1. Chinese Women’s Social Roles as represented in the life of Yu-fang 1909-
1938.
Yu-fang is a Chinese woman who was born in 1909. She lived during transitional period time between dynasty and republic. The story of three generations
of family begins with the life of a young and oppressed woman named Yu-fang. Yu- fang, the grandmother of the author Jung Chang, grew up in a struggling family, in a
house with her crippled mother and her unsympathetic father. Her father, Yang Ru-Shan, was born in 1894, when the whole of China was
ruled by an emperor who controlled Peking. The imperial family was Manchus who had conquered China in 1644 from Manchuria, which was their base. The Yangs were
Han which is a Chinese ethnic, and had ventured north of the great wall in search of opportunity. Being a daughter of her family, she experienced the social roles of
women that can be seen in her ages. The novel describes the government situation around 1911 when she lived:
In 1911, the five-year-old emperor of China, Pu Yi, was over thrown and a republic was set up with the charismatic figure of Sun Yat Sen briefly as its
head. The new republican government soon collapsed and the country broke up into fiefs. Manchuria was particularly disaffected from the republic, since
the Manchu dynasty originated there. Foreign powers, especially Japan, intensified their attempts to encroach on the area. Under all these pressures,
the old institutions collapsed, resulting in a vacuum of power, morality, and authority. Many people sought to get to the top by bribing local potentates
with expensive gifts like gold, silver, and jewelry 4. This leads the argument that the disorder political regime influences the
morality, power, and authority of the country and the citizen who were living in. Women of this era show that they are of a secondary class. They are positioned as
passive, obedient, and oppressed. There are three major proofs that Yu-fang as an example of a woman during this transitional period was experiencing patriarchal
system. According to Fairchild, patriarchal family system is a type of social organization characterized by patrilineal descent. Patrilineal is reckoning descent,
inheritance, or succession exclusively or prudentially through males 215. Furthermore, in Pane’s book, he added that during 19
th
century Tiongkok, Confucius also regulate the family system in line with patriarchal system. Father controls and
dominates the relation over the family and the other way around a child has to agree with every decision made 94. From these arguments, it appears clearly that
Confucius as the domain factor related with patriarchal family system that regulates the relationship between father and children. Moise defines, “The general thrust of
Confucianism was the importance of proper human relationships. Subordinates should be reverent and obedient towards their superiors, while superiors should be
benevolent and just” 12. It means that Confucianism regulates the prime human relationships. Here, Foot binding, concubine, and forbidden marriage are the major
proofs that indicate the influences of the Confucianism.
a Foot binding
Yu-fang’s father plays as a main actor of her life. Supported by her family background that is not rich enough to have a power in their society, her father
planned her life. As said in the novel:
... My great-grandfather was not rich enough to buy him a lucrative position in a big city, and by the time he was thirty he had risen no higher than an
official in the police station of his native Yixian, a provincial backwater. But he had plans. And he had valuable asset—his daughter 4.
It shows that Yu-fang’s father regulated the power of her family. Her father’s background status and roles makes certain decision to be run. His father was
the only son, which made him the supreme importance to his family. This principle leads the argumentation of the Confucianism. Mc Aleavy states that Confucian
family system is a doctrine that regulated every aspect of human activity and formed the basis of entire structure of the state. It was said that the Feudal principalities were
seen as the prime need of mankind to resolve the problems of peaceful coexistence and harmony with the universe. McAleavy states in his book Modern History of
China that Confucian principle is to serve parents during their life and when they die to bury them and to sacrifice to them 6. Furthermore, it can be concluded that
Confucianism becomes the prime doctrine that regulates the relationship among the family members.
Since Yu-fang was two years old, her feet had been bound. It was her greatest assets. The novel explains:
But her greatest assets were her bound feet, called in Chinese “three-inch golden lilies” san-tsun-gin-lian. This meant she walked “like a tender
young pillow shoot in a spring breeze,”as Chinese connoisseurs of a women teetering on bound feet was supposed to have an erotic effect on men, partly
because her vulnerability induced a feeling of protectiveness in the onlooker 5.
It means that bound feet was an asset to Chinese women. Furthermore, the reason why doing bound feet is quoted on the novel:
… The practice of binding feet was originally introduced about a thousand years ago, allegedly by a concubine of the emperor. Not only was the sight
of women hobbling on tiny feet considered erotic, men would also get excited playing with bound feet, which were always hidden in embroidered
silk shoes. ... As I child, I can remember my grandmother being in constant pain. When
we came home from shopping, the first thing she would do was soak her feet in a bowl of hot water, sighing with relief as she did so. Then she would
set about cutting off pieces of dead skin. The pain came not only from the broken bones, but also from her toenails, which grew into balls of her feet
6.
It means that foot binding makes the girls are hard to move. They are also in a misery because of its painful effects.
Yu-fang’s father was not only preparing her to be bounded but also to be trained as either a perfect lady or a high courtesan. Meanwhile, Moise adds, “The
status differentiation in Chinese society extended to family relationship …. As children, most of them had to bind their feet – to wear tight wrappings which
prevented the feet from growing to normal size, and distorted the skeletal structure ...” 28. Moise also defines that the only way a woman could attain a position of
power and security was through a relationship with a male 28. It is stated in the novel, “scorning the received wisdom of the time it was
virtuous for a lower class woman to be illiterate. He sent her to a girl’s school that had been set up in the town in 1905. She learned to play Chinese chess, mah-jong,
and go. She also studied drawing and embroidery” 7. It means that informal
education also existed for the Chinese women at that era. However, it was still limited. Kiat and Sudarno stated that it was caused by the glamorous and luxurious
life in the kingdom; so that the girls eager to get prosperous, the civil were also afraid of letting girls go outside and wanting the status similar with man in the education
and government administration area 191. Based on the statements above, Chinese woman at this era shows their roles
by binding their feet as a tradition since China became a dynasty. They must be bound because they are prepared not only as a concubine, but also as the family asset
who will make the family status higher. Every action has its own aim. Foot binding has also an aim for the women. It
restricts the movement space for women to move. O’Neil added that foot-binding also had the effect of restricting a woman’s movements and advertising the status of
her family, since such a woman was incapable of working in the fields 94. It can be drawn that foot-binding aimed at limiting the woman’s movements in her life.
From all of the supporting arguments above, it is clear that the roles of a woman that is being the victim of a foot binding is passive, obedient, and oppressed.
This leads to an argument that women living in this era are to be a secondary class.
b Concubine
Once Yu-fang reached her teenage years, her father began searching for a powerful husband for his daughter to marry. As a teenager, Yu-fang was very
beautiful. Her tiny bound feet and porcelain skin were traits that were considered to
be very striking. Her father used her beauty to his advantage when searching for a husband for Yu-fang. He had chosen a highly ranked warlord general who would
bring status and power to the family and Yu-fang’s father. Her father had long plan
for her to be a concubine of a warlord Xue Zhi-heng. The novel tells that:
For my great grandfather, this was a once in a lifetime chance, the closest he was ever going to get to a real VIP. He schemed to get himself the job of
escorting General Xue, and told his wife he was going to try to marry their daughter off to him. He did not ask his wife for her agreement; he merely
informed him. Quite apart from this being the custom of the day, my great grandfather despised her wife. She wept, but said nothing. He told her she
must not breathe a word to their daughter. There was no question of consulting his daughter 10.
From these statements, it explains that marriage was a transaction, not a matter of feelings. Yu-fang was married to a warlord general who could make her father’s
status higher. Bushnel states that power and family status were considered to be very important during the early 1900’s. Moise also well explains that most marriages were
arranged by parents of the people who were involved. It was considered perfectly normal for the bride and grooms to be strangers, and to meet one another for the first
time during the marriage ceremony 28. These two ideas define that marriage in this era was fully arranged by the parents. Women had no idea or right to choose and even
to decide their marriage life. At first, she could not believe the idea of being a concubine. It is described
in the novel that: The first my grandmother knew of her impending liaison was when her
mother broke the news to her a few days before the event. My grandmother bent her head and wept. She hated the idea of being a concubine, but her
father had already made the decision, and it was unthinkable to oppose one’s
parents. To question a parental decision was considered “unfilial” and to be unfilial was tantamount to treason. Even if she refused to consent to her
father’s wishes, she would not be taken seriously; her action would be interpreted as indicating that she wanted to stay with her parents. The only
way to say no and be taken seriously was to commit suicide. My grandmother bit her lip and said nothing. In fact, there was nothing she could
say. Even to say yes would be taken to imply that she was eager to leave her parents 13.
From these statements, Yu-fang had to admit her marriage in becoming a concubine, even though she did not want it. She has to put parental decision first. It is
also interpreted that a woman has to be silent in every decision she faced. Furthermore, being a concubine differs from being a wife. The novel clearly
describes, Before the evening was over he had proposed not to my grandmother, of
course, but to her father. He did not offer marriage, only which my grandmother should become his concubine. But Yang had not expected
anything else. The Xue family would have arranged a marriage for the general long before on the basis of social positions. In any case, the Yangs
were too humble to provide a wife. But it was expected that a man like General Xue should take concubines. Wives were not for pleasure that was
what concubines were for. Concubines might acquire considerable power, but their social status was quite different from that of a wife. A concubine
was a kind of institutionalized mistress, acquired and discarded at wills. 14.
However, the life of a concubine was far from pleasant. A concubine would be subject to the authority of the husband’s wife while also bestowing a great deal of
honor and loyalty upon her “husband”. Meaning to say, the roles of woman who will be a concubine differs from a wife. The function of a concubine is for pleasure, but
the function of a wife is not. McAleavy added that wife and concubine were distinct not merely in degree but in kind, and as concubine was limited in practice to a
relatively small part of the population 10. In addition, Buchnel states that during this particular time period, women were not highly regarded. A woman’s role was to
be married off and to live a life pleasing to her husband. Furthermore, Grasso, Corrin, and Kort assumes, “… Chinese women had few property rights. They could be cast
out by their husbands or compelled to share him with other wives or concubines. Bound to an arranged marriage …”13. These lead a conclusion that the status of
concubine is far pleasant from a wife. They are put to be secondary class. From all supporting arguments, it can be said that being a concubine is one of
the dedication forms for her parents. As said by Confucius in Pane’s book “Tiongkok Zaman Baru”,
Confucius mengatur perhubungan didalam keluarga, sesuai dengan tjara patriarchaat, bapak berkuasa atas anak, dan sebaliknya anak itu harus tunduk
kepada perintah si bapak dalam segala hal, karena tidaklah ada padanya melainkan si bapak.” 94.
Confucius regulates the family relationship appropriate with patriarchal way, the father controls the relation over the family and the other way around a
child has to agree with every decision made” 94. Here, Confucius regulates the relationship over the family. As a child who
had been a concubine, has to agree with every decision made. Again, it can be concluded that being a concubine, Chinese women living in this era shows that they
are secondary class that have to agree in every decision including their parents’ will. They are also differentiated in a matter of status and roles. They are raised to be
passive in receiving some treatments from the family and “husband”.
c Forbidden Marriage
In 1933, Yu-fang eventually remarried a much older, established doctor. The controversial marriage was founded on love yet was looked down upon by the
children of Dr. Xia. His children asked with him not to marry a former concubine however the begging stopped when one of Dr. Xia’s son’s accidentally took his own
life in an attempt to stop the marriage. Married with a Manchu doctor, his name is Dr. Xia, he was not a Han Chinese, as were the Yangs and most of China, but a Manchu,
one of the original inhabitants of Manchuria. He was well known not only as an excellent doctor, but also a very kind man, who often treated poor people for nothing.
He was sixty-five, and a widower, with three grown-up sons and one daughter, all of them married. The fact that Yu-fang had been a concubine, plus the age gap, which
meant they would have to do obeisance to someone with an inferior status and much younger than themselves, was too much for the sons. Their children were disagreeing
with his plan because of the fact that he was a Manchu. Moreover, the novel states that:
… They begged Dr. Xia to consider the fact that he was a Manchu, and that according to ancient Manchu custom, a man of his status should not marry a
Han Chinese. ... One of the families trotted out an ancient saying: “A young wife who has an old husband is really another man’s woman.” 36.
“At the mention of the word “character,” the eldest son gave a loud snort: “how can you mention the word ‘character’ about a concubine No good
woman would have become a concubine in the first place ... 39.
From these statements, it can be underlined that the fact that Yu-fang was an ex-concubine and the age gap between Dr. Xia and her, made his children were
disagrees. Based on the Manchu of etiquettes, there are some rules in regulating Yu- fang and Dr.Xia. McAleavy stated that in law, intermarriage between the two races
was forbidden, though the practical effect of this prohibition must not be exaggerated. It was never intended to apply to unions between members of the Chinese and
Manchu and probably its only result was to fortify Manchu families in their reluctance to give their daughters in marriage to ordinary Chinese civilians 25. That
is why intermarriage that was experienced by Yu-fang was forbidden. There was a rule that prohibiting intermarriage as had been around by women at this era.
The emperor authorized the intermarriage between Manchu men and Chinese concubines. McAleavy added that Manchu men, apart from the imperial
family itself, were not all deterred by statue from taking Chinese concubines. The emperors order that he should no beget a successor in whom an admixture of Chinese
blood might arouse inconvenient sympathies 25. Best also states that the Manchus prohibited Han Chinese from migrating to the Manchu homeland and forbid
intermarriage. It interprets that the Emperor regulated the marriage between Manchu men and Chinese concubines. It was forbidden to have such a marriage because it was
resulting in inconvenient sympathies among the Manchu men. Based on those arguments, there are some marriage rules regulating Chinese
women at this era, which is intermarriage. As Yu-fang’s grows older, the reader is able to see the traditional ideals of old China collapse as new philosophies and ideas
are developed. Yu-fang’s indirect voice and oppressed life is contrasted with her daughter De-hong’s opened and liberated nature or life. The life of a mother and
daughter are compared and used to describe the cultural changes that took place during the lifetime of Grandmother Yu-fang.
2. Chinese Women’s Social Roles as represented in the life of De-hong 1931-
Kategori