Session 7 - August 8, Robin Wang, LMU

[cgao]

 

What Makes A (Chinese) Woman Beautiful? Yinyang Gender and Its Discontent

Please download and read the attachments below in preparation for Professor Robin Wang's lecture. 

 

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[Marcos Rico]

This essay talls about the ideal woman according to Chinese tradition based on Confucian and Daoist ideology. I feel that this text could be a little challenging for 4th graders but we could used for Shared Reading over a couple of days. The first part talks from the Confucian ideology about how to be a ‘virtuous wife and good mother’ with virtue, talent, and beauty according to Liu Xiang. The second part talks from the Daoist ideology about the 4 stages of  development of body.   Building a foundation, cultivating essence to transform qi, cultivating qi to transform the spirit, and cultivating spirit and returning to emptiness.

 

 

[Madeline George]

Virtues, Talent and Beauty are apparently are what need to be developed to be an ideal woman under the Confucian construct. A woman needs to mold her childrens’ morales, developed her own insight, logical reasoning and be able to argue effectively.  Wisdom is more important than beauty, but inner wisdom should manifest outer beauty.  However, the Daoist vision.......seems WAY more complicated.  And if only a few women in history have been able to achieve  the ideal..... it may be truely difficult to achieve.   Daoism claim femininity is the highest ideal. And then it gets complicated... I’m looking forward to the lecture tomorrow in order to clarify all this.   

From The gender dynamics reading, I got that yang is the obvious or foreground ... it is sex, while yin is the background , Inplied .. it is gender.  The two must be in harmony.  I look forward to clarification!

 

[Monica Munguia]

It would seem the Confucian Ideology would be easier to introduce and teach to my students.  Confucian Ideology consists of three standards that need to be mastered to attain womanhood, which are virtue, talent, and beauty.  Virtue as explained in the story would be loyalty to others in this case your children if you are a woman.  Talent would be to master logical reasoning while beauty is seeking the importance of inner wisdom rather than physical appearance.  These standards seem plausible with both genders since all standards would produce better human beings.  Once standard definitions are learned and character examples are analyzed, students could internalize for personal growth.

 

[Lin Kuang]

Robin Wangś article "Yinyang Gender Dynamics: Lived Bodies, Thythmical Changes, and Cultural Performances" discussed a very important concept of Yin and Yang, man and women, heaven and earth, inner and outer, which is interrelated and complementary."Yin should be guarded and protected Huangdi Neijing sayss, " Yin is inside but guards yang: yang is outside but is is sent by yin". As the result of the yinyang thinking paradium, there is no such exclusion or separation of nature in early Chinese. In CHinese tradition there has been woman, female, and feminity as long as there has been man, male, and masculinity. From here we understand the relationship between women and men are corelated and complementary. Women are supposed to do what womenś responsibilities, and men fulfill their own responsibilities. We also compare women as soft as water, and men as strong as rock. Sexism in traditional China was “ correlative” with interdependent, complementary aspects like Yin and Yang, earth and heaven, inner and outer. Women and men are both oneness and otherness. This view does not imply that everyone is the same; each person has his or her own Ming, which cannot be a basis for the subornation one to the other. 

[Deanna Wiist]

In Robin Wang’s discussion of virtue, I was particularly drawn to “In each of these stages, the function of a mother is valued, not as a mere care-giver, but as an intricate stimulus to the child’s basic moral outlook. Mencius’ mother is not simply a weaver of cloth, but the weaver of Mencius’ intellectual, spiritual, and moral landscape.” The statement reinforces the thesis regarding the complexity of womanhood and the recasting of the historical perspective of women in China. This perspective elevates the role of mother and the role of women. Mother as role model. Mother as teacher. Mother in control of education. Obviously, women with children have agency. They shape the younger generations. Traditionally, women without children did not have the same power. They were not revered by society.

I think that, to some degree, the same attitudes toward mothers and women without children still exist today—and not just in China. Childless women in the United States are often regarded as selfish or lesser than other women. I could envision some interesting conversations regarding these topics in my classes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[David Ojeda]

The beginning of Robin R. Wang's essay discusses the ideal Confucian woman and the three womanly standards she should have: virtue, talent, and beauty. These standards are "exercised within three social roles: the filial daughter, the virtuous wife, and the good mother" (636). The latter female roles were taught, I believe, via stories, like that of Mencius' mother: Mengmu. Knowing the latter story would influence a mother, informing her that she, like Mengmu, needs to educate her children through personal example and sacrifice (move from place to place to find the best area to raise her son; cut the work she had woven an entire day to teach her son that it is self-destructive for him to give up hardwork; etc). There is also the story of a daughter saving her drunk, boatman father. The daughter uses guile and reasoning to convince a military general to let her father live. At one point, the daughter offers her own life. This story might teach women to sacrifice themselves for their fathers or men in general whenever they are unable to escape a situation, or that it is their duty to be intelligent and cunning enough to help others out of a situation. I appreciate that the stories, on some level, present powerful women in the sense that they are powerful and intelligent enough to save others. However, I wonder what these stories are teaching men. Do they teach men to care for females who will do anythhing for them or to do as they please since there will be a female around to help pick up the pieces?

These tales teach lessons and provide societal commentary; I believe my 6th graders would enjoy dissecting them and teaching their interpretation to the class (1st part), explaining its relevance to our current society (does the tale still apply today?), and discussing how they would modernize it to reflect current societal changes.

[Midori Sanchez]

After discussing in our previous lecture about haiku and being able to determine the gender of the writer by seeing small details, it seems that China during the Confucius teachings also emphasized the space of women being inside while men were outside. There are positive expectations for women such as being a role model and teacher to their children.

I also was not aware of the of the "alternative" of Daoist's outlook on women which comes across as more admiring and appreciative rather than having "expectations".

[Frederic Vial]

The essay dispels the myth that the role of women in China has been cemented for hundreds of years in various degrees of servitude and subservience - a "long and unchanging slavery."  The writings of Liu Xiang are offered to counter this assertion.  The influence of Confucian and Daoist philosophies are referenced when referencing the role of women specific to virture, beauty, talent required or expected of them.  Essentially, it is made clear that the role of women was not centered and/or focussed upon cooking, cleaning the household, raising children but rather as representing and serving as the moral compass for their children throughout various phases of their adolescence and even adult lives.  This is definitely something I can use and teach in my 7th grade World History class which covers medieval China.  In fact, having students categorize/classify myths vs. realities utilizing a graphic organizer would be an excellent lesson after reading the essay.

[clay dube]

Here's a link to the recent translation of this important text:
https://cup.columbia.edu/book/exemplary-women-of-early-china/9780231163095

A laudatory review: https://muse.jhu.edu/article/614647

[Midori Sanchez]

The first unit that I teach my ninth graders is about "What does it mean to be an American?". We discuss the immigrant contribution and struggle coming to the United States and the pressures to conform to our culture and abandon the old. Within Professor Wang's lecture, I feel that it's important teaching students in Southern California not only about the Latinx experience, but also the Asian experience. I teach "Rules of the Game" which has gender and generation tension between the mother and daughter; the mother to my students comes across as controlling and unreasonable. I would like to give more historical/cultural context to my students prior to reading based on this lecture in addition to what I already teach them about Amy Tan's focus on generations in her writing. 

[clay dube]

Hi Folks,

Yesterday, in another thread, I put in a links to the Mother of Mencius story (https://china.usc.edu/comment/175966#comment-175966). I have long used historical simulations. I've attached some of those that I created. One including Mencius's mother is "Good Morning China." For each character, it is possible to provide students with primary sources.

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[Joy Chao]

The 125 stories compiled by Liu Xiang seems to set an extremely high standards for women across all cultures. While one’s characters, internal powered and talent can be nurtured, physical beauty is by luck. Confucian ideals for womanhood clearly define a woman’s place is at her material home, being a filial daughter to her father, later to her husband’s home to be a dutiful wife and a mother. Her contribution is not for economy or politics in the society but in an indirect way by assisting the men throughout her life. By current standards this is completely unfair; a book of stories that tells women how to think and what to follow at that time. Even for me, born and raised in the Chinese society in the late 70s, is too much for me. I’m curious to know what you think for those who were born and raised here or in a different culture.   

[Lin Kuang]

What Makes a Chinese Women Beautiful? This is a great topic to discuss. In my opinion, the beautiful Chinese women should have inner and outer features. Physical appearance is attractive and grabbing others ’attention immediately but temporarily that can last long. But inner beauty gives us intelligence and witty. The roles we play as a filial daughter, a lovable wife, a dedicated mother, and a successful career in society, these women should be the most beautiful women.  Traditionally Confician Ideal womanhood defined beautiful woman “Man is for relying on, so he should be liable; woman is for love, so she should be lovable” with virtues ( material rectitude, sagely intelligence, benevolent wisdom, chaste obedience, pure righteousness, and competence)talents and beauty. The women as role models have the following qualities; teaching the children and helping the husband. I really think most of Chinese women met the two requirements. Born and lived in Modern Era of China, we are still deeply influenced by these virtues and obediences from traditional and classical points of views, but we also accepted the concepts of pursuing happiness and not relying on man to live a life, to be independent with our own career is more reasonable standards.

 

[Kathrin Simmons]

May be more freedom then women had in the western world, where women were tied to the kitchen. Having been assigned to only  household roles of cleaning and cooking, care taking, while men made "real" decision also on childrens education.

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