Confucianism and Women: A Philosophical Interpretation

Confucianism and Women: A Philosophical Interpretation, by Li-Hsiang Lisa Rosenlee. New York: State University of New York Press, 2006. x + 200 pp. US$65.00 (hardcover). It is no easy matter to distinguish a philosophical doctrine or ideology from the actions and practices of its adherents. Rightly or not, Confucianism has frequently been associated with the subjugation of women, especially as regards the customary practices and daily lives of women in China. Confucianism and Women examines the intricate web of theoretical, ideological and practical associations between Confucian thought and expressions of women's subservience in Chinese society. These include patrilineal descent, restriction of women to the domestic sphere, identification of women only in terms of their relationships with significant men in their lives, and practices such as footbinding. The inquiry is thorough and thought-provoking. It analyzes tenets in Confucian philosophy (Chapters 1, 6 and 7) and concepts associated with femininity in Chinese thought more generally (Chapters 3 and 4), as well as later didactic texts advocating feminine virtue (Chapter 5). It also generates a number of fundamental questions about blaming Confucianism for the repression of women in Chinese society. One question concerns the nature of the causal connection. There are, after all, examples of practices and ideologies that subjugate women to similar extents in many other cultures. Is Confucianism only guilty by association? Are Confucianism and the subjugation of women in China both products of Chinese culture (p. 121)? Another important question relates to what it is we mean when we refer to "Confucianism". The term is more extensive than the views expressed in the canonical texts associated with Confucius and his disciples. But how wide is its sweep? Is Confucianism to be held accountable for every act perpetrated in its name? And how do we draw the line between one interpretation and another? This is not a problem unique to Confucianism; the same question arises in relation to many religions and ideologies. Paradoxically, as with many other belief systems, it is because of Confucianism's popularity that it has undergone many transformations, existed in many guises and suffered many abuses. In her treatment of the topic, Rosenlee takes pains to articulate the complex correlations and correspondences between philosophical frameworks, cultural influences and commonplace assumptions. For example, she argues that the inner-outer (nei-wai) distinction, commonly associated with masculinity and femininity, was not present in the early canonical texts (Chapter 4). Initially operating only as a spatial distinction, nei-wai gradually acquired social meanings as well. It came to denote the incivility of non-Han "barbarians" who did not recognize different gender roles (pp. 73, 79). In another explanation of the complexity relating to Confucianism and women, Rosenlee points out the ironies arising from the increase in female literacy from the late Ming (1368-1644). There was a proliferation of didactic texts on feminine virtue and propriety during this period. Many of these were written by women (p. 116)-victims who had themselves become perpetrators of gender inequality. Additionally, women's increased engagement in study and critical commentary incited a conservative backlash that insisted not only on feminine propriety but also on the peripheral status of women's writings (p. 110). The explorations in the book lead to the conclusion that three cultural imperatives-filial piety, ancestor worship and patrilineage-work together in a complex weave to support practices that require and establish feminine subservience (p. 153). …