Research On The Construction Of The Ideal Female Image Centering On Female Education In The Han Dynasty

Based on the strengthening of the overall social order,the Han Dynasty established a rounded normative system for gender relations,which laid the basic characteristics of traditional ideal female images.The perceptions like ‘there are differences between men and women’ and ‘men work outside;women take care of the home inside ’as well as the metaphor of social relationships with Yinyang and Yangkun are scattered on the pre-Qin classics like the Book of Songs and Zhouyi.Then these concepts were adopted and developed in the Han Dynasty.Meanwhile,in Qin dynasty,the content of carved stone and legal provisions all reflected the norms of female behavior.In addition,Qin Bamboo Slips collected by Peking University,Female’s Education explains the requirements of the people in Qin dynasty for the temperament,functions,moral cultivation and interpersonal relationships of ideal women.In the Han Dynasty,these contents also played an important role which was the foundation to construct ideal female images.Female education in the Han Dynasty made many regulations on femininity,activity space,functions,and moral codes from three levels of family,social elite,and state power,in order to construct an ideal female image that conforms to the overall order and norms of the Han Dynasty.First of all,the family was the main activity field for women.Women received ritual,culture and various skills education at home,and were taught by the family precepts.These different disciplines represent different social identities for women.Secondly,the social elites represented by Chinese Confucianism have a greater say in cultural and social construction.Combing their arguments about the order of the sexes,the judgment of the ideal women and the reconstruction of the image of fair lady can give a glimpse of the expectations of Han Confucianism for the ideal women.Finally,the state power represented by Jingbiao which is the commendation system and the law is a relatively mandatory force.By rewarded ideal women and punished non-idealwomen it showed the norms of women’s social roles at the national level.However,the ideal female concept is not completely consistent with the reality of female life.The influence of the concept of ‘yin and yang harmony’,‘integration of husband and wife’,the social and political structure of the home and country,and the influence of factors such as identity rank and seniority order in real life have enabled women in the Han Dynasty to be largely active in the flexible space of internal and external order.By linking the theory with the actual behavior of women,it is possible to show the complexity of the gender order in the Han Dynasty,and to deepen the understanding of the construction of an ideal female image in the Han Dynasty.