The Gift of Asian Womanhood

The modern Asian woman has achieved much.  More and more, there has come greater equality with men in many economically developing countries throughout East Asia.  One prominent example of this phenomena is the experience of modern Chinese society.  Chinese women today have greater economic, educational, and social opportunities than ever.  The evidence of this is without dispute and exists in abundance.  Without any doubt, the Asian woman of China has greater freedom and financial opportunity.  However, this was not always the case in China.

In ancient Chinese society women were generally confined to the home.  Young girls were usually treated as a liability.  When they reached the age when it was possible for them to marry, they were given to another family after an arrangement had been made between their parents.  Therefore, women in old China had virtually no say in who would be their husband or what direction their life would take thereafter.  Women had no real influence or control over their own destiny.  Women were expected to passively submit to the unfair realities of the world in which they lived with no complaint.  This was the bitter role that ancient China forced upon its women.

The first real positive change for Chinese women came during the republic years under the Nationalist government.  It was during this time that women in the major cities acquired the right to receive formal education.  Naturally, Chinese women cherished this opporunity and took advantage of it whenever it was possible.  The chance to study in the same classroom as men was a delight!  It would turn out to be a great initial advancement for the cause of women's rights in China.  So by the time communism achieved success in 1949, the unequal distinction between men and women was eroded even more.  Women were given the opportunity to seek education.  They also began to hold jobs in society.  It was under Mao Ze Dong that many women began to hold important political positions.  In fact, women even began to exercise their influence in many ways.

The gift of womanhood is something to be deeply cherished and genuniely appreciated.  Asian women have stepped on to the world stage and are now equal participants in the drama of history.  As such, women with Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or any other East Asian heritage are fully responsible for their choices, actions, and decisions.  To leave behind the boundaries of the past is to look forward into the broad scene ahead called the "future."  What will yours be like?

Harlan Urwiler

For more information, please visit my website at:  http://www.myorientalgallery.com/.