Intertwining threads: Silkworm goddesses, sericulture workers and reformers in Jiangnan, 1880s-1930s (China)

This dissertation examines the tensions between tradition and modernity in early 20th century China by comparing two intersecting groups of women in Jiangnan: silkworm raisers of the countryside and middle-class sericulture reformers from the cities. Sources consisted of local gazetteers, folklore collections, interviews, contemporary journals and newspapers.; Home-based silkworm raising by women generated a sizeable share of peasant family income. In the early 20th century, with China's silk market in serious decline, women reformers attempted to improve silkworm raising by introducing scientific methods. Previous studies of the modernization of China's silk industry have focused on the economic issues involved. This study, however, takes a cultural perspective, and focuses instead on the relationship between gender, religious traditions and modernity in the modernization process.; Both sets of women were able to move beyond the patriarchal constraints of their communities. Traditional silkworm raisers were valorized for their work, engaged in mixed-sex socializing and went on all-female pilgrimages. The reformers entered a professional world that included study abroad, publishing in scholarly journals, independent work, and the option not to marry. These findings force a reevaluation of assumptions regarding gender roles in China.; This study highlights the cultural tensions that arose from the modernization process. Reformers saw the religion of silkworm raisers as obstacles. In the popular religious view, female bodies were uniquely qualified to raise silkworms due to their reproductive capabilities and spiritual connections with silkworms and the silkworm goddess. The reformers, operating under de-gendered scientific principles, sought to break this connection. Paradoxically, these opposing world-views were what underpinned the autonomy each group enjoyed. Popular religion supported the idea of female difference, which made room for women-centered activities. Modern scientific understandings emphasized the potential sameness between the sexes and therefore gave women access to a modern education and careers. The conflicts which arose between the silkworm raisers and reformers reflected these differing world-views.