Mao's China

Paper Summary:

This paper reviews Wei's personal story of a women living in Mao's China. It provides insight on the situation for Chinese women. It describes the gender issues that exist in the society. Even more importantly, it allows one to see how real women are impacted by the gender issues. The author of the paper concludes with a personal opinion and notes how the culture is changing.

From the Paper:

"Another point made by Wei is that there is nothing that women can do to change the beliefs and traditions that individuals from the Mao generation have. She describes how she and her sister have achieved a lot, which might suggest that they could win the support of others and change things. However, she notes that no action she takes is enough to go against traditions. This is also seen in the way her sister tries to fight the traditions and gain acceptance. Wei describes the response of the elders as generally being to ignore her sister's problems and treat them as insignificant. It seems like this is the only way that things could be, since it becomes impossible for one to stand up and demand to be given more respect if the person demanding the respect is not considered as important enough to be listened to."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Wei, Y. ""Congratulations, It's a Girl" Gender and Identity in Mao's China." Some of Us: Chinese Women Growing up in the Mao Era. Eds. Zheng Wang and Bai Di. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2001: 179-198.

More papers on Mao's China:

• Essay # 46952 : "The USSR and China"
• Article Review # 103870 : "Literature Review Regarding Contemporary China"
• Analytical Essay # 119806 : "Mao Zedong: Hero or Anti-Hero?"
• Essay # 4013 : "How We Lost China"

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