User:Corphine/sandbox/1/Yu Zhengxie
 | |
| Born | 1775 (249 years ago) |
| Died | 1840 (aged 64–65) |
| Nationality |  China |
| Other names | Courtesy name: Li-chu (理初) |
| Occupation(s) | Philosopher, scholar, philologist, writer, astrologer |
| Era | 18th and 19th century |
| Region | China (eastern) |
| School | supernaturalist |
| Institutions | 晚年主讲JiangningXiyin Academy (惜阴书院) see Yuelu Academy |
Main interests | Women's rights, philology, astrology |
Notable ideas | Feminist thinking |
Yu Zhengxie (1775–1840) was a prominent Chinese scholar and philosopher of the mid-Qing period.[1]: 22 He was one of the earliest male feminists who noted critic of foot binding, female infanticide, widow suicide, widow chastity and the double standard.[2][3] He was also denoted as a skilled philologist and astrologist.[4][5]
Background
[edit]Names
[edit]Yu's original name was Yú Zhèngxiè (Chinese: 兪正燮) in the pinyin romanisation system, which was pronounced as Yu Cheng-hsieh and written as Yü Cheng-hsieh in the older Wade–Giles system.
The family name is Yú, and the given name, Zhèng and Xiè, means Uprightness, Purity, Honesty[6] and Harmonisation, Adjustment[7] respectively.
The courtesy name of Yu was Li-chu (Chinese: 理初; pinyin: Lǐ Chū).
Era
[edit]18th to 19th century (Qing Dynasty)(Daoguang and Jiaqing)
Major thoughts
[edit]| “ | When the female sex is weakened, then the harmony which comes from the mutual complementing of the male and female principles will be imperfect. And when you lower the position of women, by implication you lower the position of men also. | ” |
| — A Postscript, tr. Lin 1935:122, quoted in Shih 1967:228 | ||
| “ | The way of husband and wife is to become one. If the husband takes a concubine and the wife is not jealous, she must be indifferent. Indifference destroys the way of the family. | ” |
| — Jealousy Is Not a Woman's Evil Trait, tr. Ko 1995:316 | ||
| “ | If men want to make loyalty and righteousness their own responsibility, that is fine, but how does the virtue and chastity of women reflect any glory on men? | ” |
| — On Faithful Maidens, tr. Ropp 2001:3 | ||
Feminism
[edit]Yu was one of the first Chinese intellectuals who showed unique sensitivity toward the plight women faced in a society of profound gender inequality. Yu sharply criticised traditional restrictions on females and championed a more egalitarian conjugal relationship.[8]: 116–7 In his compiled work Gui si lei gao, the defense of women's rights reached its first culmination.[9]: 193 [10]: 180–1 His major thoughts were stated in four essays:
- A Postscript to the Book on Costumes of the Old T'ang History
- Jealousy Is Not a Woman's Evil Trait
- On Chaste Widows
- On Faithful Maidens
He opposed foot-binding and favoured abolishment of the custom.[3] He questioned the double standard applied to women and men regarding marriage and morals, criticising the concubinage system and advocating humane treatment of widows.[2]
By distinguishing du (妒), jealousy, from ji (嫉), malicious envy, Yu showed understanding and sympathy to women's feelings of insecurity in a society where taking concubines was considered male glory. He argued that it was just a natural emotion rather than a reflection of female character defects—a stereotype mindset for ancient Chinese people—and that it was polygamy that caused such dissonance.[11][12] He also accused the ethical propriety of commendating chaste widowhood (shǒu guǎ) and chastity martyrs (liè nǚ),[13][14] which was referred to as shameless masculine point of view to enslave women in his essay On Chaste Widows:
If the old saying on that "women should not remarry" makes sense, then neither should men. The sage did not lay down this point because he had taken it for granted. People didn't get the true meaning of propriety; they made unreasonable demands upon women which resulted in a biased ritual. Although it is made clear in the rites that husband and wife should become a whole in wedlock on an equal basis, some scholars have misinterpreted the words and lowered the position of the wife. The old maxim goes, one's body is bound in marriage for life, which applies to male and female alike, yet men seldom keep to it and more than often, they break the bound and remarry once their wife passes away. Men have woven a huge constraint with their masculine logic and sophistry to enslave women—how shameless!
It is respectable if widows voluntarily refrain from engaging in a new conjugal relationship and choose to live the life alone; yet it is not appropriate to blame them just because they would like to remarry.— On Chaste Widows, tr. Lin Yutang 1936:120
Yu as a prominent scholar raised a strong concern on women's issues of his time,[8] and Lin Yutang entitled Yu as one of the three earliest Chinese feminists, along with Yuan Mei and Li Ruzhen.[15]: 117 Yu's feminist thinking was denoted as "important and revolutionary conclusions" that "contain the seeds of true sexual equality and a system of monogamy in marriage",[15]: 118–122 which was characterised by a tendency towards a tightening of conjugal morality for both men and women and "had been making highly significant contributions to Chinese culture for quite a long time".[9]
Chuang Tzu and Hui Tzu were strolling along the dam of the Hao River when Chuang Tzu said, "See how the minnows come out and dart around where they please! That's what fish really enjoy!"
Hui Tzu said, "You're not a fish - how do you know what fish enjoy?"
Chuang Tzu said, "You're not I, so how do you know I don't know what fish enjoy?"
Hui Tzu said, "I'm not you, so I certainly don't know what you know. On the other hand, you're certainly not a fish ‑ so that still proves you don't know what fish enjoy!"
Chuang Tzu said, "Let's go back to your original question, please. You asked me how I know what fish enjoy ‑ so you already knew I knew it when you asked the question. I know it by standing here beside the Hao."
— Zhuangzi, 17, tr. Watson 1968:188-9
Philology
[edit]A skilled philologist, Yu researched the history of language, which influenced his views on women. According to his interpretation, the Han historical texts supported an egalitarian view of marriage.[4]: 99
Influences
[edit]- Lin Yü-T'ang, "Feminist Thought in Ancient China":
- in Yu-ning Li, ed. (1992). Chinese Women Through Chinese Eyes. M.E. Sharpe. pp. 34–58. ISBN 0873325974.
- also in 1935 Confucius Nancy
- also Cai Yuanpei and Kang Youwei
Publications
[edit]K'uei-ssu lei-kao K'uei-ssu ts'un-kao Gui si cun gao 癸巳存稿
- Yu, Zhengxie (1937). Gui si lei gao (Chinese: 癸巳類稿). Vol. 13 (reprint ed.). Shanghai: Commercial Press.
also denoted as:[16]: 228 KSTK Kuei-ssu ts'un-kao 癸巳類稿, by Yü Cheng-hsieh 俞正燮. 1833; reprint, Shanghai: Commercial Press, 1957. KSLK Kuei-ssu lei-kao, by Yü Cheng-hsieh 俞正燮. 1833; reprint, Shanghai: Commercial Press, 1957.
Gui si lei gao
- Yu, Zhengxie (1937). Gui si lei gao (Chinese: 癸巳類稿). Vol. 13 (reprint ed.). Shanghai: Commercial Press.
also denoted as:[16]: 228 KSLK Kuei-ssu lei-kao 癸巳類稿, by Yü Cheng-hsieh 俞正燮. 1833; reprint, Shanghai: Commercial Press, 1957.
References
[edit]- ^ Meng, L. 2007
- ^ a b Ropp, P. S. 2001
- ^ a b Ko, D. 1995, pp. 109-110
- ^ a b Mann in Brownell and Wasserstrom 2002
- ^ Ho, P. 2003
- ^
The dictionary definition of "Zheng" (正) at Wiktionary
- ^ The dictionary definition of "Xie" (燮) at Wiktionary
- ^ a b Lu, W. 2008
- ^ a b Schmidt, J. D. 2013
- ^ Hou, S. 1986
- ^ Ma, Q. 2004
- ^ Wu, Y. 1995
- ^ Sommer, M. H. 2000
- ^ Santangelo, P. 2013
- ^ a b Lin, Yutang 1936
- ^ a b Watson and Ebrey 1991
Notes
[edit]- "Gui si lei gao".
（古有丁男丁女，）裹足則失丁女，陰弱則兩儀不完。 （又出古舞屣賤服，）女賤則男賤。
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夫婦之道，言致一也。夫買妾而妻不妒，則是恝也，恝則家道壞矣。
{{cite web}}:|chapter=ignored (help); Missing or empty|url=(help) - "Gui si lei gao".
男兒以忠義自責則可耳，婦女貞烈，豈是男子榮耀也？
{{cite web}}:|chapter=ignored (help); Missing or empty|url=(help) - "Gui si lei gao".
按 "婦無二適之文"，固也，男亦無再娶之儀！聖人所以不定此儀者，（如"禮不下庶人，刑不上大夫"，非渭庶人不行禮，）大夫不懷刑也。禮意不明，苛求婦人， 遂為偏義。古禮，夫婦合體同尊卑，乃或卑其妻。古言"終身不改"，言身，則男女同也。七事出妻，乃七改矣；妻死再娶，乃八改矣。男子禮義無涯涘，而深文以 罔婦人，是無恥之論矣。……其再嫁者，不當非之；不再嫁者，敬禮之斯可矣。
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Biobliography
[edit]- Lin, Yutang (1936). "Feminist Thought in Ancient China". Confucius saw Nancy: and essays about nothing. Commercial Press.
- Hou, Sharon Shih-jiuan (1986). "Women's Literature". In Nienhauser, W. H. (ed.). The Indiana Companion to Traditional Chinese Literature. Indiana University Press. ISBN 0253329833. pp. 175-194
- Watson, R. S. and Ebrey, P. B., ed. (1991). Marriage and Inequality in Chinese Society. University of California Press. ISBN 0520071247.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link) - Ko, Dorothy (1994). Teachers of the Inner Chambers: Women and Culture in Seventeenth-century China. Stanford University Press. ISBN 0804723591.
- Wu, Yenna (1995). The Chinese Virago: A Literary Theme. Monograph: Harvard Yenching Institute. Vol. 40. Harvard Univ Asia Center. ISBN 067412572X.
- Sommer, M. H. (2000). Sex, Law, and Society in Late Imperial China. Stanford University Press. ISBN 0804745595.
- Ropp, P. S., Zamperini, P. and Zurndorfer, H. T., ed. (2001). Passionate Women: Female Suicide in Late Imperial China. BRILL. ISBN 9004120181.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link) - Mann, Susan (2002). "Grooming a Daughter for Marriage: Brides and Wives in the Mid-Qing Period". In Brownell, S. and Wasserstrom, J. N. (ed.). Chinese Femininities, Chinese Masculinities: A Reader. University of California Press. ISBN 0520221168.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link) pp. 93-119 - Ma, Qian (2004). Feminist Utopian Discourse in Eighteenth-century Chinese and English Fiction: A Cross-cultural Comparison. Ashgate Publishing. ISBN 0754637603.
- Lu, Weijing (2008). "Dissuading the Resolute: The Families of Faithful Maidens". True to Her Word: The Faithful Maiden Cult in Late Imperial China. Stanford University Press. ISBN 0804758085.
- Shih, Yu-chung (1967). The Taiping Ideology: Its Sources, Interpretations, and Influences. UBC Press. ISBN 0295739576.
- Ho, Peng-Yoke [in Chinese] (2003). Chinese Mathematical Astrology: Reaching Out to the Stars. Routledge. ISBN 1134430671.
- Meng, Liuxi (2007). Poetry as Power. Lexington Books. ISBN 0739112570.
- Schmidt, J. D. (2013). The Poet Zheng Zhen (1806-1864) and the Rise of Chinese Modernity. BRILL. ISBN 9004252290.
- Santangelo, P. (2013). "Textual Analysis on Emotions and Imagery in Zibuyu". Zibuyu, “What The Master Would Not Discuss”, according to Yuan Mei (1716 - 1798): A Collection of Supernatural Stories. BRILL. ISBN 9004216286.
- "title entry". series entry.
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Further reading
[edit]- Ling, Wing-Tim (1980). Yu Cheng-hsieh (1775-1840): His Life and Thought. School of Modern Asian Studies, Griffith University.
- Elman, B. A. (1984). From philosophy to philology: intellectual and social aspects of change in late imperial China. Council on East Asian Studies, Harvard University. ISBN 0674325257.
- Cheng, L., Furth, C. and Yip, H., ed. (1984). Women in China: Bibliography of Available English Language Materials. Center for Chinese Studies, Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California. ISBN 0912966726.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link)