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Ancient China Oppression

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Oppression of Women in Ancient China Society in Ancient China, more specifically during imperial China, promoted gender inequality. This fostered the oppression of women in marriage. Society proved to have business-like views of marriage through their arrangement as well as foot binding and Nushu, a woman’s secret language. Further, religious views such as Confucius ideals on a woman’s role in society impacted how women were treated in society. Because religion and society viewed them as inferiors, women were forced to enter marriages that promoted oppression and gender inequality. In Ancient China, marriage was seen as a business decision rather than a union of love between two people. During the reign of the Zhou dynasty (1045-256 BCE), marriage among the elites was often viewed as the combination of two families. When a woman married a man, she often brought sisters along with her. These sisters, and sometimes female cousins, would be presented as accessory brides. (Shaughnessy, E., 2010) Women were never offered this luxury, therefore demonstrating how women were viewed as inferior. “Prejudice in China existed long before Confucianism. However, it was Confucianism that turned the marriage system into bondage of women, treating them as possessions for their husbands.” (Gao, X. 2003) Confucius was a man who …show more content…
In Ancient Imperial China, this was seen as an important way for parents to prepare their daughters for the real world. These harsh and sometimes cruel acts created a daughter so submissive to her parents, that they could then begin to bind her feet. (Hong, F., 1997) This foot binding required painful breaking and shaping of the young girl’s foot. This demonstrates that in order to do such physical damage to the foot, daughters were expected to be extremely submissive. This proved to be in preparation for being able to obey their husbands

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