A Comparison Between Marjorie Topley and Ziling Ye’s Research on Zishu Nu
Topics in Feminism
Professor Ding
8 Jan, 2013
A Comparison between Marjorie Topley and Ziling Ye’s Research on Zishu nu In the early nineteenth century rural Kwantung in China, there were a group of women, who were different from the other Chinese women. They go through a hair-dressing ritual and vowed to remain unmarried in their whole lives. They are called zishu nu, which means women who make their own hair. There are two authors, Marjorie Topley and Ziling Ye who had both written a research paper on zishu nu with distinct perspective in respective time. In this paper, I would first look into Topley then Ye’s paper about zishu nu and compare the two authors’ different point of views and perspectives in analyzing the particular phenomenon of zishu nu. In Topley’s research, “Marriage Resistance in Rual Kwantung”, her argument is that due to the particular economy environment in Kwantung, it helps to bring an opportunity for women who refused to marry to support themselves independently and thus raised their social statue above married women. “with the industrialization of the economy, women wishing to remain unwed were financially able to act on their preferences.” (Topley 86) In her argument, the formation of zishu nu is due to the resistance of marriage. In Topley’s research, she first illustrates the physical environment and its effect on the local economy and culture. Then, she looks into the local factors that help generate the resistance. Lastly, she turns to analyze the changes in the area that may have contributed to the movement’s decline. From the environmental aspect, Topley provides a clear overview of the resistance area, which happens in P’an-yu , Nan-hai and Shun-te. It is due to the advantage of subtropical climate that helps the mulberry grows rapidly and therefore silkworms produce more cocoons. As a result, the silk companies require more working labor of women and provided the opportunity for zishu nu to support herself. Or
Professor Ding
8 Jan, 2013
A Comparison between Marjorie Topley and Ziling Ye’s Research on Zishu nu In the early nineteenth century rural Kwantung in China, there were a group of women, who were different from the other Chinese women. They go through a hair-dressing ritual and vowed to remain unmarried in their whole lives. They are called zishu nu, which means women who make their own hair. There are two authors, Marjorie Topley and Ziling Ye who had both written a research paper on zishu nu with distinct perspective in respective time. In this paper, I would first look into Topley then Ye’s paper about zishu nu and compare the two authors’ different point of views and perspectives in analyzing the particular phenomenon of zishu nu. In Topley’s research, “Marriage Resistance in Rual Kwantung”, her argument is that due to the particular economy environment in Kwantung, it helps to bring an opportunity for women who refused to marry to support themselves independently and thus raised their social statue above married women. “with the industrialization of the economy, women wishing to remain unwed were financially able to act on their preferences.” (Topley 86) In her argument, the formation of zishu nu is due to the resistance of marriage. In Topley’s research, she first illustrates the physical environment and its effect on the local economy and culture. Then, she looks into the local factors that help generate the resistance. Lastly, she turns to analyze the changes in the area that may have contributed to the movement’s decline. From the environmental aspect, Topley provides a clear overview of the resistance area, which happens in P’an-yu , Nan-hai and Shun-te. It is due to the advantage of subtropical climate that helps the mulberry grows rapidly and therefore silkworms produce more cocoons. As a result, the silk companies require more working labor of women and provided the opportunity for zishu nu to support herself. Or
Cited: Topley, Marjorie. “Marriage Resistance in Rural Kwantung” in Women in Chinese Society, edited by Marjorie Wolf and Roxane Witke. Stanford University Press:1975. Print. Ye, Ziling(葉紫玲). Zishu nu: Dutiful Daughters of the Guandong Delta in Intersections: Gender and Sexuality in Asia and the Pacific. Issue 17, July 2008. Web.