Confucianism is one of the major factors that influenced gender views and perception in traditional East Asia, particularly in relation to the treatment of women in these societies. Confucianism is primarily a teaching that was brought by Confucius, a philosopher, political figure, and educator. The teachings of Confucius formed the foundation of education in the traditional societies in East Asia, especially in China, Korea, and Japan. Confucius teachings affected many things in these societies including fixing gender roles between women and men. Based on these teachings, which influenced nearly every facet of life in the conventional Korean, Japanese and Chinese societies, placed women at a disadvantaged position. The teachings contributed to the development of a patriarchal environment in these societies, which worked to the disadvantaged of women. This paper examines how women exerted power and influence in a patriarchal environment in these three societies and what it teaches us about gender in the traditional East Asia.
Actually, there is very limited literature or documentation of female commoners at work in comparison to documentation on aristocratic women who worked in palaces in traditional East Asia. In cases where women had public roles in villages, such roles were restricted in some considerable ways. For example, women’s names did not appear in the payment rosters for shrine land, which was the collective land for the community (Yasuko, p.115). In cases where women contributed financially to the accumulation of shrine land, their contributions were not formally acknowledged on paper. This is an example of women’s exclusion from public obligations, which were male-centered and male dominated. In light of the fixed gender roles by Confucianism (i.e. Confucius’ teachings), the traditional Chinese, Japanese and Korean societies gradually delegitimized the capacities of women through excluding them from public obligations and significant public activities. This contributed to the emergence and development of patriarchal environment in traditional East Asia. The devaluation of women in public and restriction of their roles to the home had significant effects on the structure of household relationships and contributed to the emergence of a society where men were the dominant members.
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