Abstract
Women are considered as weak gender in Chinese society. In the book, the Chinese expose women to odd jobs and also they are not considered that helpful when it comes to masculine jobs. They are also treated as slaves to their husbands for they are subjected home tasks while men work in industries or companies. Some families do not even give them a chance in deciding or not allowed to make decisions for the families when a crisis or when a situation arises which requires special attention from the family through contribution of ideas.
According to Kingston, in the Chinese society, females are placed in conditions that are vulnerable. In the Chinese culture women who engage in premarital sex and happen to be pregnant should be punished. Women were not allowed to choose. Hong Kingston describes her aunt as not to be longing for romance to sacrifice all things at the expense of sex but it was an order from a familiar man to sleep with him. At the end of it all the man was in the forefront to attack her family for her being pregnant before marriage.whe this occurs the family of the later is regarded as an outcast in the community. Daughters –in-law were supposed to live with parents of their husbands. The women who were old fashioned delivered their newborn babies in their pigsty aiming at fooling the pain-dialing gods, who are jealous .this was a sign of responsibility. Mothers take their children along with them to the well show them love as opposed to those who abandon them.
Women in china were supposed to maintain their husbands love by working their self at the mirror. All women who were married back pulled their hair tightly in buns. During their wedding, women present themselves in the final moment in their hair which is long. The older women were the only ones who were allowed to wear buns. At the age of seven, the girls’ feet were bound. Sisters could cry together sitting on their beds as their slaves or mothers detached their bandage in some minutes every nigh, allowing blood to stream back into their stratum. One major characteristic of a Chinese feminine is walking erect which is walking on straight knees and the toes pointing frontward. Among the wealthy and the very poor, brothers wedded their sisters who are adopted. Kingston clearly expressed that the unwanted Chinese girls were sold as slaves
In the chapter ‘shaman’ that starts in china and concludes in America, links the breach between two conflicting truth. Women like brave orchid, attend school of medicine to study midwifery (Brigitte, 66). She is under pressure to be smarter than her classmates since she is older. Kingston describes her mother as a woman warrior who is not afraid to spend the night alone in a haunted house. Orchard describes her independence when he maintains her own name instead of taking the name of her husband after their marriage. After orchid graduated from midwifery school of women, he goes to her village as a doctor. She builds her reputation by spreading health from one house to another
Kingston explains the paradox that orchard might have promoted the silent girl who was her slave much more compared to Kingston herself. She proposes that her sister should compete for the affection of their mother with the slave. Kingston contradicts her mother’s superstitious attitude that is trained medically as midwife. Her inability to translate some of his mother tongue shows the distance between her and her parents. These shows how women are ignored even to matters concerning their health and disregarding their social rights condemning them to mind slavery and denying them their rights as human beings.
How the state of women changed after the revolution
After long struggle by Chinese women they also ended up with their freedom and as Dr. Badawin stated, they sacrificed and the society started appreciating and also welcoming women support which was important in escalation of the change in technology. Through a federation known as “All china women’s federation”, women were represented and their interests and rights protected in promoting equality between women and men. The gender equality factor introduced sharing and discrimination was abolished. In addition to that, women were not allowed to own any property according to the Chinese culture unlike today where women are allowed to own property and also to inherit the husband’s wealth after death of the husband.
As comparing women in early years in china especially those in Tang dynasty we found out that, during feudal approach in china’s epoch, the china’s society was male centered and they consequently had a pervasive belief that men were superior over women which continued to rule the ideology existing throughout the feudal society. The society therefore regarded women as little more than Chinas feudal bond servants. When we compare it with recent or current time, male dominance is guaranteed and also maintained with certain norms in china. Also in feudal china, women were not given chance to dominate over a partner in marriage, they were expected to be complying unconditionally with parents or the arrangements by brothers. Furthermore, women were not allowed to remarry or divorce their husbands. Unlike today’s women, after establishment of Tang dynasty, imperial court also decreed favorable allocation of taxation system so that it can resume developing agricultural production. According to Tang code, couples wishing to divorce on mutual consent basis are not punished signifying that the peaceful process of divorcing among married couples was not punished.
Also the dynasty has attached the importance of education to Tang women whereby they were granted same rights to education opportunities as men. The through the introduction of the dynasty women also had the chance in practicing military skills, learning politics and history unlike in no name woman whereby the culture was biased allowing men to dominating over women in everything thus condemning them as weaker gender. Comparing the no name by Kingston, women were made to adhere to believes and also practice them but the dynasty of Tang allowed women to shun away from believes that humiliated them. It builds a strong sense of belonging and social changes are experienced when women are being educated allowing them to have skills that they use in working and sharing with men.
In conclusion, the book elaborates the role of women in the society through the duties performed by women. The way women are treated is condemned strongly in the book and the social factors that concern them also was touched in the book by the author. Women as human beings are described in the book as very important people who play a big role in ensuring the society is at its best. The male chauvinism is discussed as a big problem and therefore discouraged by the author. Moreover, when the society wants to achieve high standards in social cohesion is a key factor and women are supposed to be included in decision making and involved in any uprising matter in society thus allowing better interaction and communication between women and the rest of society members.
