Hist 4810
Women in China
Spring 2007
Dr. Yüan-ling Chao
Peck Hall 266 (898-2629)
e-mail:ychao@mtsu.edu
Office Hours: TR 12:40-2:15 p.m., W 11:30 a.m.-12-30 p.m. & by appointment
Women in China
The goal of this course is to sharpen the critical thinking skills of students concerning
gender and cultural issues as well as to learn about Chinese society. We will examine
women in China within the context of family, community, and state, recognizing the
complex roles they play as daughter, mother, wife, daughter-in-law, sister, aunt ...etc.
Early imperial China saw the formation of cultural values and social practices that
continued to influence women in the later centuries. This does not mean that women’s
position and gender relations remained static, on the contrary, we see significant changes
and transitions in the medieval and early modern periods. The later period, from the
seventeenth to the twentieth centuries, witnessed some of the most turbulent upheavals in
Chinese society. It not only saw China suffer repeated humiliation at the hands of foreign
nations, endure internal uprisings, revolts and the eruption of two major political
revolutions, but also experience fundamental social changes that threatened the very
essence of Chinese culture. The portrayal of traditional Chinese women have been
exoticized by images of footbinding and forced seclusion. But this is but one piece of the
picture, and we need to remember that there is tremendous diversity in China and this
applies to Chinese women as well. While China is undoubtedly a patriarchal society
where male heirs are more valued, both traditional and modern Chinese women have
found ways to exhibit their talents, express their desires, and show their character.
Books:
Patricia Ebrey The Cambridge Illustrated History of China
Bret Hinsch
Women in Early Imperial China
Susan Mann
Precious Records
Ida Pruitt
A Daughter of Han
Wang Zheng Women in the Chinese Enlightenment
Jung Chang
Wild Swans
There are readings on reserve in the Walker Library and there will also be additional
handouts in class.
Requirements:
1. 5% Attendance (grades for attendance will be calculated as follows:0-1
absence: A; 2-3 absences: B; 4-5 absences C; 6-7 absences: D; 8 & over: F. Students
who arrive more than 10 minutes late or leave early will be counted as absent)
2. 10% Participation
3. 20% Midterm
4. 30% 2 Writing Assignments
5. 35% Final Paper or Final Examination
(+/- will be used for this course)
Make-up Policy
There will be NO make-ups unless there is proof of a medical emergency. Missed tests
and examinations will count as Fs.
Statement on Plagiarism
Any form of cheating (including plagiarism) on any assignment or examination will
result in a grade of “F’ for the course and further disciplinary action by the University.
“Plagiarize” is defined in Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary as “to steal and pass off
(the ideas or words of another) as one’s own,” “use (a created production) without
crediting the sources,” “to commit literary theft: present as new and original an idea or
product derived from an existing source.”
Statement of Accommodation
Reasonable Accommodation for Students with Disabilities: If you have a disability that
may require assistance or accommodation, or you have questions related to any
accommodations for testing, note takers, readers, etc., please speak with me as soon as
possible. Students may also contact the Office of Disabled Students Services (898-2783)
with questions about such services.
Lecture and Reading Schedule:
Jan.
Feb.
16
Engendering China
Readings: Ebrey Chs. 1 & 2
18
Early Imperial China
Readings: Ebrey Ch. 3; Hinsch Chs. 1-2
23
Women and Family
Readings: Hinsch Chs. 3-5; “Women’s Virtue and Vices” (handout)
25
Women and Education
Readings: Hinsch Chs. 6-8
30
China in Transition: Nomadic Invasion and Cultural Assimilation
Readings: Ebrey Chs. 4-6; “The Ballad of Mulan” (handout)
1
Film: Mulan
6
Discussion
Recommended reading: Don Lan, “Writing Chinese America into Words
and Images: Storytelling and Retelling of The Song of Mu Lan” The Lion
and the Unicorn Volume 30, Number 2, April 2006 (available:
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/lion_and_the_unicorn/v030/30.2dong.html)
Writing Assignment I due
8
Tang and Song China
Readings: Ebrey Chs. 5 & 6
13
Women in Tang-Song China
Readings: (on reserve) Patricia Ebrey, “Women, Marriage, and the Family
in Chinese History,” in Paul Ropp ed. Heritage of China, Ch. 8 (pp. 197223); selections from Family and Property in Sung China: Yüan Ts’ai’s
Precepts for Social Life (handout)
15
Late Imperial China
Readings: Ebrey Chs. 7-9; Mann Chs. 1-3
20
Learned Women
Readings: Mann Chs. 4-6; (on reserve) Dorothy Ko, Ch. 1 “In the Floating
World: Women and Commercial Publishing” in Teachers of the Inner
Chamber
Mar.
Apr.
22
Working Women
Readings: Mann Chs. 7 & 8; Pruitt Book 1 & 2; (on reserve) Francesca
Bray, Fabrics of Power , Ch. 5 “Economic Expansion and Changing
Divisions of Labor”
27
Footbinding
Readings: Pruitt Book 3; Dorothy Ko, “The Body as Attire: The Shifting
Meanings of Footbinding in Seventeenth-Century China,” in Journal of
Women’s History vol. 8.4 (1997): 8-27 (available through Project Muse)
1
Discussion
Writing Assignment II due
6
Spring Break
8
Spring Break
13
Midterm
15
Women and the 1911 Chinese Revolution
Readings: Ebrey Ch. 10; Zheng Chs. 1 & 2
20
The May Fourth Movement
Readings: Zheng Chs. 3-5; “Qing Female Chastity” (handout)
22
The Modern Woman: Enlightenment and Liberation?
Readings: Zheng Chs. 6-8;“Riding China of Bad Customs” in Chinese
Civilization (handout)
27
Film: Raise the Red Lantern
29
Discussion
Writing Assignment III due
3
Republican China: WWII and Civil War
Readings: Chang Chs. 1-7
5
Communist Victory: The People’s Republic of China
Readings: Ebrey Ch. 11; Chang Chs. 8-15
10
Film: Small Happiness
12
Socialist China, Socialist Woman
Readings: Chang Chs. 16-28
17
Cultural Revolution and Post-Mao China
Readings: “The Changing Course of Courtship” “The One-Child
Family”(handout)
19
Film: Wild Swans
24
Discussion and Overview
Writing Assignment IV due
Final Examination: May 3 (Thursday) 3:30-5:30 p.m.