Anthropology Regarding Chinese Society Research Assignment

Anthropology Regarding Chinese Society
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Anthropology Regarding Chinese Society
The position of women in China is greatly debatable considering that the state has had different rulers and various types of governance. Thus, it is almost impossible to clearly put the position of women within specific frameworks. This is because of the uniqueness of the changes that have occurred throughout the ages that have identified their position in society. However, it is critical to state that Chinese women have been constantly undermined and their rights have been limited for a long time as compared to their counterparts, the men. This study will reflect on the changes that have occurred in the lives of women throughout different centuries.
The Maoist Revolution
As the name suggests, this is a cultural revolution that was pushed for by Mao Zedong, who was the leader of the Communists Party of China that aimed to preserve the precepts and ideologies of the old Chinese people. “But before the foundation of the Chinese communist party and on the heels of the 4 of May Mao who was openly concerned with the feminist movement and saw in it a radical means of transforming the society, undertook a journalistic campaign for women rights” (Rhim, 1960, p.107).
Mao believed in the ability of women to preserve the old ways of thinking and therefore invited them to join the human race unlike Confucius who considered them xiao ren (Inferior human). In order to advocate for the rights of liberty and equality, Mao published several articles in magazines 1919-1920 that advocated for the rights and support for women in the fight for equality. Some of his magazines were banned from publication but still continued to publish Mao initiated many policies and rules that had a direct impact on the citizens of his state, especially the women. Historians argue that this revolution was critical to the Chinese women because it brought significant changes into their lives and changed the older forms in which women were classified and viewed. Thus, Maoism has always been positively viewed as a period of change in governance, economic status and social positioning of women CITATION Rhi60 \l 1033 (Rhim, 1960).
The economic reform led by Deng
The Deng revolution results from the leader, Deng Xiaoping, of the movement that was advocated for in China between the year 1904 and 1997 (Kristeva, 2000). He was a revolutionary leader who made many changes in the governance of their state. This revolution is also significantly responsible for many changes that occurred to the state, ranging from economical changes to global ties with different countries. Most of the policies that were championed by this revolution were directly in contrast to those that had been advocated by the Maoist revolution (Kristeva, 2000). Therefore, there is a great difference among the precepts that this Deng campaigns fought to implement and those that Maoist had established. One of the most notable aspects that were in conflict with each other between the two revolutions is the state of women in society. Many researchers and historians have argued that the Deng revolution pushed women lower in society and returned them into the state that ...