse to perform domestic duties whether easy or difficult. By 'domestic, ' Ban Zhao means the duties of the home, this only supports the fact that Ban Zhao is speaking to the woman of the home. Ban Zhao 's intention with this piece is that all women try to take in to account the advice she is giving and incorporate it into their daily lives. There are multiple themes in this piece, for example, some women can view it as a guideline on how to be a wife, some other people can view it as advice for a lifestyle, regardless if you are the woman of the household. I think that some people that read this today may not weigh the same amount of value to this piece. Some women may find submitting to their husbands and staying at home as some sort of oppression. Still, there are women out there who take part in certain religions that practice having a humble wife and these women may seek for help and refuge in this piece