A Study On Women’s Social Activities In Qing Dynasty

Qing Dynasty was a connecting dynasty in Chinese ancient history. It was not only the terminator of feudal dynasty, but also creator in social transformation of modern history. In this hundreds of years under Manchu domination, it was subjected to rapid population growth in the late period, and suffered the impact of Western civilization. It began to transform from a traditional peasant society to a modern society, and ultimately perished in the transformation. In this context, women accounted for half of the population carried social customs of the past, and face a new era of large background showing new features. According to the characteristics of the Qing Dynasty’s development, this dissertation tried to elaborate the characteristics of grassroots women’s social activity from daily life, immigrant society, lawsuits and modern society’s transition.In daily life, women inherited the Confucian ethics of the past. They used "Qinqin" and "Zunzun" to deal with the ethical and geopolitical relations. The closer they are the more intimate relationship they would be. With the development of commodity economy, grassroots women had more opportunities to participate in social and economic life, money lending, land tenure and other economic transactions, and go out helpers, shop operators the opportunity to increase accordingly. Acknowledging godmother, goddaughter presented "feelings plus interest" intended to increase blood relationship, while the interests standards gradually became the main principles of women into economic activities. Extensive use of the contract and the official recognition of the effectiveness of the contract maintained the rights of women in economic life to a certain extent. The barrier between men and women made men and women in the social space generated isolation, but also enhanced the development of female friendship.In the late Qing Dynasty, as the rapid population growth and tax reform continued in Kangxi and Qianlong period and "Tandingrumu" policy, increased population mobility, border and urban industry and commerce to develop. Under the circumstance of men going to work, women left behind faced more external pressure, but they can also went to a broader public domain. On social interaction, men going out, on one hand strengthened ethical and geopolitical dependence of women left behind. On the other hand women have been tempted outside awakening and self-awareness, and gradually became a new social instability. Unlike official interaction, women migrated to the area of immigration, because they were away from the original social acquaintances, monitoring from family, neighbors and public opinion is reduced, so they can get more personal freedom. Compared to the region of powerful clan forces, the immigrant society’s women are more likely to seek survival data by their sexuality and fertility, and get a more relaxed environment.The law in Qing Dynasty was a master of the ancient laws, and also the pioneers of modem legal system. For ordinary Han women, the law on one hand protected the privileges of her humble relatives of the young, on the other hand so that she succumbed to her husband and elders. The government limited women’s rights litigation, but also gave women received foreclosure penalty privilege. Local magistrate in the actual proceedings intended to pacifying women, which was to some extent contributed to "Women litigation" so that litigation had become an important tool in their disputes besides mediation, and to some extent alleviate the female extreme behavior to the outsiders, so as to maintain seniority order of local area.Compared to the previous dynasties, the number of intellectual women increased significantly, their social activities presented the characteristics of cross-regional and inter-generational with the development of postal and transportation technology and female spontaneous consciousness gradually strengthened. With western civilization breaking into China, the Qing government began to reform. Modernized school education changed women’s family tradition, and they were also actively involved in the teaching and management of women’s education, training a large number of western enlightenment female students and vocational skills workers. As the largest charitable organizations in the north of modern China, GuangrenTang responding to the industrial salvation call, recruited all levels of society women, and created female plants, changing from the initial pure relief agency to a charity organization cultivating female workers. Although all sectors of society women’s direct and extensive exchanges occurred among only a few trading ports, but the door to the modernization of the late Qing Dynasty had been opened, the traditional women’s social life sea change will occur sooner or later.