From ancient times to the early 20th century, women in China have experienced gender inequality in family, marriage, and society. Women revolutionaries played an important role in bringing the end of the Qing Dynasty and calling for changes in gender inequality in China. Following the past revolutions, the 1911 revolution addressed gender inequality by emancipating people’s minds with nationalism.
Before the 1911 Revolution, the late 19th century imperialism exposed the late-Qing political thinkers and reformers, such as Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao, to Western and Japanese ideologies, including the concepts of equality and nationalism. According to Kang’s perceptions of the Grand Commonality, he pointed out that only “peace-and-quality and humanness can save people from the Age of Disorder,” (Debary and Lufrano, 2000, 271-273). As a reversion to individuality, the Grand Commonality promotes egalitarianism, in terms of race, class, clan, and family. His perceptions of the nine boundaries also manifested the concept of “equality”: the fourth is gender boundaries — division by male and female; the fifth is familial boundaries — the private relationships of husband and wife, (Debary and Lufrano, 272). His insight of equality under the structure of power explains why he became involved in efforts toward practical reform like his movements to abolish foot binding. Since gender inequality has been rooted in ancient China, Kang’s concepts of Grand Commonality and the nine boundaries provided possible alternatives for women’s liberation from traditional restrictions in China. Furthermore, Liang emphasized the importance of bridging the gap between elites and masses in his perception of “renewing the people”, (Debary and Lufrano, 289). Liang pointed out that whether the people are unified or not can largely influence the state’s capacity. If the people can associate with and protect each other, a sense of nationalism will be achieved, therefore making reformation possible.
In 1905, studying in Japanese institutions of higher learning was encouraged by Sun Yat-sen, the leader of a student led group, Revolutionary Alliance (中华同盟会) (Debary and Lufrano, 187). According to the public declaration, the basic principle behind the new political and economic structure is liberty, equality, and fraternity. The declaration invited the people to govern their own country, instead of being ruled by a foreign race — the Manchu. In order to establish a republic and overthrow the Manchu regime, “all citizens will have the right to participate in the government”, (Debary and Lufrano, 189). Given the right to be involved in the government, all people could feel empowered and hopeful for the revolution. Administered by the military command, the revolutionary army and local governments should address not only political abuses but also social abuses, which include “the cruel custom of foot-binding,” (Debary and Lufrano, 190). The Revolutionary Alliance clearly addressed the importance of political rights and the elimination of social abuses like foot-binding, which largely facilitated the emancipation of people’s minds from the ancient customs and therefore new changes.
Influenced by the members of Sun’s Revolutionary Alliance, Qiu Jin was one of the revolutionary feminists in the early twentieth century. In her speech of An Address to My Two Hundred Million Women Compatriots in China, she called for the end of foot binding, arranged marriage, and 3-year widowhood, (Debary and Lufrano, 185). Qiu invited the audience to resonate with the sufferings of the majority of women in China and to oppose these restrictions together. She underscored that “there was no discrimination between men and women when High Heaven originally gave birth to humankind” (Debary and Lufrano, 186). Qiu asked the audiences to be aware of the serious gender inequality rooted in Chinese society and to be dependent on themselves to make changes, including providing equal opportunities for sons and daughters of education. Besides, Qiu criticized Confucians’ ideas, including “Man is lofty, woman lowly,” “In women a lack of talent makes for virtue” and “The husband is the yardstick to his wife,”(Debary and Lufrano, 186). Similar to Kang and Liang, Qiu reflected on traditional Confucian ideas and their influences on the structure of power in China. She emphasized the necessity of opposing them and embracing new changes. At the end of the speech, Qiu suggested that women should rely on themselves, instead of placing hope on men.
He Yinzhen, an early 20th-century Chinese feminist and anarchist, argued in her essay “On the Question of Women’s Liberation” that the goal of equality cannot be achieved except through women’s liberation, (Liu, Karl, and Ko, 2013, 53). She emphasized the rooted enslavement of women in China by criticizing the ancient traditions of gender, including the differentiation between men and women (男女有别) and the confinement of women to household and raising children. In The Book of Rites, when a married aunt, sister, or daughter returns home, no brother should sit with her on the same mat or eat with her from the same dish, (Liu, Karl and Ko, 2013, 53). The ancient Chinese traditions confined women in terms of family and marriage, and hardly could these women be aware of the flaws in these ideas in ancient times.
Moreover, he compared and contrasted gender inequality in Europe and America with that in China. The men in Europe and America may lure women with their wealth or a woman’s family fortune could cause a man to admire her or propose marriage, (Liu, Karl and Ko, 58). Wealth was also considered essential in China’s arranged marriage, which caused women to be men’s personal property. In this case, He argued that “the undevelopment of the character of women (女性) and the lack of equality could led to the state of inequality as human rights (人权) are concerned,” (Liu, Karl and Ko, 59). He further asked that “should women’s right to vote be concentrated in the hands of a few rich ladies”? To liberate women, she argued that there should be no oppression between men and women and between lower-class and upper-class women. The main principles of the 1911 Revolution continuously manifested themselves in the revolutionaries’ proposals. Exposed to Western social systems and new ideas about marriage and human rights, He was able to address the flaws in traditional social constructions for both women in China as well as in the West.
The 1911 Revolution, women’s movements, and previous revolutions conditioned each other continuously. The group of revolutionaries, including Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao, Zou Rong, Qiu Jin, and He Yinzhen, addressed the structure of power by learning about Western and Japanese ideas and promoting nationalism and social changes. These people contributed to facilitating equality and fighting against traditional Chinese customs like foot binding. The end of China’s last imperial dynasty symbolized the beginning of China’s newborn democracy, which cultivated women’s efforts to seek equal rights for both sexes and all citizens’ participation in political affairs in the future.
Author: Iris Guo
Reference:
- Chen, Janet, Peikai Cheng and Michael Lestz, editors. 2013. The Search for Modern China: A Documentary Collection. New York: W. W. Norton, 2013.
- Debary, Wm. Theodore and Richard Lufrano, editors. 2000. Sources of Chinese Tradition: Volume 2: From 1600 Through the Twentieth Century. New York Columbia University Press.
- He, Yinzhen 河殷震, On the Question of Women’s Liberation (女子解放问题). 1907.
- Liu, Lydia, Rebecca Karl and Dorothy Ko, editors. 2013. The Birth of Chinese Feminism: Essential Texts in Transnational Theory. New York: Columbia University Press.Rowe, William T. 2009. China’s Last Empire: The Great Qing. The Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
