Week ONE

Safa Ali

History 103

June 16, 2008

Chapters [1-6] and Primary Source [Lessons for Women]

           Looking at our society today, one would find it difficult to grasp the relationship between women nowadays and women of ancient times.  Women today enjoy various luxuries that are being taken for granted and were not available to women of earlier times.  For example, the suffrage movement is considered a recent improvement in women's status.  It is a right that was not privileged to woman of earlier times.  Women, then, exercised very few rights, if any. They were expected to attend to their house chores and to be as submissive as possible to both their families and later on their husbands and parents-in-law.  This issue of total submissiveness and subjugation has been explored by the Chinese historian, Ban Zhao, in her brief book "Lessons for Women" and the textbook "The Earth and its Peoples" by Richard W. Bulliet. 

                        The primary source sheds light on four qualifying women characteristics that should be taken as a guide to being a virtuous woman.  According to Zhao, these defining qualities are: "womanly virtue, womanly words, womanly bearing and womanly work."  Womanly virtue and womanly words meant that one had to guard her chastity and to choose her words carefully and wisely.  These two virtues were exhibited by women in many ancient societies.  For instance, Celtic women were active participants in their husbands' affairs.  As the textbook states, "women would sit at banquets with their husbands, engage in witty conversations and provide ingenious solutions to vexing problems" (pg. 52).  Likewise, women in Spartan societies also enjoyed a greater say.  They were bold and outspoken as compared to their Athenian counterparts.  Whereas, womanly virtue entailed that one had to guard her private parts and perhaps restrict herself exclusively to house chores.   This could be seen in Israelites societies where an unfaithful woman was sentenced to death (Bulliet 78).  On the other hand, womanly bearing and womanly work constituted the every day tasks that had to be attended to.  Women had a responsibility to "sew and weave; and to prepare the wine and food for serving guests" (Zhao 3).  Furthermore, women had to put much emphasis on their outward appearance by maintaining a descent look and distancing oneself from any kind of "disgraceful filth".  These virtues could be seen in Celtic, Phoenician, and Spartan societies where women were obliged to stay at home, raise the children and engage in other kinds of useful activities such as textile and cloth production.  As the textbook states "women lives were focused on child rearing, food production and some crafts".  In other words, women played more of a servitude role in society than a leadership role; which is evident when Zhao discusses the concept of Yin and Yang.  She argues that although men and women have different characteristics such as "rigidity" for Yang and "yielding" for Yin, they nonetheless, complement each other.  It is the male's toughness and leadership and the female's gentleness and supportiveness that balanced the world and maintained a strong patriarchal system.   Furthermore, Zhao also writes about this idea of "implicit Obedience" where a daughter-in-law was expected to submissively yield to all the wants and wishes of her parents-in-law.  Zhao argues that the woman's passivity led to a more of a loving kind of relationship with her husband's family which further stabilized society. 

          In conclusion, Bao Zhao's teachings go very well with many of the teachings mentioned in the textbook.  It is those qualifying characteristics that readily distinguished women's status in the years prior to 1550.  Zhao's lessons serve as a model for an obedient, respectful, industrious and submissive female character.