15 Moreover, according to Ralph Linton in Maryati and Suryawati 2001,
there are three ways to have status in a society: ascribed status, achieved status, and assigned status. Ascribed status is granted to people since they were born e.g.
a man of noble birth. This status can be found in feudal societies or extrovert societies. Achieved status is the status which is achieved by people who have a try
at getting it. They are able to get it without the influence of others because it depends on the individual himself. For example, to be a lawyer, someone must
learn and graduate from the Faculty of Law so that he gets the title of lawyer. Then, assigned status is the status which is given by a particular party. Assigned
status is similar to achieved status in how this status is given to someone who has struggled for something. However, assigned status is given by a person or a group
of higher status. For instance, in the United Kingdom, Queen Elizabeth II gave the musician Elton John the title of ‘Sir’ because of his commitment to music in Great
Britain.
3. Sociological Review of Chinese Society in the Nineteenth Century
The setting of time in the novel is the nineteenth century. In China, the nineteenth century was still the pre-modern era. The nineteenth century was the
end of traditional Chinese society era before entering the transitional era. Nineteenth-century China was under the Qing Dynasty Manchu Dynasty which
was ended in 1912. By this time, in late imperial China, there were some growth and changes which were influencing society. The rebellions were aroused,
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16 consolidating the imperial China. The dynasty was finally overthrown by
revolutions led by Sun Yat Sen Lynn Pan, 1998, p. 367. Traditional Chinese society was institutionalized according to Confucian
belief. The teachings of Confucianism had already become the determinants of their life. International Encyclopedia of the Social Science mentions the five basic
Chinese relationships which were based on the ethos of legitimate authorities of Confucian ideals. They were: “emperor-subject, father-son, elder brother-younger
brother, husband-wife, and friend-friend only the last relationship expresses egalitarian values – p. 410. This was called ‘Thrice Following’ which was taken
from the book of Confucian Book of Rites that can be seen in the next quotation. Thrice Following stated that the woman must obey her father and elder
brothers in her youth, her husband after marriage and her son after the death of her husband. Jackson, 1997, p. 16
In traditional Chinese society, the connection between state and social system was dominated by a status group. The form of a status groups or gentry is
specifically one of the most important functions of a social system. The system itself was already influenced by the colonial that started driving China to the
revolution towards the empire. Gentry have a higher position in society and then determine the status.
The traditional Chinese designation of that group as “officials, landlords, and notables” suggests that there were three different sources of status – in
effect, power, wealth, and prestige. International Encyclopedia of the Social Science, p. 411
When the Emperor was overthrown to the Manchus Qing Dynasty, the rule was tightened. The result which was more repressive affected Chinese
women at that time. According to Richard J. Smith 1994, Chinese women were
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17 becoming “subject to standards of fidelity and female propriety more rigid that at
any previous time in Chinese history” p. 245. Women were not permitted the literary education though women and men possess the same abilities. The women
also had to remain at home and had no public voice. This point of view is related to the Chinese ancient belief dealing with Yin and Yang. Men and women lived in
different realms. Fairbank 1986 stated that Women were fitted into the social and cosmic order which were a
continuum by invoking the principles of Yang and Yin. All things bright, warm, active, male, and dominant were Yang while all things dark, cold,
passive, female, and yielding were Yin p. 68.
The inequality between men and women was the proof of male domination in China before the transitional era. Woman held the secondary status in a
household and had no power at all. They were also considered as “a poor social investment in traditional China, since after years of nurture the majority of them
would simply marry to become members of other households” Smith, 1994, p. 248. After all the Chinese women faced in their live as worthless humans, they
had to endure the agony of footbinding which will be elaborated much clearer in the next point.
To amuse themselves, Chinese women had a deep relationship with each other. There are two kinds of this relationship. The first is sworn sisters. Sworn
sisters were for a group of four up to five women. They gathered in one place called the women’s chamber in one of the households. They might visit each
other. In the visits, they were engaged in chatting, embroidering, waving, and other women’s activities. Meanwhile, the second type is lao tong. It is different.
Lao tong was for two women only. It was much more exclusive because it was
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18 determined by the time of year when they were born. Lao tong was also an
everlasting relationship. To communicate with each other, they used a written language called nu
shu which was secretly practiced away from the influence of the men. By nu shu, they wrote many things such as poems, prose, and even their life story on a fan,
shoes, or handkerchiefs.
4. Sociological Review of Footbinding in China
