Xi Female Education Thought

Song Dynasty was a golden time of Neo-Confucianism's generation and development. The Confucian female education also had made great development under the influence of Neo-Confucianism. Zhu xi was the synthesizer of Neo-Confucianism in song dynasty, and his thought of female education was a microcosm of the Neo-Confucianism. So understanding Zhu xi female education correctly can help us understand his idea of "preserving the natural justice, and destroying human desires". The production of Zhu xi female education had its own particular social context:the opening social atmosphere of Tang Dynasty and the luxury wind since the Five Dynasties had greatly influenced the social life of the Song Dynasty. What's more, the prevalence of Buddhism and Taoism made Confucian ethics greatly damaged. Zhu xi desired to achieve his great ambition of regulating the family and ruling the state and the world through female education on the basis of the traditional female education such as three to be obeyed and four virtues, patriarchal, faithful until death, combined with the social reality, Zhu xi arranged a set of distinctive female education in that time.The content of Zhu xi female education was very abundant. Teaching female to establish a correct concept of marriage was the starting point of Zhu xi female education. He advocated that the marriage should be finished on time and comply with necessary rites. He attached great importance to the effect of moral character for the maintenance of marriage and family stability. Its even more commendable was that Zhu xi acknowledged the reasonableness of a widow remarrying. But to uphold principles governing relationships between discipline and reform the social order, Zhu xi had high hopes for widows. He hoped that widows should do their best to look after the orphans and the elderly. To spread female education and make it really fill in the weathered, Zhu xi also rectified disciplines and ethics during his engaging in politician. He also wrote epitaphs for women to establish the example set. These practical activities played an important role to improve the social climate of Song Dynasty.Compared to the previous generation, Zhu xi female education was very distinctive. He gave women more broad right of family affairs administration and increased the autonomy of women's behavior to certain extent. He acknowledged that men and women's feeling was primordial human nature, and he pursued a respectful and happy relationship between husband and wife. All of these provide new perspectives for our new understanding of Zhu xi's "preserving the natural justice, and destroying human desires".