The Development Of Womens Roles In Chinese Culture Essay PDF

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The depiction of women in China changed as sparked by the Cultural Revolution...

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Cultural Revolution Poster Art and the Changing Role of Women in China Traditional Chinese culture was distinctly patriarchal, deeply influenced by Confucian teachings that emphasized female subordination to men. Women were considered second class citizens whose primary role in society was running the household and pleasing the men around them. Depictions of traditional Chinese women focused on their femininity, beauty, and submissiveness. However, this depiction of women changed over time, catalyzed by the Cultural Revolution. This transition is exemplified in Cultural Revolution propaganda art, particularly in magazines and posters of the time. Depictions of women changed drastically during this time, as women became integrated into the workforce and gained social status. However these depictions were tinged with hypocrisy, as women’s rights were not fully realized during this time, and their rights were recognized to further other political motives of the Communist Party. However, this movement towards women’s empowerment was reflected in the artistic trends of the Cultural Revolution era. How exactly did the Cultural Revolution change the role of women in China and how did this era’s art reveal this? What contradictions in the Communist Party’s ideology surrounding women permeated the art of the Cultural Revolution? This paper seeks to delve into Cultural Revolution poster art and derive how it operated alongside the gradual emancipation of women in China. The traditional depictions of women in Chinese art were reflective of distinct gender roles and male dominance. This framework was directly drawn from Confucian teachings, and the concept of yin and yang. Yin is associated with femininity and passivity, whereas yang is associated with masculinity and strength. This is indicative of the gendered relationships in

traditional Chinese culture. “The ruler is yang, the subject is yin; the husband is yang, the wife is yin” (Fong, 22). This reflects the long established position of Chinese women, and provided a framework for their treatment throughout history. As such, artistic depictions of women (almost always rendered by men) emphasized traditional roles and gender inequalities. “The women in Chinese painting, therefore, should be portrayed as beautiful but submissive, demure and amiable, unassertive and pleasant, agreeable and good natured” (Fong, 22). Art was both a representation of and a standard by which traditional life was held. Thus, this type of art reinforced male dominance and female subordination in traditional Chinese society. Between 1911 and 1949, historical patterns of gender relations began to change. As Chinese society transitioned from a feudal aristocracy to a more egalitarian Communist structure, the feminist movement took shape. During this era, women became more empowered through new outlets and opportunities, such as women’s magazines and literature. These opportunities united women, giving them newfound strength and a voice. This progression of women’s rights was accelerated by the Cultural Revolution, a movement in Chinese history that revoked symbols of traditional Chinese society and sought to erect a new society. This involved erasing the Four Olds: old customs, old culture, old habits, and old ideas. As a result, historical art and themes thereof were questioned and abandoned. Art transitioned from classical paintings to propaganda posters, produced to support the Communist Party. The messages that the art of this era depicted carried political meaning, and were meant to teach Chinese people how they should behave in the new society, that operated around the Four News. One drastic change in the art of this time was the depiction of women as more powerful and autonomous figures who represented

revolution. As women became the subject of propaganda art, the way in which they were depicted evolved, indicative of their developing role in society. “Among the most dramatic cultural changes that occurred as a consequence of Chinese reform policies was the transformation of women’s role in society. As Mao tried to establish a new order, he saw patriarchy and gender inequality as antithetical to the new sociopolitical order he sought to create” (Yue, 3). The Communist Party of China’s political actions were deeply rooted in its goals to transform China into an egalitarian socialist country. “The egalitarian principle of the socialist state was in accordance with state feminists’ pursuits, although it became their responsibility to include gender equality in the socialist state conceptualization and practice” (Zheng, 848) as this was intended to further the Party’s larger goals. As industrialization was one of the primary objectives of the Party, policies to include women in the workforce were adopted. This was considered a step forward in Chinese women’s rights, but it is clear that opportunities for women came from the Party’s larger political and economic desires. Thus the inclusion of women was catalyzed by economic goals that were paramount to the Communist Party. Nevertheless, these policies elevated their status in Chinese society and this was reflected in the propaganda art of the time. Simultaneously, the Party’s propaganda began to feature women in a more prominent role. Because propaganda was meant to educate the masses, the Party was sending a message that women’s roles were evolving. “The media’s ability to define issues, topics, and situations gave them ideological power” (Yue, 15). Women began to be portrayed as strong and empowered

characters who championed the Cultural Revolution and an egalitarian socialist society. This was shown through propaganda art, which was utilized as a crucial tool for the Communist Party. “Art fit well into the whole revolutionary machine as a component part, that they operate as powerful weapons for uniting and educating the people and for attacking and destroying the enemy, and that they help the people fight the enemy with one heart and one mind” (Shen, 179). As women were one of Chairman Mao’s championed demographics, they became integrated into the industrial and agricultural workforce. The depictions of women in Cultural Revolution propagandist art demonstrated their societal ascendancy and importance in China’s economy. Propaganda posters portrayed strong, revolutionary women. “Women’s bodies in the new Chinese state were proudly masculinized to shake off the shamed traditional femininity and to symbolize an egalitarian communist state different from both the feudal and capitalist states” (Zhao, 180). Thus, the portrayal of women in this manner was meant to emphasize socialist equality and blur traditional gender lines. However, the masculinization of women in art was also an outcome of condemnation of beauty and femininity, which were both considered bourgeois during this era. The primary message that the Communist Party sent was that women were a powerful force, who “held up half the sky” and whose cooperation was crucial to China’s success. These characterizations of women “contributed to the formation of a new symbolic order that unambiguously disrupted deeply entrenched gender, class, and ethnic hierarchies” (Zheng, 837). Two particular examples of Cultural Revolution era posters that accentuate women’s roles are Strive for an Abundant

Harvest, Amass Grain, 1973 and Struggling to Speed Up the Realization of Mechanized Agriculture, 1971. Each of these Cultural Revolution era posters depicts powerful women who have been integrated into the workforce. This strong, study, determined depiction was characteristic of the time, and exemplified the revolutionary women and established that they were a part of a strong masculine proletariat. Both of the women portrayed in these two posters are visions of strength and vigor. They both have physical attributes that one would usually prescribe to males, such as broad shoulders, strong jaw lines, and muscular arms. Aside from this, the clothing they are wearing is modest and simple, reflective of a simple and modest proletariat. In many cases, the hypermasculinity of women makes the portrayed characters seem almost androgynous. The emphasized characteristics of these posters are indicative of an artistic pattern that portrayed women in a revolutionary way, devoid of femininity and perceived weakness. Aside from these physical characteristics, women’s role in the agricultural and industrial workforce was emphasized to show how integral women were to China’s establishment as a world economy. Other posters during this time included “an array of images of smiling rural and ethnic minority women holding bundles of grain or vegetables, carrying baskets of cotton or dirt, operating tractors or engaging in agricultural experiments, and even toasting Chairman Mao” (Zheng, 836). These works exemplified the themes that were prevalent in Cultural Revolution propaganda posters, and that contributed to the revolutionization of gender roles and society as a whole during this time.

who were representatives of the Party, and reflected the ascendancy of women in society. The Party’s emphasis upon women had far reaching effects in China, gradually changing the perception of women from one of weakness to strength and revolutionary determination. Jiang Qing, Mao’s wife, had considerable power, especially in the art sector. Female Red Guards took an active part in furthering the Cultural Revolution. In this way, women gained political and societal importance, despite the fact that there were very few powerful women in the highest ranks of the Communist Party. Propaganda posters were an educational tool, and and as they emphasized women, so were women emphasized in society. The nature of Cultural Revolution art sent a message about the new expectations for women in Chinese society and outlined their new roles as proponents of socialist society. It is evident that there were blatant contradictions in the portrayal of women during this time and that Cultural Revolution posters evoked a “complex multiplicity of meaning” (Pacific Affairs, 582). While the Party sought to empower women through artistic means, their methods often reinforced gendered traditions. Women’s empowerment was often done by eliminating their female identity and making them more masculine. This created a conflicting dualism in the messages that the Communist Party sent to women across China. Although they gained more freedom and access to a new sector of society, it was only through their becoming more like men, and thus the objectification of women for political purposes in propaganda art qualified the

Party’s interest in female empowerment. These “iron girls” who inhabited posters in the 1970’s were intended to encourage women “to engage in the traditional masculine sphere of public endeavor while simultaneously reinforcing within that sphere a familiar hierarchy of gendered authority” (Landsberger, 221). Thus, we must ask ourselves if the Party’s attempts to further women’s rights through propaganda art was actually empowerment, and whether it changed the role of women in Chinese society or reinforced traditional gender discrimination. Clearly there were contradictions in the Party’s message to women, which reflected the conflict between empowerment and subjugation during the Cultural Revolution. However, despite the contradictions in portrayals of women’s empowerment during this time, new opportunities gradually elevated women’s social status, and allowed them to transcend their traditional bindings. Without the Cultural Revolution and the art that reflected this drastic social change, women’s rights in China would perhaps not be where they are today. Therefore, despite the fact that women’s empowerment during this time was not always straightforward, it had a net positive effect. Although there were conflicting messages in the portrayal of women in Cultural Revolution art, it was part of a larger trajectory of the ascendancy of women in Chinese society. Propaganda art was a vital educational tool during this time, and its depiction of strong women led to the gradual advancement in women’s rights in China, overturning traditional gender biases. Despite ulterior motives, the Communist Party’s role in portraying women in this way led Chinese society to greater respect and reliance upon women.

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