Gender and Women's Identities in the Three Major Chinese Religious
Traditions from the Warring States Period to the Tang Dynasty
Manjun (June) Zhang, B.A. East Asian Studies
Supervisor: Professor Robin D.S. Yates, East Asian Studies,
History and Classical Studies
Part I: The Four Paradigms which Constructed the Image of Victimized
and Silent “Traditional Chinese Women” in Chinese and Western
Academy (Teng, Emma):
Chinese academy:
 May Fourth legacy: Condemned Confucianism for the universal
victimization of women in pre-modern China.
 Marxist theory: Historical development from ancient matriarchy to
feudalist patriarchy to socialist egalitarianism.
Western Academy:
 Colonial legacy:
• Missionaries and ethnologists’ reports about the status of Chinese women
focused on the subordination and oppression of Chinese women at the
end of the nineteenth century. Women’s victimization was associated
with the “backwardness” of Chinese civilization. (Image 1)
• Orientalism: On the other hand, elite Chinese women were seen as the
embodiment of the exoticism and refinement of the Orient. (Image 2)
 Feminism:
• 1960s-70s: Feminist writers emphasised the universal victimization of
Chinese women, and were primarily interested in the analysis of
“patriarchy” and the “liberalization” of women.
• Since 1980s: More concerned with differences (class, ethnicity, regional
cultures etc.) within the broader group of women.
Image 1: Chinese Women with Bound Feet
Image 2: Ladies of a Mandarin's Family at Cards, by Thomas Allom, 19th century.
Problems: the “Four Generalizations”
1.
2.
3.
4.
The generalization of “the traditional”---The treatment of “women” as an ahistorical
subject
The generalization of “the Chinese”---Neglect of ethnicity and regional difference
The generalization of “women”---Neglect of class, age, and status
The generalization of the gender preferences in religious traditions. Ex. “Patriarchal
Confucianism” vs. “Feminine Daoism”
Part II: Images of Women in the Three Religious Traditions from the Warring States Period to the Tang Dynasty
The Warring States Period
(403-221 BCE)
The Qin Dynasty (221-207 BCE) and
the Han Dynasty (202 BCE-220 CE)
Women in Confucian Tradition, the Han Dynasty
 Confucianism stressed “patrilineality” instead of
“patriarchy”; A woman’s status was determined
by her social roles, not her gender.
• Age and roles, such as mother, elevated women’s
status, while others, such as daughter-in-law,
depressed their status.
 Two types of exceptional women in the Lienü
zhuan (Image 3)
• Virtuous mother, wives and daughters ( Image 4)
• Destructive and semi-demonic beauties (Image 5)
The Six Dynasties
(220-581 CE)
The Sui Dynasty (581-618 CE) and
the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE)
Women in Buddhist Tradition: The Han Dynasty and the
Six Dynasties
 Multiple attitudes toward women and the feminine in early
Buddhist doctrines (Sponberg, Alan).
• Soteriological inclusiveness: women had equal access to the
Dharma (the Buddhist teaching).
Image 6: Xiwangmu in the Shanhai jing
• Institutional androcentrism: special regulations placed nuns in a
Image 7: Xiwangmu in Han tomb art
subordinated position to monks in monastic order.
Women in Daoist Tradition: The Warring States to the Tang Dynasty • Ascetic misogyny: women were perceived as agents of destruction
and ruin.
 Preference of the feminine in early Daoist (Daojia) canonical texts • Soteriological androgyny in Mahayana Buddhist tradition: A
bodhisattva is a being with no “self” including gender.
such as the Daodejing and the Zhuangzi?
• The emphasis of characteristics such as submissiveness and  Guanyin, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, Goddess of Mercy?
softness---Do Daoist doctrines favor the feminine over the • Initially worshipped as a male bodhisattva in India and in China
• The Six Dynasties: Wall paintings at Dunhuang show Guanyin with
masculine?
mustache (Image 8)
• Answers not clear: lexical and textual ambiguities and linguistic
skepticism. Scholars warn of the danger of taking-for-granted • Feminization of Guanyin only took place from the Song Dynasty
(Yu, Chunfang) (Image 9)
perspective on the meaning of femininity.
Image 9: Popular Image of Guanyin
• Daoism advocates gender androgyny.
Image 4 Mencius’s mother
 Xiwangmu, the Queen Mother of the West, the Most Popular Female
Deity.
Image 3 the Lienü zhuan
Image 5: Empress Zhao Feiyan • The Warring States—the Han Dynasty: fluid images and functions.
• Ex. the Shanhai jing (the Classic of Mountains and Seas): bestial
CONCLUSIONS:
and demonic traits (Image 6); Tomb Paintings: guide of the dead
 There is little sense to talk about the status of
spirit (Image 7)
women in traditional China or the attitude toward
• The Six Dynasties: incorporated into the Shangqing Daoist School,
women in any religious tradition.
shared traits with Buddha and Bodhisattvas.
 Historicization and contextualization are needed
• The Tang Dynasty: Young and attractive goddess of Immortality.
in scholarly inquiry.
Image 8: Guanyin Iconography at Dunhuang