Chapter 8: China and the World

       After reading chapter 8, China and the World, I felt extremely relieved that I (as a woman) was not born in China.  During the time of third-wave civilizations, China was somewhat of a powerhouse. At this time China was considered to be in the “Golden Age” of Chinese achievements.  The Golden Age consisted of a booming Chinese economy and advanced technologies; however, even these positive attributes could not persuade me to live in China as a woman. 

The Golden Age emphasized arts such as literature, poetry, paintings, and ceramics.  The popular growth of in literature resulted in Neo-Confucianism, as scholars attempted to restructure early Confucianism with popular beliefs in Buddhism and Daoism. The renewal of Confucius beliefs gave raise to a significant patriarchal system throughout China.  Confucius writers highlighted the subordination of women to men, leading to trends such as foot binding. Elite Chinese woman were expected to bind their feet, symbolizing a variety of elements in men’s favor. Ironically foot binding was viewed as sensual and beautiful, however in reality a woman’s foot was completely deformed after the foot binding process.  Foot binding essentially constricted Chinese women, and  was an extremely painful process. The Chinese societies embraced foot biding as a new image of beauty, basically manipulating elite woman into thinking foot binding was all the rage. 

As for the Chinese male, masculinity shifted from levels of physicality to scholarly  aspects promoted through literature and the arts. The Chinese valued knowledge to such an extent, that they even encouraged woman to get educated.  However the only reason they encourage education for females, was to ensure that a mother could raise her son properly.  Simply reenforcing the idea that gender equality was nonexistent  during this third-wave civilization in China.  

The massive value of males in China is undeniable.  I am extremely curious as to how this tremendous gap between male and female inequalities evolved through China.  Is it predominalty because of Confucianism or do other factors come into play? What other influences should we consider?  One thing is for sure, that the Golden Age, was not so golden for women in China during these third-wave civilization. 

The Chinese Empire was massive and powerful, yet somehow the bordering cities, states, and countries managed to retain their own cultures and political philosophies.  There is no doubt that China influenced its bordering countries such as Japan, Vietnam, and Korean; however, these counties did a considerably decent job when maintaining their own sense of identity. Japan, was able to escape the adoption of the inferior woman ideologies possessed by China, while utilizing China’s booming economy by borrowing from the empire.  China’s advancements in technologies were also utilized through Eurasia.  Surprisingly China was not too proud to adopt or mimic other technologies, idea, and religions of other states. Buddhism is an obvious influence that China adopted from India.  Although many Chinese violently neglected the religion, a considerable amount of Chinese fully embraced Buddhism, so much that it still exists predominately through that region today. 

Although China was undoubtably a  major world influence, I personally can not give all the recognition to the country that it may deserve. This is mainly due to the extreme discrimination and undersetimation of the female race. I realize that many other societies discriminate against women; however, after reading this chapter, I feel as if China took it to a new level or high.