BAN ZHAO: The Problem of Woman
Ban Zhao was one of the few known examples of women who received an education and who wrote influential works thathave survived to the modern day. Ban Zhao lived approximately from 45 to 115 CE, during the Han Dynasty in China. She wrote a book entitled Lessons for Women that presented the ideal Confucian values and behaviors considered proper for Chinese women.
The Problem of Woman
I, the unworthy writer, am unsophisticated, unenlightened,and by nature unintelligent . . . being careless, and by nature stupid .. . at hours of leisure I have composed in seven chapters these instructions. . . .
To be humble, yielding, respectful and reverential; to put herself after others . . . these qualities are those exemplifying woman's low and humble estate. To retire late and rise early; not to shirk exertion from dawn to dark . . . this is called being diligent. To behave properly and decorously in serving her husband; to be serene and self-possessed, shunning jest and laughter . . . this is called being worthy of continuing the husband's lineage. If a woman possesses the above mentioned three qualities,then her reputation shall be excellent.
. . . On the third day after the birth of a girl the ancients observed three customs: to place the baby below the bed; to give her a potsherd with which to play; and to announce her birth to the ancestors by an offering.[Now] the Way of husband and wife is intimately connected with Yin and Yang and relates the individual to gods and ancestors. As Yin and Yang are not the same nature, so man and woman have different characteristics. The distinctive quality of the Yang is rigid; the function of the Yin is yielding. Man is honored for strength; a woman is beautiful on account of her gentleness.
Source: Ban Zhao, Ban Zhao: Foremost Woman Scholar of China, NancyLee Swan, trans. (Century Press, 1932).
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