| During the early twentieth-century (1902-14), women of the great north China cities of Beijing and Tianjin underwent dramatic changes in the nature of their lives. Encouraged both by an indigenous Chinese tradition of protesting patriarchal oppression and by Western feminism, they began systematically to violate Confucian moral restraints and cross existing gender boundaries. In contrast to previous scholarship, which has focused nearly exclusively on the Chinese women's movement led by elites in the south, this dissertation examines the changing image of northern urban women, both elite and commoner, through analyzing several interacting social groups: male reformers, feminist women, female students, and actresses. While each group possessed different attitudes toward women's issues, they jointly contributed to the transformation of women's political, economic, and social roles.; In early twentieth-century north China, women did not initially strive to change their social position. They were inspired by male nationalist reformers who put forward a limited program of improving women's status. The lack of an independent economic foundation, and the constant threat of imperialist partition of China, prevented women from organizing an independent and united feminist movement. Early female activists were involved in a variety of moderate and pragmatic programs. Women's emancipation encompassed not only the struggle for political, economic, and educational rights, but also the demands for women's individual rights and Freedom at home. Especially after the Revolution on 1911, a shift of women's attitudes and lifestyles based on notions of individualism, consumerism, and iconoclasm coexisted with the suffrage movement. The demand for sexual equality was expressed by a range of rebellious conduct. Calls for emancipation were only slowly picked up by lower-class women. Much less organized or self-conscious, these women spontaneously revolted against the Confucian moral principles and men's control, integrating their efforts with the mainstream of the women's movement.; In this study, women's resistance in different dimensions has been explored. In the private and family sphere, women began to break down the ideological and customary restraints on their social behavior, and sought to develop a self-centered and heterosocial lifestyle. In the public sphere, women's activities were more collective and feminist-oriented, crossing the boundaries between genders. With their active involvement in education, organization, journalism, and other political action, women became more conscious and informed regarding their submissive condition and the patriarchal oppression. Additionally, through participating in the broader nationalist movement, women developed a sense of citizenship and an ambition to have a voice in national affairs. Nationalist activities, though they sometimes proved contradictory to gender interests, promoted their collective solidarity, political awareness, and the image of female patriotism. |
