The Position of Women in Chinese Intelectual History: Retrospective Views about the Value of Confucian Ethics for a Chinese Feminist Discourse

Authors

  • Cesar Guarde-Paz Universidad Nankai

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37467/gka-revhuman.v3.725

Keywords:

Cultural Studies, Confucianism, Ancient China, Feminism

Abstract

This paper has the purpose of analyzing, through Confucian texts and its interpreters, the position of women in Classical Chinese Philosophy. First, it will be examine how the role of women in society was understood in the “Analects”, the ritual texts, the “Classic of Poetry” and the works of Mencius. Likewise, research will focus on how these passages, usually very short to offer a clear and unambiguous answer, have been treated by the Confucian interpreters, from Antiquity to the end of the Imperial Period. A thoughtful review will show that, although Confucianism did never develop a Philosophy of Gender and did not bother too much with this question, Confucian philosophers and interpreters were able to successfully challenge the “concience collective” and stress women’s position in history and society. Finally, through a brief comparative acknowledgment of what Classical Greek Philosophers had to say about women, we will conclude with some observations regarding the role of Confucianism in modern Asian societies and its relevance for the development of an indigenous feminist discourse.

Author Biography

Cesar Guarde-Paz, Universidad Nankai

Doctor en Filosofía por la Universidad de Barcelona con la tesis titulada “Virtud y consecuencia en la literatura histórica y filosófica pre-Han y Han”. Desarrolló estudios de lengua china y chino clásico en la Universidad Sun Yat-sen (Guangzhou) con una beca del Ministerio de Educación de la República Popular China. En la actualidad es profesor en la Universidad Nankai (Tianjin). Su línea principal de investigación se centra en la filosofía ética confuciana y la literatura china moderna.

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Published

2014-03-05

How to Cite

Guarde-Paz, C. (2014). The Position of Women in Chinese Intelectual History: Retrospective Views about the Value of Confucian Ethics for a Chinese Feminist Discourse. HUMAN REVIEW. International Humanities Review Revista Internacional De Humanidades, 3(2). https://doi.org/10.37467/gka-revhuman.v3.725

Issue

Section

Research articles