Women in Ancient China

During the Song Dynasty (960–1279) in Ancient China, the gender in which a person was born as, changed their whole path of life. Their role in society, their education, their power in the household were very different depending on if they were male or female. A typical female had much less power compared to a man; they were considered the inferior gender. It was unfair, and to an extend, cruel, the way that women were treated compared to a man, but during that time in China, it was so normal that no one questioned it. The roles that each gender held were rigid, quite different, and clearly not equal. As China gained power during this time and became more powerful, women were greatly downgraded by men because men were thought to be the ones doing all the work.
Giving birth was a very important component in Ancient China, and most became a parent as early as a young teenager. Women were expected to have lots of children, especially to boys. They felt the pressure to have boys and believed themselves that boys were better than girls. “A girl gained more respect in her husband's family if she gave birth to a boy. The birth of a boy was always celebrated more than the birth of a girl" (Liu). A boy meant the continuation of a family, and a soon-to-be leader. A girl would not be able to continue a family legacy, as they are often married into another family to take care of their house. In severe cases, “if families were very poor, they would sell their daughters as servants to rich families” (Tsai) If a wife did not eventually give birth to a son, her husband often took other wives. This shows how much more respected and more important boys were to girls. It didn't matter whether the girl was smart or talented, because their only role that they could have was to cook, clean, and take care of the family. Although a woman could not choose whether they wanted a girl or boy, she would be disrespected if she gave birth to a girl.
A marriage during the Tang and Song