READING: WAR & REVOLUTION IN CHINA-1

[Rob_Hugo@PortNW]

1

[Anonymous]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the articles in "Ridding China of Bad Customs" because of the two different perspectives on how the "liberation" of women should be carried out. Not only that, but these two perspectives were given from both a woman and a man. The first piece by an early woman activist named Qui Jin attacked the specific Chinese traditions of footbinding and the matchmaking that led to arranged marriages. She criticizes the unnecessary pain imposed on daughters by their fathers "just so that on the girl's wedding day friends and neighbors will compliment him saying 'Your daughter's feet are really small'"(343). She further comments how arranged marriages should be less about issues like "a family seeking rich and powerful in-laws" and more about issues like evaluating whether the groom is an "honest, kind, or educated one" (343). It's such a fine line debating whether to hold on to traditions for the sake of tradition (especially in a country that is so rich in tradition), or to adapt and change with the times and do away with such dated practices. I still cannot come to a conclusive answer for myself. While I may not agree with or understand certain traditions my parents would want to uphold, I would respect them and oblige them because that it how I was raised. People may have their opinions about whether is is a cultural thing - I think it is. There would still be other instances where I would find myself defending ideas of modernity to my own parents - I guess it would be circumstantial. While Jin seemingly blames women's roles and statuses in society on themselves, she still delivers very empowering advice about education and charity and remains optimistic that change is still possible. In one of the final pleas of her essay, she says, "If we don't act now and shape up, it will be too late when China is destroyed" (344). Undoubtedly, she must've known that calling on women to act for the good of China would prove to be a very effective method for galvanizing support at a time when nationalist fervor was rampant in a nation infested with foreigners.

The second article was written by a man for a popular women's magazine. What I appreciated about this article was that he called to attention the fact that many people's ideas about women's liberation were too vague and lofty. I like that fact the he zeroed-in on an specific topic in the movement to attempt to remedy, in an almost grassroots-type movement, if you will. He said that women who needed true "liberation" fell into 3 categories -(1) prostitutes, (2)concubines, and (3) slave girls, and he claimed that the slave girls were the easiest to "liberate", so we should focus on them. The advice he offered was so simple - if you own them, free them! Convince others! Everyone else will eventually succumb to the pressures of society. I also appreciated how the author further proceeded to give advice about what to do after they are free - treat them as your own daughters! Educate them! While he seemed very confident in his plans and suggestions, he recognized the fact that in order for any of them to be successful. this movement had to have been started and carried out by women and women only

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