Session 8 - August 8, Lisa Tran, CSU Fullerton

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Chinese History: A Useful Category of Gender Analysis

Please download and read the attachments below in preparation for Professor Lisa Tran's lecture. 

 

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[Marcos Rico]

Being Primary Source readings this text would be great to share in Social Studies, specially during Women’s History Month in March. The text might be a little hard for 4th graders but it could be read as a Shared Reading.

The female writers He Zhen, Qiu Jin, Ding Ling, and pseudonym Han Yi share with us the psychological and physical abuse that many women had to endure during their own lifetime. The writings range from the 1900’s to the 1940’s.

 

[Monica Munguia]

The title of the reading illustrates to students the type of essay written.  The author uses many sources to convey Radical Critiques of Traditional Society.  Students could take sections of the readings and research primary sources mentioned and analyze if the author is explaining or persuading the reader. Then students could outline if the sources are being used correctly or incorrectly in the author’s essay.  They can also evaluate the writing structure.  These tasks will help students in producing better writing for their own explanatory or persuasive essays.  As an example, Confucian ideology is mentioned in several paragraphs.  Students could decipher opinion from Confucian doctrine.  This would also assist students in learning more about the primary sources mentioned.

 

[Madeline George]

It is interesting to read the essays written by the supporters of communism in order convince women that communism is the best choice for them. In The first essay it’s all about where and from whom you are going to get your bowl of rice.  You don’t want to look lovingly upon your husband; you just want your bowl of rice,   Men are cruel and unjust the essay states.. communism will allow you to not be dependent upon men for your rice.  My little brain went to, so now the government is going to give you your bowl of rice? Another essay decries the family.  The family is the source of evil.  Children must be raised by the society in which they will live.  It sounds a little like raising cattle and my mind went to Animal Farm.  The same article seems to berate marriage and how silly it is to enter that state, I think it would be interesting to have my students read these essays and outline the reasoning, and distinguish. Between fact and opinion.  

[Midori Sanchez]

I found it interesting that He Zhen viewed capitalism as both oppressing to men and women. Often times, we think of women as the ones that are being held back whether in the wage gap or the expectations to be a wife rather than have a job. Therefore, something was needed to replace capitalism. Servants, workers, and prostitutes are among the people who suffer the most due to physical abuse or have no value placed upon them. The necessity of a need for a change of mindset to displace the anger on men to "real" problems such as hunger and take the time to solve that. Depending on men or others actually is what continues to facilitate your issues and you can only depend on yourself.

This is an interesting perspective because it seems to be empowering in the sense that they say that you need to earn your own rice bowl and not depend on the man to do so, but it still does not change the fact that the inequality based on wealth and abuse is still ocurring and that socially you are isolating yourself from friendships and relationships with others. Some students I have already have entered into abusive relationships and been able to leave them, but some of them don't see what's going on; their boyfriend becomes the parental figure/protector that they yearn for. This reading showed the universality of the struggles that women deal with across ages and countries.

[Midori Sanchez]

I enjoyed learning about Qui Jin who was the first Chinese feminist to speak out against Confucianism, foot binding, etc. She dressed as a man and left her family to go to Japan; she believed that women needed to pick up the slack because they could no longer be relied on. We learn about the civil rights movement and women's rights in the United States, but it's important to also know what is going on in other countries in the 20th century and celebrate important men and women who were not "well behaved" in history.

Also, looking at the posters for female employment was interesting. Seeing the housewife turned manufacturing expert under Mao reminded me of Rosie the Riveter: both are forms of propaganda. Once again, these posters mirror the idea of the importance of women and the ability to have fluidity between femininity and masculinity with their roles and attire. 

[Lin Kuang]

Qiu Jin was born in 1875 with excelent education and family background. She was a great writer. She wrote  many jorful poems about domestic activities. She also wrote about Chinese female heros and warriors. She has strong self-confidence and desire to become a strong female writer. Her tragety started her marriage with a wealthman under her fatherś arranged marriage. She was very unhappy about her marriage and depicted her husband "...He treats me as less than nothing..." and "When I think of him my hair bristles with anger, itś absolutely undearable."Her poems in this period reflected her self-doubt and loneliness.She started to writing poems  about current events and the fate of China. Later on, she went Jpan in 1903, she became vocal in her support for womenś rights.. She viewed the traditional families as oppressive to women. She became very well-known as brave woman to help the poor and weak. She sacrificed her lif efor her belief at the age of 31.

[Kathrin Simmons]

Very engaging lecture, its great Professor Tran uses a mircrophone  to walk around with. Love the line up of all our presentation throughout the week. It seems like she is bringing it back together to discuss gender roles and womanhood in China.

[Amy Chen]

He Zhen is admirable in being brave enough to speak out about inequalities for women in China during at time when no one would dare to. Her marriage to Liu Shipei is a controversial one as well. Lie Shipei was an activist who was exiled for his messages. He Zhen differs from Qiu Jin by further stating that all social contructs should be rid of. Before many feminist ideas were written by men. Qiu Jin and He Zhen break down that trend by giving a real woman's perspective. China, at this time, is a more subordinate power. Their relationship with other countries is gendered in terms of male being in power. By saving China, women will also be saved. Confucianism is growing as a political philosophy at this time. Family structure and the 5 cardinal relationship are an intergral part of making society run smoothly. He Zhen sees these relationships as hierarchial putting the male over the female. 

[Kimberly de Berzunza]

It would be interesting to have your students compare these writings- the ones we read with the ones you mention. Read He Zhen, then Animal Farm (or an excerpt.)

[Frederic Vial]

He Zhen's anarchist ideology questions a variety of socioeconomic and political realities.  Her critique that a capitalistic society is first and foremost ruled by money.  She draws comparisons by juxtaposing how those who provide the labor (i.e. farmers) are often the least likely people to actually be able to buy the very products their labor produces.  The wealthy, who do not perform the labor but own the capital, are able to purchase the goods/services provided by those who, despite providing the goods/services cannot.  She says the root and source of this discrepancy and evil is money.  

[Marcos Garrido]

I really loved Professor Tran’s presentation, as it was full of information of contemporary China. This is one of my favorite subjects, although it is not in the curriculum for my middle school classes. I learned about how the concept of gender and the social expectations related to it have gradually changed in the past few decades in China. It was very interesting to learn about He Zhen, as one, if not the first female comunist advocate. It is amazing how much China has changed since the fall of the Qing dynasty, and the process of modernization that it went through throughout the 20th century. I personally think that her ideals were radical for her time, and our time, but I like the intentions of her ideals. It seems that women through Chiense history, women have not only struggle with Confucianism and Patriarchy, but with the lack of education that has prevented them from reaching their potential. I think I have a better understanding of the metaphor of the relationship between state and subject with the confucian idea of a family.  

[Kimberly de Berzunza]

I enjoyed learning about Qiu Jin and He Zhen as radical women working for change in Chinese society, and in rejecting Confucian teachings and traditions. While they both in their own way seem both brave and perhaps misguided, I think their ideas did influence the changes that followed in China, which means at least two women had infuence and agency in the end of Imperial China.  While I don't think by any stretch the Communist Revolution was a positive for China, I do think there were some positive outcomes, and women's achievement of certain rights is a part of that.

The flip side of that, of course, is to ask how much those achievements have truly taken root in people's hearts and minds, but after thousands of years those ideas do not change overnight, either.  Revolution aims to flip everything on its head and abolish everything we know to start fresh, but PEOPLE don't actually do that.

[Zoey McKinney]

The concept of women’s history as opposed to gendered history is really interesting to me, because I had not really distinguished between those two in the past. My understanding is that women’s history is an attempt to correct the absence of female figures in our study of history by shedding light on them wherever possible. Gendered history is an examination of the structures of the past and questioning the ways in which they work and the ways in which they are taught. I think that the California standards are attempting to incorporate women’s history by adding more female figures to our Social Studies standards, but may not be addressing gender history. I think the latter calls for more critical thinking and a deeper study of society, which could be very challenging but very rewarding. For elementary students, I might pose some “simple” questions to get them to start thinking in the framework of gender history: Why were men hunters and women gatherers? When we study the American Revolution, why are all the people involved in the formation of government men? Why do we have comparatively little information about women’s everyday activities in the past? 

 

I also really enjoyed Professor Tran’s final quote: “When will it no longer be necessary to attach special weight to the word ‘woman’ and to raise it specifically?” I struggle with this myself because, as Professor Tran said, specially designating something draws attention to the fact that it is not “the norm.” For example, some people argue that we don’t need gendered words such as “actress” or “comedienne” to point out the gender of the person. By using gender neutral words, we might better achieve equality. Another example is offering a women’s history class, as opposed to just integrating the information into a class called “history.” This normalizes the fact that women’s history IS “regular” history. In education, I sometimes wonder about pushing messaging communicating things like “STEM is for girls” or “girls can do anything boys can do.” This is because it draws attention to the opposite messaging - girls are not otherwise welcome or capable in STEM fields, and girls can be seen as inferior to boys. I’ve heard stories of girls who never considered those negative possibilities until exposed to those messages that separate girls from boys. Is it better to work specifically at empowering girls to raise them up from historical oppression, or is it better to normalize equality and not draw attention to past inequality?

 

[Deanna Wiist]

Professor Tran’s lecture was beautifully organized and delivered with great skill. The consistent focus on the frameworks of women’s history and gendered history was one of the highlights of the week for me. I love teaching with frameworks and to examine the end of the Qing Dynasty from differing perspectives was a treat. I’d love to do that with my Dual Credit Western Civ classes to illustrate ways in which the historical narrative is constructed. 

Like many others, I was not familiar with He Zhen before the lecture today. Not surprising since hers was the more controversial perspective. He Zhen challenged the conventional thinking of her time and proposed a new way of looking at her world. I think that’s brave. It doesn’t mean that all of her ideas were good ones, the right ones, or even feasible. But if she moved the needle for women in China, great. Sometimes we need those thinkers that drive us to question and debate. 

He Zhen and Qiu Jin are thinkers and figures I could definitely incorporate into my classroom.

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