Chinese Cultural History the Female Term Paper

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Internal affairs included the cultivation of healthy relations with the extended family and the management of household finances. It also entailed the nourishment and regulation of the family's children, particularly the sons.

In many ways, women were understood to not have lives if they did not have either a husband. Yang betrays this understanding when he implores his wife to not choose an otherwise honorable suicide after his own death, explaining quite matter-of-factly "Among women, there are those who die with their husbands. This is because the husband is [the wife's] master, and there are no children to maintain: there would be no purpose in living."

Yang elaborates that, in situations where the husband is dead and there are still children, if the wife "…dies, then she is abandoning her husband and master's ancestral sacrifices, letting his work degenerate…"

Whether dead or alive, the husband is always a woman's raison d'etre.

After her duty to her husband, a woman's next duty was to her sons, who would continue her husband's pursuit of honor for the family line. Among the many loose ends Yang Jisheng was to leave in his family affairs upon his death, he related that "…his only regret will be that [his] two sons are both young."

He promises his wife that "If each is able to complete their household and establish their objectives, then it will be as if I am alive" and "I will be grateful to you."

Yang does not even think to address his unmarried daughter, presumably leaving her training up to his wife. This omission, when viewed in conjunction with the sparse instructions to his wife, reveal that men actually knew very little about what a wife does and even less about how she does it.

Yang's instructions regarding to his wife regarding his sisters reveal that they were people to be helped, not people to not expect help from.

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This indicates that the responsibilities of a woman in that era were always too great, that there was always something for them to do. In the event that a woman was deficient, she would need help from her birth family. In the event that she was wildly successful, all of her efforts would be expended on her husband's family and she would have nothing to spare.

Conclusion

The burdens and responsibilities encumbering wives in the Ming-Qing era comports with an understanding of the wife as the trusted manager. Yang seemed to depend on his wife considerably, even suggesting that "…whether our family does or does not have me does not matter. [But] if it does not have you, then nothing will be accomplished…"

Yang's letter to his wife was almost like a business memo, that of a departing chief executive issuing broad directives to a trusted manager.

Like the modern American middle-manager, Chinese wives of the Ming-Qing era operated with little guidance and unclear expectations. Similarly, their performance could really only be measured in the long-term and many were dismissed prematurely. Finally, they always seemed to have more to do and their contributions were often taken for granted......

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