Women's Liberation In The Context Of Modern Chinese Nationalism

In the 1930 s,the Kuomintang Government attached great importance to the national economic development and in 1933 launched a five-year “National Goods Year” campaign with different themes,of which the “Women's National Goods Year” in 1934 was the only gender-oriented national goods year.Mainly based on the newspapers,magazines and related archives of the Republic of China in the year of 1934,this thesis probes into “Women's Domestic Products Year” and makes it a case to explore the liberation of women in the context of modern Chinese nationalism.By elaborating the social context and development of the movement,it is concluded that the movement originated in rise of the status of female consumers and the prevailing foreign culture at that time,which then as a potential problem,has become a critical cause for the failure of the subsequent movements.During the campaign,the government,the business sector,and public opinion have,through various propaganda methods,jointly encouraged women to purchase domestic products so as to endow women with modern “female national” images.Additionally,they have also called upon women to return to the “good wives and mothers” family role,which reflected the rejection and inhibition posed on female liberation by traditional Chinese thought.In response,the female group expressed two kinds of feedback: the first one is a positive response,actively recognizing its national identity,and participating in the "consumption to save the nation" movement;the other one is a negative response,"modern ladies" still pursue fashion and individual liberation,as a result,the amount of overspending is not reduced but increased.At the same time,women also strongly oppose the call of the "Women Go Home Theory" and are eager to enter the society.The mobilization of women in the practice of modern nation-state has always been placed under the patriarchal discourse,a process in which women are constantly being shaped and constructed.But at the same time,it also provided a platform for women to participate in public space,which played a role in promoting women's liberation.From a female perspective,how to get out of the constraints of the traditional gender order and integrate individual citizenship into the discourse of the nation-state is the key to achieving self-liberation and selfconscious awakening.