Women in China

Crystal Luciano          

02/23/14

Essay 3 First Draft



Women in China



During the early ages Chinese women were often discriminated against by older men. They were often abused and treated unfairly by their men. Older women were usually uninformed about many issues such as family planning and some were forbidden to learn how to read and write. Obviously over the years this has changed and although Chinese cultures are very traditional and rarely stray away from the “old ways”, in some cases nothing was ever changed. For example women were able to obtain power by becoming a mother they would have the respect of their sons and husbands as well.

At a very young age Chinese women were always taught to be submissive to their fathers and husbands.   It all began with the Han Dynasty which states that scholars and rulers had developed a male dominance. During this Dynasty Confucian thoughts had a great influence on the official education that has been passed down year after year. In the later dynasties it has been known that male authority had been highly enforced during this time causing the women to have a lower status. A way for a women to higher there status was to become a mother. However, if a women had a baby girl it was frowned upon, baby boys were what was always wanted in the family so they can carry on the family name. By having a girl in the family would put a stop to the name and dishonor that entire family.   Some of the Confucian ideas were that women were not allowed to rule or be seen as rulers. The ideas of women were always seen as a waste and if a women would speak up there were consequences or they would simply be ignored. Many of the Confucian ideas still carry on to today’s family and women are often treated the same. I was able to interview an older lady and her grandchildren about this topic; she was able to prove this information is correct. When asked how the girls are treated from the boys she stated “The boys are...