Preview

Women's Rights During The Tang Dynasty

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
947 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Women's Rights During The Tang Dynasty
Morgan Gaynor
4th period
January 24, 2015

Women’s Rights in Post-Classical China

During the 600-1300 C.E., Chinese women’s rights were vast when the Tang ruled, but when the Song took over women's rights dissipated. The Tang ruled from 618-907 C.E. and women were allowed to vote, go to school, and live a similar life to men. The Song dynasty on the other hand, lasted from 960-1279 C.E. and women’s rights were very limited. Before the Tang dynasty, women’s rights were very constrained. They had to follow many rules or risk losing their family and sometimes their life. They had no voice to express their self, they were not allowed to go to school, and they had no true control over their future. In feudal times, women had no say in when
…show more content…
They could then do everything that only men could do before. After years of being below men, Tang women could drink, own a business, learn politics, and participate in battle. Divorce also changed during the Tang. A divorce used to be shunned but was no longer seen as a sin as long as it was peaceful and both sides were in agreement. Royal women were also granted more rights then they formally were. They were able to do everything the common man and women could do. That may not should like a lot to the 21st century women, but back then, women were even further below men then they were in the American early …show more content…
During 960-1300 C.E., women were not allowed to attend school and do other things they were allowed to do when the Tang ruled. Once again, men took over and women’s rights were taken away. Compared to Tang times, women were less active in politics and less commonly seen on the streets. On the other hand, women’s rights to property were relatively secure in Song times. Older women were often very powerful within their families and girls left their families when they married. As long as they gave birth to sons, they would eventually gain a respected place in their family. Their life may not be very different from Tang women’s, but they still lost rights and some overall

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Spice Chart Tang vs. Song

    • 26030 Words
    • 24 Pages

    Social Tang dynasty offered women a new opportunity for personal expression shown by the leadership of Empress Wu…

    • 26030 Words
    • 24 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Midterm Review

    • 1220 Words
    • 5 Pages

    2. In what ways did women’s lives change during the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties?…

    • 1220 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    There were many continuities for women between 600-1450 such as they were still subordinate to men and were not allowed to be educated but the changes were more significant like their right to divorce was brought upon in this time period along with their ability to gain power through marriage.…

    • 694 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Women remained able to exploit the labour shortages to find themselves in a stable position. Women gained economic power. Likewise, female received more freedom, independence, assistance, respect, admiration and importance. Nevertheless, women continued with daily chores, cooking and other duties. Though, women weren’t under strict guidelines as usual.…

    • 544 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ccot China

    • 402 Words
    • 2 Pages

    When analyzing the social changes from the Tang to Yuan, it is important to note that there was a change in belief systems. In the Tang dynasty, Buddhism started as the main religion/practice until it was eventually oppressed by Confucian officials who encouraged the emperor to wipe away Buddhism. With Confucianism now leading the way, the Song and Yuan dynasties had a social foundation based off of Confucianism. This was bad news for women. In the Tang Dynasty, with Buddhism at its peak, women were given opportunities and rights because of the liberal views of the Buddhist leaders. However, as Confucianism took over, women were enslaved and subjected to harsh rituals such as foot binding. As the social status of women declined from the Tang, the status of the scholarly elite rose. This was because Confucianism favored the elite and valued scholars for their knowledge. Also, the Civil Service exams that began in the Tang created a larger gap between social classes because the ones who didn’t pass the exams were not as valued as the ones who did pass. To pass the exam meant great honor, and with it more prestige in China.…

    • 402 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the period of 1750-1900, the role of women in East Asia and Western Europe began to shift. Traditionally, women were kept domestic and were expected to keep quiet; away from the affairs of men. Influenced by the modernization processes during this time period, the fight for women's rights was initiated which allowed women to play an increasingly greater role in shaping politics. In both regions, women were to look appealing for men, and were never truly seen as being "equal" to the male. The two regions were different in which Western European women were more involved in, and successful in acquiring rights than East Asian women.…

    • 844 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    of them, and they didn’t have any real power in the dynasty. During this time women…

    • 480 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the Postclassical Era, the overall role of women and the roles they played in society began to change. The three major civilizations of China, Japan and the Mongol Empire were no exceptions. The everyday rights of women varied among these societies. The relationships between women and their husbands differed among the civilizations as well. Finally, specific women in each society held positions unique to their own cultures. During the postclassical period, women in China, Japan, and the Mongol Empire played different roles in their respective societies, with the main subjects of comparison being their everyday rights, their relationships with their husbands, and the positions specific individuals held.…

    • 590 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Women in China vs Rome

    • 311 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Women in china during 350 BC-AD 600 the women were treated the same as the women in Rome they were expected to do every chore serve the men and take care of the children .…

    • 311 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Elite women across the world had experienced different conditions before 1500. Some of the areas that differed were East Asia and Middle East. They have different opportunities, limitations, and their jobs. They also had some similarities in the same areas.…

    • 411 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Chinese women were treated like slaves and did not have the rights or privileges that men had. Women in Chinese society occupied a low and degraded status. The parents of those being married arranged the marriages in Classical China. The outcome of arranged marriages left women with virtually no voice in the society. Women weren’t allowed to have any ambitions as it was deemed unacceptable. It was believed that women did not need to know how to read and write since their main…

    • 784 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The empires of Rome and China were very great ones, they both had many similarities and differences in the way they ran their empires. One major difference was the way they treated their women. Both Chinese and Roman women were unequal in social status than the men of the empires were, but they were definitely treated different in both empires. Women of China were treated quite harshly and were expected to take orders at all times by their husbands, and were to serve them always. This started to happen especially after Confucius died because he taught people to treat each other the same, “after his death women became less free and lost status,”(Arvind 10). Women of Rome were treated like goddesses; they were to stay at home as housewives and watch over the children, Roman men would go through great lengths to preserve their wives.…

    • 797 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Han Dynasty Women

    • 443 Words
    • 1 Page

    In order to better understand the role of women during the Han Dynasty, it is first…

    • 443 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Women In Ancient China

    • 881 Words
    • 4 Pages

    (Shelton 20) Boys were sent to school in order to learn about agriculture, warfare, Roman traditions, and public affairs for their future careers. ("Women in Ancient Rome”) Girls were supposed to stay at home and learn how to raise a family and care for the household. In China, especially in the rural communities, a girl’s education (or lack thereof) was very similar in practice; however, sometimes in wealthier families, young Chinese girls were taught how to read and write by their father. Women in this time period also invented a secret written language only for women called nu shu, which created an opportunity to share thoughts, feelings, and works of art or literature with other women in the community; this is one of the reasons why we have much more insight into the ancient Chinese woman’s life than the ancient Roman woman. However, no matter how educated they managed to become, these women were not allowed to take the imperial exams and therefore couldn’t have a career as a scholar or politician. (“Ancient China: Daily Life of Women”) This practice was reflected in Rome where, also in very wealthy families, fathers would sometimes send their daughters (as young as seven years old) off to school with the boys. However, the outcome was the same,…

    • 881 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Women 1500 Ce

    • 2649 Words
    • 11 Pages

    Women's lives, roles, and statuses changed over various early world history eras and culture areas in many ways. Ancient Persia, Paleolithic, Athens, Mesopotamian and Roman eras were all different in very unique ways. The Paleolithic era treated women fairly and were treated equally. During the Neolithic era women were not treated fairly. She was the daughter of her father or the wife of her husband. Women rarely acted as individuals outside the context of their families. Those who did so were usually royalty or the wives of men who had power and status.” (oi.uchicago.edu, 2010) Athenian women were not treated fairly either almost as if they were not even a citizen. “Laws forbade women and children from participation in political, judicial, and military affairs.”(Mahdavi, 2012) During the Ancient Persian Empire women brought more to their marriage than the men did. They could also divorce their husbands without reason and explanation. The Ancient Persian Empire is when women’s roles really began to change. Women that lived within the Roman Empire were expected to have a guardian because the Romans believe the women were not responsible enough to do things without. Although, women were still considered property, they had more options and rights as a woman.…

    • 2649 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Better Essays