Women In Ancient China

“A woman's duty is not to control or take charge…a woman’s greatest duty is to produce a son.” ("Women and Confucianism”) This is a quote by the great Confucius, who lived as a well-known teacher and philosopher in ancient China. However, this simple statement very accurately sums up what many cultures throughout history have expected of women. Even across such different times and places as the ancient Roman Empire (510 BC – 420 CE) and the Chinese Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 CE), women were considered inferior to men, with their social class very similar to slaves. From home life to education to politics, women of these two cultures shared many similarities as well as acute differences. In each culture, women were seen as having one duty
(Shelton 20) Boys were sent to school in order to learn about agriculture, warfare, Roman traditions, and public affairs for their future careers. ("Women in Ancient Rome”) Girls were supposed to stay at home and learn how to raise a family and care for the household. In China, especially in the rural communities, a girl’s education (or lack thereof) was very similar in practice; however, sometimes in wealthier families, young Chinese girls were taught how to read and write by their father. Women in this time period also invented a secret written language only for women called nu shu, which created an opportunity to share thoughts, feelings, and works of art or literature with other women in the community; this is one of the reasons why we have much more insight into the ancient Chinese woman’s life than the ancient Roman woman. However, no matter how educated they managed to become, these women were not allowed to take the imperial exams and therefore couldn’t have a career as a scholar or politician. (“Ancient China: Daily Life of Women”) This practice was reflected in Rome where, also in very wealthy families, fathers would sometimes send their daughters (as young as seven years old) off to school with the boys. However, the outcome was the same,
However, even with disadvantages in status, citizenship, and education, women were sometimes able to influence the political system. In China, women of the imperial family often played an important role in politics, usually listening behind a screen so that they didn’t distract the men from negotiating, but telling their husbands their opinions later that night. In Rome, women weren’t allowed in places of political debate, but there were several notable women who gained a reasonable amount of power from affecting politics in the only ways available to them: birth, marriage, or murder. A legendary example would be Tullia who lived in circa 500 BC. She was the daughter of a very early Roman king, but conspired with her husband to kill her father. After she ran over her father in a carriage, her husband became the next king of Rome. (Padgett) There are various examples like this throughout Roman history: women whispering and plotting where men paid no attention, but forever changing the history of Rome with changes in kings and