The first female Chinese historian, Ban Zhao (c. 45 - 120) a treatise
on how women of the period should behave, which became central to the Chinese
gender system for two millennia. wrote about 106, during the period when she
was tutoring.
Purpose: teach
her daughters the customs & values of being a proper young woman
1. What does Ban Zhao tell us about the status of daughters-in-law?
What does she mean when she states, "Now and hereafter,...I know how to
escape from such fears"?
Daughter-in-laws are supposed to agree with the parents-in-law whether
they are right or wrong. They can be respected for being obedient, but are not
supposed to have much say in things.
In the quote stated, Ban Zhao tells us she was nervous about disgracing
her family, and causing trouble for her husband and his family. At the time of
writing, however, she felt more certain about what her duties were and how to
behave, and wrote Lessons for Women in order to share that experience so that
others would not have to share those worries.
2. According to Ban Zhao, what rules of propriety should govern a
marriage?
The wife is controlled by the husband's rules. A husband must be worthy
to govern his wife and a wife must be worthy to serve her husband. The husband needs
to show he is capable of ruling over the family successfully. The husband makes
sure his wife behaves properly. A husband and wife need to have harmony and
intimacy. The man should not beat his wife or use harsh words. It is a balance.
They need to love each other. I think this relationship would work. It makes
sense that a husband would need to tell a wife how to act and what to do
because women were not educated then and a woman might not know how to act
properly. Also the husband should not beat or harm his wife. He just needs to
guide her and tell her what is socially acceptable and what she needs to do
around the house.
3/4. What does Ban Zhou consider the principal duty of a husband? Of a
wife? How and why are they complementary parts of the natural order of the
universe?
Ban Zhou establishes the foundations of a noble and proper relationship
of man and woman on "Yin and Yang". As is a common saying of today,
we see "Yin and Yang" as two words that can't be said without the
other. It is the natural order to say both words together, as is a marriage. So
shall a man be authoritative over his wife, and a wife serves her husband.
Without these so-called "rules of conduct", it would destroy the
natural order. A marriage is not only a man/woman, but an abstract symbolism of
how all nature should run. If it wasn't the natural order for man and women to
mate, then would we have some of the greatest empires of ancient history??? Ban
Zhou clearly states, "Truly it is the great principle of Heaven and Earth,
and the great basis of human relationships." However, she implies that
only can these guidelines be met if the husband and wife enter marriage with
worthy intentions. If not, then will the relationship not be maintained in
proper accordance? This proper relationship should be built on two values,
harmony and intimacy.
5. Why does Ban Zhou advocate women to be educated? Do her stated
reasons strike you as her true motives? Be specific in defending your answer.
Ban Zhou believes that women should be educated, but not to seem smart
or clever. The women being educated is not supposed to amaze other people. Ban
Zhou believes that being educated is a key to life. It helps you not to
embarrass yourself in front of others, most importantly not to embarrass yourself
in front of your mother-in-law and father-in-law. I know Ban Zhou has good
intention as to why women should be educated, but in a passage from her book
she says, "...Yet only to teach men - is that not ignoring the essential
relation between them?" and, "...only why should it not be that
girls' education as well as boys' be according to this principle." I
conclude that deep down, Ban Zhou wants the same treatment of women and men,
and the first step to getting there is with educated women. Though, Ban Zhou
truly thought women should be educated, her intentions may seem a bit
obscure.
6. What was there about Ban Zhao's essay that caused it to be so highly
regarded by male confucian scholars over the following centuries?
Ban Zhao's essay is highly regarded by male Confucian scholars because
it shows how the men thought they should treat and think of the women. If the
women follow the way that is discussed in the essay the men would live a
perfect life. Both the men and the women would fulfill the yin and yang. The
essay indicates what the men should expect from the women at that time and
place.
Lessons for Women was
published at a time when China's Confucian society desperately needed a way to
impose order on its often complex and unruly families.
Expected to serve as models of decorum and
order, the typical Chinese family often consisted of multiple wives and
concubines and many children. Conflicts were common, and chaos was the norm in
many households. The existing Confucian documents did not offer specific and
practical information for women's everyday lives.
Ban's book served to codify easily
learned rules of behavior, which centered on her advice to women to subjugate themselves
to the men in the family. With her husband at the top of the pyramid of
authority (or her father if she was unmarried), a woman
was supposed to accord the appropriate amount of respect to her brothers,
brothers-in-law, father, father-in-law and other male relatives. Ban also
declared that widows should never remarry, that women
must "think of themselves last in all situations" and that in
general, "the Way of respect and acquiescence is
woman's most important principle of conduct."
Although many women began to scoff at Ban's outdated rules
at the beginning of the 19th Century, it is important to recognize that in
Ban's time it was of paramount importance to establish and support the
Confucian way of life. Indeed, her family had been working toward that goal for
generations. In contrast to the often violent and volatile feudal
times from which the country was still emerging, the political order and social
stability of Confucianism was important for Chinese women to support. Ban also
insisted that women receive a good education, although Confucian scholars of
later generations would largely ignore that injunction.
Ban lived into her 70s and died in about 120. Her literary works, which
Ban's daughter-in-law collected after her death, filled at least 16 volumes. It
was not until the 800s that Ban came to be most famous for writing Lessons
for Women. Her influence continued into the 21st Century in a
new Kunqu opera titled Ban Zhao by the
Shanghai-based writer Luo Huaizhen. The author explained, "I wanted to
express my respect for the intellectuals in this society who work hard to
realize their ideals without caring for material benefits."
Lessons for Women outlines the four virtues a woman must abide by, proper virtue, proper speech, proper countenance, and proper conduct. The book itself describes the status and position of women in society.
Precepts for Women
Ban Zhao also wrote on the four desired "Precepts for Women" which were intended to guide women in society. These precepts were: womanly virtue, womanly speech, womanly manner, and womanly merit.
Purpose: teach
her daughters the customs & values of being a proper young woman
3 customs: placed
below bed-indicated lowly & weak, allowed to play with broken pieces of
ceramic, announce birth to ancestors through an offering
When: 1st century A.D.
Conduct: Respect
others, industrious, serve husbands, solitary=good reputation
Spousal Relationship: husbands control wives; wives serve
husbands to maintain proper rela. & natural order, both refrain from being
too close to avoid promiscuous & disrespect due to being out of proper
place
Womanly virtue: guard
virginity, control behavior, modesty
Womanly words: choose
words carefully, avoid vulgar language, speak @ appropriate times, avoid boring
others by being talkative
Womanly bearing: clean
everything including one's self & objects
Womanly work: sew,
weave, don't gossip, host guests
Wholehearted Devotion: Marry
once (men can marry more than once)->even if husband dies- >marrying once
is life's meaning, no marriage is life w/out purpose
In-laws: Obey the mother-in-law whether she is
right or wrong, don't question morality of in-laws
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