Publication Type

Book Chapter

Version

submittedVersion

Publication Date

3-2021

Abstract

The promotion of Confucianism to offer solutions to contemporary problems, better alternatives to the patently unsatisfactory status quo of our world and the tired ideals that have dominated academic and global discourses, should not be mistaken for naïve traditionalism advocating the revival of Confucianism as it was understood and practiced in its historical milieu. This is especially pertinent in the area of gender relations. Chenyang Li pointed out nearly two decades ago: as “the philosophical-religious tradition that originated in Confucius and was further developed by scholars and supporters of later times … there is little doubt that the answer to our first question of whether Confucianism has oppressed women has to be affirmative.”1 Reviewing late twentieth century studies of Chinese women in traditional society that challenge earlier literature depicting them only as oppressed victims, Li concluded that “While Confucianism’s oppression of women was quite severe – indeed undeniably severe – it must have left some room for women’s moral cultivation and even social participation

Keywords

Confucianism, Feminism, Education, women, gender inequality

Discipline

Arts and Humanities

Research Areas

Humanities

Publication

Human Beings or Human Becomings: A Conversation with Confucianism on the Concept of the Person

First Page

1

Last Page

22

ISBN

9781438481845

Publisher

State University of New York Press

City or Country

Albany, United States

Embargo Period

8-3-2021

Download

Share

COinS