Women of Imperial China essays

Women of Imperial China essays The Han dynasty's political culture differed from the Qin dynasty's regarding the role of women. The Qin had tried to lessen the influence exerted by rulers' wives and their relatives. But the early Han court was much more tolerant and this nearly led to the downfall of the dynasty It is very the history of women to the social and political history of China's early imperial era (221 BC to the tenth century AD). The complex interaction of lite and popular practices over hundreds of years resulted in the gradual penetration of orthodox ideology throughout society at large. By the late imperial period foot binding around the twelfth century to a redefinition of masculinity in the Song period (960-1279), away from an active Tang (618-907) aristocratic ideal (which included hunting, horse- back riding, polo, etc.) toward the more refined, artistic, sedentary, and contemplative ideal of the Song literatus. Such a shift, helps explain the concurrent redefinition of femininity away from an active and strong ideal toward a more delicate, frail, dependent and secluded feminine ideal of the late imperial period. Foot binding may thus have been part of an effort to differentiate Chinese culture from "loose barbarian" customs. [1] The most unique feature of Ming imperial marriages was the stipulation laid down by the Ming founder Zhu Yuanzhang that all imperial brides should come from low-ranking families. This policy was carefully followed throughout the dynasty, with the result that Ming palace women were less powerful than the imperial in-laws of any other dynasty. Difficult to arrive at clear-cut changes in marriage and the growth of lineage building in the late imperial era may best be understood as status- and wealth-building strategies suitable to an era when hereditary privilege ...