McAleavy concluded that the Confucian System of the family had salient features, the veneration of ancestors, respect towards parents and seniors, and desire
for sons, and was common to all classes of Chinese society 10.
2. Foot Binding and Concubine
The litany of the individual’s emancipation from the old society may well begin with the emancipation of women. Twitchett and Fairbank clearly describes, “
… Their degraded status was well symbolized by the custom of foot-binding which crippled them from childhood, made them less effective as manual workers, and yet
was practiced so widely among the Han Chinese peasantry … ”26. Crites explains, “The origin of foot binding that it began late in the Tang
Dynasty 618-906 and it gradually spread through the upper class during the Song Dynasty 960-1297. During the Ming period 1368-1644 and the Ching Dynasty
1644-1911 the custom of foot binding spread through the overwhelming majority of the Chinese population until it was finally outlawed in the 1911 Revolution of Sun
Yat-Sen.” Furthermore, Kiat and Sudarno stated in their translated book “China
Selayang Pandang” that: Sepandjang pengetahuan kita, kebiasaan untuk mengikat kaki orang
perempuan agar menjadi ketjil, dimulai pada waktu itu. Itu boleh jadi disebabkan karena hidup diistana sangat mewah dan halusnja, sehingga orang-
orang perempuan mendjadi seolah-olah gila untuk mendjadi seolah-olah gila untuk mendjadi sangat sedjahtera dan besar, hingga rakjat takut, kalau-kalau
orang perempuan akan meninggalkan halaman rumahnja dan menghendaki kedudukan berdampingan dengan orang laki-laki dalam lapangan pendidikan,
kesenian dan pemerintahan. Tak ada seorangpunjang dapat mengatakan. Bilamana dan untuk apa kebiasaan itu diadakan, tetapi sedjak dinastie Tang
dan Sung sampai djaman sekarang perempuan Tionghoa mengikat kakinja 191.
As far as we know, the habit of binding girls’ feet to be smaller was started at that time. It was caused by the glamorous and luxurious life in the kingdom;
so that the girls who were eager to be 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. No one can tell why and for what this habit was done, but since Tang Dinasty and Sung until now, Chinese
girls are binding their feet 191.
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. In addition, Bushnel states that power and family status were considered to be very important during the early 1900’s.
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. 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.
In Western Views of Chinese Women, the origin of foot binding may not be clear, however the results or after affects are apparent. Foot binding stopped
concubines and wives of the rich from straying or running away from beatings. “Confucian teachings at this time stressed the superior status of men over women as a
basic element of social order and this was certainly an effective method of restraint”. Western Views of Chinese Women assumes that this goes hand in hand with
the Neo-Confucian teachings of the time which preached a hierarchical social order starting in the family with women being subservient to their husbands.
The term status appears in Western Views of Chinese Women. It says, “Although taking a concubine was supposed to be a method of last resort for a
patriarch to acquire a male heir, the practice was long established as a marker of elite status. Western writers improperly termed this practice “polygamy,” or taking
multiple wives. In fact, the position of the wife remained sacrosanct with regards to her authority in the household and her role as “mother” to all of her husband’s
progeny“. This states that that a concubine was not a wife. Moise well explains that most marriages are arranged by parents of the people
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. 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.
3. Manchu Marriage System of Etiquette
