A Study On The Travel Activities Of Secular Women In The Tang Dynasty

The daily trips of secular women in the Tang Dynasty can be divided into three categories:holidays traveling,daily recreational trips,trips for visiting relatives and friends,and religious trips.Daily travel is universal,women from official family,folk,brothel,commerce,can use traditional customs,religious activities,and even the power of etiquette and morals to enter public space.Through travelling,they have expanded the scope of their friendships and shortened the distance with the society.At the same time,they have temporarily got rid of the pressure from social roles and enjoyed the joy from tour.Some women have expressed individual will by getting rid of the shackles of family roles."Cong-huan" is a type of official travel,means women follow their husband as they working place changes.It is the most important travel type for middle-and upper-class secular women in the Tang Dynasty.It reflects the characteristics of dependence.Women gained spatial movements from migrating,gaining opportunities to see the sights,appreciate local customs,and broaden the horizon.At the same time,some women have entered the public sphere.However,in the process of migrating,women did not break through the private space.Women live in patriarchy from beginning to end.Various risks during the journey often endanger women’s physical and mental health.In the role transition of being a woman,a wife,and a mother,women’s true thoughts on trip are gradually revealed.However,only women became mother can they put their ideas into practice.In Tang Dynasty,the secular women’s livelihood trips were classified by occupation,and women of different occupations showed different livelihood tours.Prostitutes can earn their fame and change their destinies by travelling.Affected by identity and status,prostitutes are vulnerable to damage from the power class in the livelihood travel.By livelihood travel,businesswomen participate in socio-economic activities,expand social interactions,and improve their status in the family and society.Affected by professional characteristics,the slave girls’ trips are deeply oppressed by gender and class,and they have two purposes on travelling.The trip of "female-xia" is the best way to show women’s individual will among all women’s trips.Through the trip,the "female-xia" participates directly in social and political activities and becomes a member of the public sphere.The travel activities of secular women in the Tang Dynasty are the unity of dependence and autonomy.Dependency is the group characteristic of secular women’s travel activities in the Tang Dynasty,it is the expectation and requirement of women from male-dominated society.Autonomy is that women as an individual,selectively observe law and discipline rite.This autonomy is reflected in the different performances of women’s travel.The unity of autonomy and subordination reflects the difference between traditional gender orders and actual social life.