The Lives of Women in Ancient China

Video

Kelly Macquire
by
published on 12 April 2022

In Ancient China, it was widely known that it was better to be born a male than a female. To be born a female meant being subordinate to one’s father, then to one’s husband and if a wife became a widow, then she would be subordinate to her sons - this is a system known as the ‘three followings’ or sancong.

In ancient Chinese literature, sometimes female characters would state that they were a man in their previous life, but had been born a female in this one as a punishment for past deeds, and a common introduction for women in literature was the line ‘unfortunately she was born a woman’. There was also the tradition of idealising women in literature, while at the same time oppressing them in real life. The Four Beauties are four women whose actions dramatically affected the fate of the nation. These women are Xi Shi from the Spring and Autumn Period, Wang Zhaojun from the Han dynasty, Diaochan a fictional character from the book Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Yang Guifei who was both idealised and demonised. There is also the example of the legendary Chinese literary character Mulan, who could only bring honour and help her family dressed as a man, not as a woman.

One woman who started off as a concubine for the emperor but ended up seizing power herself was Wu Zetian. She was first a concubine for the Tang dynasty emperors Taizong and then Gaozong, and, after reigning as regent for her sons Zhongzhong and Ruizong, she eventually took the throne for herself, and proclaimed herself as emperor. There was also Ban Zhao who lived between 41 and c. 115 CE and wrote commentaries on the Confucian classics and became one of the most famous female writers and scholars in early China.

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— CHAPTERS —
0:00​ Introduction
0:59 The Views of Women in Ancient China
4:06 Marriage and Home Life in Ancient China
8:06 Chinese Concubines and Courtesans
10:31 Outro

— WANT TO KNOW MORE? —
Women in Ancient China https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1136/women-in-ancient-china/
Wu Zetian https://www.worldhistory.org/Wu_Zetian/
Ancient China https://www.worldhistory.org/china/
Daily Life in Ancient China https://www.worldhistory.org/article/890/daily-life-in-ancient-china/
Mulan: The Legend Through History https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1596/mulan-the-legend-through-history/
Song of Everlasting Sorrow https://www.worldhistory.org/article/888/song-of-everlasting-sorrow/

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Wu Zetian: the First and Only Empress of Imperial China https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FZjaKO9YLs
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— ATTRIBUTIONS —
You can find all attribution and credits for images, animations, graphics and music here - https://worldhistory.typehut.com/the-lives-of-women-in-ancient-china-images-and-attributions-8971

The music used in this recording is the intellectual copyright of Michael Levy, a prolific composer for the recreated lyres of antiquity, and used with the creator's permission. Michael Levy's music is available to stream at all the major digital music platforms. Find out more on:
https://www.ancientlyre.com
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5v?si=emacIH9CRieFNGXRUyJ9
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ1X6F7lGMEadnNETSzTv8A

— THUMBNAIL IMAGE —
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mulan,_18th_century,_ink_and_colors_on_silk.jpg / https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/A_1936-1009-0-83 / User: Cold Season
Public Domain US / faithful reproductions of two-dimensional public domain works of art are public domain

Still from Mulan, Walt Disney Pictures (2020) 
https://images6.alphacoders.com/112/1124677.jpg

World History Encyclopedia
www.worldhistory.org

#ancientchina #womeninancientchina #ancientchinesewomen #womeninhistory

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About the Author

Kelly Macquire
Kelly is a graduate from Monash University who has completed her BA (Honours) in Ancient History and Archaeology, focussing on iconography and status in Pylos burials. She has a passion for mythology and the Aegean Bronze Age.

The video and its description text are provided by Youtube. This website claims no authorship of this content; we are republishing it for educational purposes.

Cite This Work

APA Style

Macquire, K. (2022, April 12). The Lives of Women in Ancient China. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/video/2766/the-lives-of-women-in-ancient-china/

Chicago Style

Macquire, Kelly. "The Lives of Women in Ancient China." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified April 12, 2022. https://www.worldhistory.org/video/2766/the-lives-of-women-in-ancient-china/.

MLA Style

Macquire, Kelly. "The Lives of Women in Ancient China." World History Encyclopedia. World History Encyclopedia, 12 Apr 2022. Web. 18 Apr 2024.

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