Authors: Hunter Voyles, Jimmy Gagan, Tyler Beach
Topic: Nationalism and Its Relationship to Gender
In modern China, the intertwining of nationalism and gender is a complex phenomenon. Nationalism is the strong identification with one’s nation, often resulting in a sense of superiority over others and this has played a significant role in shaping Chinese society. This influence extends to notions of gender, as ideas about masculinity and femininity are often intertwined with the narrative of national identity.
The history of nationalism in China can be traced back to the early 20th century, particularly during the periods of anti-imperialism and the pursuit of national rejuvenation. In the early 20th century, figures like Sun Yat-Sen and later Mao emphasized the importance of a strong unified nation to resist foreign imperialism. This era saw the emergence of new gender ideals as part of the nation building process. Women were often portrayed as symbols of the nation, their roles defined within the context of serving the country and supporting its progress.
Fast forward in China, and we see how nationalism continues to influence gender roles and perceptions. The rise of China as a global power has been accompanied by a resurgence of nationalist sentiment, often depicted through images of strong, assertive masculinity.
The theme of nationalism and gender in China was heavily relayed throughout nearly every reading in the course, both clearly and subliminally. Often, these feelings from the writers show underlying concerns for the country or where it was headed. Both men and women were strongly affected by the changes that occurred in the last 100 years, and each text showed a great insight into the situation.
One of the readings highlighting these concerns for men from China in the early years of the ROC after the Qing dynasty’s fall was “Sinking” in 1921 by Yu Dafu. In the story, Dafu was able to constantly highlight the sense of shame and overall insecurity of being from China men would feel internally, especially when spending time in rival countries such as Japan. For example, after having a burning sexual desire to bring out throughout the entire story, once faced with a woman as his waitress, he panics to even put two words together, and then his sanity goes from bad to worse once he hears men from Japan a room over. This insanity shows in the story when he says, “You faithless waitress, how dare you desert me like this? Oh, let it be, let it be, for from now on I shall care nothing about women, absolutely nothing. I will love nothing but my country, and let my country be my love” (Dafu 29). The sheer noises made by the Japanese men in the room over brought him to a breaking point of only caring for his motherland. These citizens were fed up with how they felt when related to other powers nearby and were willing to change how the world viewed China at all costs. This boiling point experienced by the character can be seen as how the Chinese men as a whole were willing to change at all costs, even if the change at hand may not have been the best in hindsight, anything was better than being pushed around the way they had been for ages.
On the other hand, for women, they experienced many issues related to nationalism and gender, but may have taken it as less of a literal call to action, until the communist practices became more prevalent. For example, in many stories dated back to earlier periods covered in the course, women are looked at for food and children, and any external forces were covered by the men. This is highlighted even more in-depth in stories such as “New Year’s Sacrifice” by Lu Xun, where the woman, never given a name beyond being someone’s property, is treated as nothing short of that through the whole story, all while just trying to live her own life. These external forces would weigh women down constantly in China, which is why the communist party was able to get the support of so many women to work, though it turned to being overworked in the long run. This was shown perfectly in “A Brief Biography of Li Shuangshuang” by Li Zhun. The wife in this story transitions from extremely oppressed and desiring more with her days to eventually having posters made about her in the commune. While the story may have been clear propaganda, it was still able to reach enough of an audience to make a difference. While stories like this brought all good things to life, the reality of balancing all these responsibilities and internal household workings brought women to a time of being too tired.
All these hardships shown through the text were ways for a writer to attempt to voice concerns, though most pieces of literature had been banned in these times of change. In situations of propaganda or calls for help, these old stories can tell a great backstory to understand where gender and its relationship to nationalism in China has been and how things have progressed.
Source: https://ancientchinaadks.weebly.com/roles-of-men-woman-and-children.html
This image from Ancient China ADKS, depicts Chinese women both working hard around the house, trying to educate themselves and create a career, as well as taking care of and making sure the kids are safe and educated. The women doing this work simultaneously is a powerful intersection between nationalism and the gender roles within. In Chinese culture, as well as many other cultures, women were typically assigned the role of caretaking and housekeeping.
The image contains 3 main aspects. The first being the left side of the image, where one woman is chasing after the kids trying to keep an eye on them. The next is the middle of the image where two women are working on a piece of literature, trying to contribute to the nation’s progress and to improve their own literacy. The last part is on the right side, where the last two women are in the field working on the food and crops. This image heavily reflects upon the sacrifices and resilience that women had during these times. Not only were women expected to take care of the house and kids, but also to have regular jobs. Women were expected to come home after a long day of work and go straight to their “second shift” which was the job of taking care of the house and kids.
Overall, this image showcases how women were active participants in both the private and public spheres, at the same time, this image also touches on the unequal division of labor and opportunities between genders. With women having double if not triple the amount of things to worry about, they have less time to focus on a career or literacy, which in turn creates this unequal distribution. This highlights both the progress made and the challenges that remain to keep inching closer to gender equality.