Roles of Men,Women, and Children varied.
In Ancient China,men ruled the household and had complete control over his wife. The only role of the wife was to be a servant to their husbands and to produce sons of them so the sons could carry on the family name. Ancient Chinese society widely practiced the ideas of Confucius. Under Confucianism belief, everyone have their role in the society and was to behave accordingly.Women's main duty was to bear male offspring for her husband, it was reasonable for a husband to remarry if his first wife cannot bear him a son. Obey her husband even her son when he grows older.There were limited occupations or jobs for women. Education for woman was not popular or at times not allowed, but they could receive limited education to enable them to tach their sons. The textile industry however often employed numerous amount of female workers. Women were skilled in Chinese silk weaving. Other occupations include sales in traditional markets or entertainers. Women was often not respected if they weren't married, it is extremely hard for a women to be self reliant in Ancient China. There were exceptions in Ancient China, numerous notable Chinese women broke the traditional social norm and rose to fame. For example, Empree Lu of the Han Dynasty, Empree Wu Zetian of Tang Dynasty, Ban Zhao: the known female historian, etc. Since women were only supposed to produce the male offspring, the kids would learn the mens duties from a woman when they were young and then when they got older they would be traded off to their dad to learn from hands-on experience with their fathers. Family was always more important than friends. |