Social And Cultural Changes In China Essay

Between 300 CE and 1453 CE, Chinese culture changed in the area of Buddhism and gender roles, but stayed the same in the area of Confucianism. During this time period there were many technological advances (gunpowder, spices, compass etc.) that had effects on how societies functioned culturally and politically. One way that China changed culturally was in the introduction of Buddhism. Buddhism initially entered China via the Silk Road, after the fall of the Han it gave Buddhism a spot in the society. After the fall of the Han Confucianism was discredited in most of China which led to the expansion of Buddhist teachings. Buddhism had a fairly easy set of rules, and a warm message which led a lot of the public to it rather than the harsh ideas of confucianism. As Buddhism took

After the discrediting of confucianism women were more free in the mostly Buddhist societies of the Sui, and Tang Dynasties. After the fall of the Tang there was a big decrease in women’s rights. This is because of the Song revived Confucian ideas which led to patriarchal restrictions on women’s rights. This led to a revival of Han Dynasty type ruling causing nasty notions of submission towards women making men dominant. Due to confucianism it also called up the separation between men and women. Women were seen as distractions to men’s life and if a widow would remarry, but they would have to walk pass two courtyards as a way of shame. The most compelling expression of patriarchy happening during the rule of the Song Dynasty was the act of foot binding. Foot binding involved tight wrapping of young girls feet which broke the bones of the foot and caused intense pain, and all it was for was to make their feet more visually appealing to men by making them look smaller. This shows how deeply patriarchy affected women as they were forced to be under men and were seen as toys to please