Village View Of Women's Lives In Hakka Area

The late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China was an important period forChinese women’s social status shift, and women’s gender consciousness graduallygerminated. In this period, Sichuan located in the inland of China, shows a diverse andcomplex social feature：the new containing the old, the old including the new, also newbeing also old, the old and the new being combined. It provides a best space-timeobservation platform for depth discussion of women’s life and the social transmutationreflected by social itself.This paper takes Republic of China’s Jianyang County Annalsas a text, takes theHakka immigrant women and their descendants in the background of “the Huguang TianSichuan” as the object of study, and intends to observe and analyze women’s life in theJianyang Hakka rural areas under the perspective of gender theory. It designs todemonstrate colorful picture of Sichuan rural social life during the late Qing Dynasty andthe Republic of China, and also reveals the track and significance of the women genderroles’ transferring.The paper consists of eight sections. The main contents of each section are as follows:The preamble defines the relevant concepts involved in this paper, elaborates thepurpose of the study, literature review, research methods and significance.Chapter I sorts out and introduces the history and geographic profiles of Jianyang sothat readers have a clear understanding of fieldwork target area background of this paper.Chapter II takes the first step being a daughter as the starting point in the women’ life,and focuses on the process and meaning of wake the woman to bear the familyresponsibilities of supporting parents through education means under the system of theauthority of the father.Chapter III takes the second step being a wife as the starting point in the women’ life,and emphasizes the process and meaning of women’s life how they operate the familybusiness with their husbands, serve grandaunts and keep the chastity for husbands underthe system of the authority of the husband.Chapter IV takes the third step being a mother as the starting point in the life ofwomen, focuses on the process and meaning of how women grow the core of the familyand have the power to handle affairs independently under the cultural tradition ofrespecting mother.Chapter V, in which the female is observed under the field of family-society andtradition-modern situation, emphasizes the process and meaning of labor women who take part in the social undertakings.Chapter VI, through looking back upon history, takes Jianyang County Annals writtenby the male, as basis, stresses the characteristics and significance of female gender roles insocial changes.The conclusion part summarizes the whole text. This article believes that gender ismerely a physiological property, and it should not surpass the social attribute. Both menand women, as a member of the society, have the right of survival and the obligation topromote social development.