A Study On The Family Life Of The Civilian Women In Song Dynasty

In Song Dynasty,whether political,economic,cultural or social class structure have undergone varying degrees of change, Neo-confucianism also start in the period. In such an environment, the civilian women’s family life presents new features. And we can learn the new face of the women at that time from the study on the family life of the civilian women who can represent the common feminine class. So the paper studies the civilian women’s family life in Song Dynasty by using the civilian women as the researchful object, based on the angle of history and references some methods of woman and gender studying, so as to present the true aspect of their lives.The paper contains three parts:introduction,the main text and conclusion.In the introduction, which gives the definition of the civilian women in song dynasty, explains the reason and the significance of this text, goes back to the state of studying the family life of the women in Song Dynasty and introduces the material sources and research methods.The main body of this article is made up of five parts:The first part focuses on the family status and rights of the civilian women in Song Dynasty. It explains the virgin’s treatment when they were born, legal status, marital autonomy,the right to education and the right of inheriting property; research married women’s legal status and right of inheritance.The second part discusses the housework and economic activities of the women in Song Dynasty. They in addition to doing textile,catering cook,sweeping and other household labor, but also actively participate in agriculture,handicrafts,commerce and other services industries. They make a contribution to the society and families.The third part explores the widowhood and the remarriage of the civilian women in Song Dynasty. The women’s remarriages are common, because there is a broad view of chastity, they learn less traditional morality and their economic conditions are limited.The fourth part studies the relationships between the civilian women and other members of their families in Song Dynasty. It mainly focuses on the relationship between husband and wife, the mother-child relationship and the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, most of these relationships to break social norms,showing a diversity of characteristics.The fifth part discusses the images of the civilian women in the book "Yi Jian Zhi". It makes a classification on the images of the civilian women in the book. Most of them do not adhere to the traditional ethics, but show us colorful characteristics.The conclusion emphasizes the features of the civilian women’s family life in Song Dynasty basing on the summary of the whole text.