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The Birth of Chinese Feminism: Essential Texts in Transnational Theory
He-Yin Zhen (ca. 1884-1920?) was a theorist who figured centrally in the birth of Chinese feminism. Unlike her contemporaries, she was concerned less with China's fate as a nation and more with the relationship among patriarchy, imperialism, capitalism, and gender subjugation as global historical problems. This volume, the first translation and study of He-Yin's work in English, critically reconstructs early twentieth-century Chinese feminist thought in a transnational context by juxtaposing He-Yin Zhen's writing against works by two better-known male interlocutors of her time.
The editors begin with a detailed analysis of He-Yin Zhen's life and thought. They then present annotated translations of six of her major essays, as well as two foundational tracts by her male contemporaries, Jin Tianhe (1874-1947) and Liang Qichao (1873--1929), to which He-Yin's work responds and with which it engages. Jin, a poet and educator, and Liang, a philosopher and journalist, understood feminism as a paternalistic cause that liberals like themselves should defend. He-Yin presents an alternative conception that draws upon anarchism and other radical trends. Ahead of her time, He-Yin Zhen complicates conventional accounts of feminism and China's history, offering original perspectives on sex, gender, labor, and power that remain relevant today.
The editors begin with a detailed analysis of He-Yin Zhen's life and thought. They then present annotated translations of six of her major essays, as well as two foundational tracts by her male contemporaries, Jin Tianhe (1874-1947) and Liang Qichao (1873--1929), to which He-Yin's work responds and with which it engages. Jin, a poet and educator, and Liang, a philosopher and journalist, understood feminism as a paternalistic cause that liberals like themselves should defend. He-Yin presents an alternative conception that draws upon anarchism and other radical trends. Ahead of her time, He-Yin Zhen complicates conventional accounts of feminism and China's history, offering original perspectives on sex, gender, labor, and power that remain relevant today.
308 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 2013
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639 people want to read
About the author
He Zhen
18 books5 followersHe Zhen (Chinese: 何震, ca. 1884 – ca. 1920) was an early 20th century Chinese feminist and anarchist. Born He Ban in Yizheng, Jiangsu, she married the noted scholar Liu Shipei in 1903 and went with him to Tokyo. She then took the name He Zhen (He "Thunderclap") but signed her published writings He-Yin Zhen (何银珍) in order to include her mother's maiden name. She published a number of strong attacks in anarchist journals on male social power which argued that society could not be free without the liberation of women.
Born into a prosperous Jiangsu family and apparently given a good education in the Confucian classics in spite of being female, she and her sister were married to brothers. She married Liu Shipei in 1903, and soon she and Liu moved to Shanghai, where she continued her education at the Patriotic Women's School run by Cai Yuanpei. She and Liu moved to Tokyo in 1904. She was a mainstay of the Chinese anarchist group in Tokyo and a major contributor to the journal Tianyee (Tianyi) (Natural Justice), which published in the two years 1907-1908, as well as to the Paris journal, Xin Shiji (New Century or New Era), edited by the anarchist group there led by Li Shizeng and Wu Zhihui. She and her husband both wrote under pen-names, and many of her articles were misattributed to Liu. He Zhen also founded the Women's Rights Recovery Association (Nüzi Fuquan Hui), which called for the use of force to end male oppression of women as well as resistance to the ruling class and capitalists while endorsing traditional values such a perseverance and respect for the larger community.
In 1909, after a falling out with the conservative but deeply anti-Manchu scholar Zhang Taiyan, she and Liu returned to China to work with the Manchu government. After the Revolution of 1911, Liu worked with the new government, then was a faculty member at Peking University.
The end of He Zhen's life is still in mystery. Following Liu's death from tuberculosis in 1919, she was rumored to have become a Buddhist nun and ordained under the name Xiao Qi, but there were also reports that she died of a broken heart or mental disorder.
(from Wikipedia)
Born into a prosperous Jiangsu family and apparently given a good education in the Confucian classics in spite of being female, she and her sister were married to brothers. She married Liu Shipei in 1903, and soon she and Liu moved to Shanghai, where she continued her education at the Patriotic Women's School run by Cai Yuanpei. She and Liu moved to Tokyo in 1904. She was a mainstay of the Chinese anarchist group in Tokyo and a major contributor to the journal Tianyee (Tianyi) (Natural Justice), which published in the two years 1907-1908, as well as to the Paris journal, Xin Shiji (New Century or New Era), edited by the anarchist group there led by Li Shizeng and Wu Zhihui. She and her husband both wrote under pen-names, and many of her articles were misattributed to Liu. He Zhen also founded the Women's Rights Recovery Association (Nüzi Fuquan Hui), which called for the use of force to end male oppression of women as well as resistance to the ruling class and capitalists while endorsing traditional values such a perseverance and respect for the larger community.
In 1909, after a falling out with the conservative but deeply anti-Manchu scholar Zhang Taiyan, she and Liu returned to China to work with the Manchu government. After the Revolution of 1911, Liu worked with the new government, then was a faculty member at Peking University.
The end of He Zhen's life is still in mystery. Following Liu's death from tuberculosis in 1919, she was rumored to have become a Buddhist nun and ordained under the name Xiao Qi, but there were also reports that she died of a broken heart or mental disorder.
(from Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 19, 2015
It is worth the price just to read He-Yin Zhen's (1884-1920) essay "On the Revenge of Women" where she traces women's historical oppression in China from marriage and funeral rites to the language and writing system all the while skewering traditional Confucian wisdom. She's a bit of an anarchist, which I dig, arguing the unequal distribution of property, religious institutions, legal system and even the state itself must all be remade for women to gain true social equality. Her central themes are told through the exploration of the Chinese words Nannu (gender and class) and Shengji (livelihood). Another good section is "On the Liberation of Women." Strong, original and thought provoking.
January 13, 2022
A study of the works of three thinkers in modern Chinese history. Among them, the works of Liang Qichao and Jin Tianhe clearly reflect the ideology of two male progressive intellectuals who associate feminism with nationalism and claim that gender equality is a necessary condition for the national renaissance. This is very typical of feminism that is subject to patriarchal discourse. In contrast, the work of He-Yin Zhen, another thinker in the book, reflects her feminism as seen through the eyes of a female anarchist.
June 19, 2019
Essential reading for all global feminists! Learned so much from this book and the incredible essays of He-Yin Zhen!!!
February 23, 2023
ok it was pretty good. in a "i kind of disagree with you sometimes" but its fine because she was super cool way. me when i forgot about this since like... october
May 13, 2014
Das Buch bietet Einblick in chinesischen Feminismus um die Jahrhundertwende 1900. Es vereint frühe Texte zweier Feministen (Jin Tianhe und Liang Qichao) und spätere Texte von der Feministin und Anarchistin He-Yin Zhen mit Biografien der Schreiber_innen und einer historischen Einbettung.
Während Jin und Liang sich eher als "Retter der Frauen" sehen, formulierte He-Yin Ideen, die der westliche Feminismus erst Jahrzehnte später aufnahm oder die selbst heute nicht selbstverständlich sind. Außerdem ist sie radikaler als die beiden Männer. Diese argumentieren vor allem für Bildung und mehr (nicht unbedingt gleiche) politische Rechte für Frauen. Zu was Frauen nun genau fähig sind und was ihre Beteiligung in der Politik bedeutete, bleibt widersprüchlich.
Dagegen belegt He-Yin erst ausführlich die mannigfaltigen sexistischen Traditionen des feudalen Chinas und sieht die Lösung im Kommunismus. Sie problematisiert die Spannung zwischen Erwerbs- und Reproduktionsarbeit von Frauen und korrigiert die Annahmen der Schreiber, die hoch-rangige Frauen im Blick hatten. Absolute Gleichberechtigung und Gemeinbesitz sind ihre Lösungsansätze, dann erübrige sich die Trennung von Mann und Frau (dabei erhält sie gleichwohl das heteronormative System).
Mit der derzeitigen Entwicklung Chinas wäre sie vermutlich äußerst unzufrieden, wird es doch zunehmend wieder zum kapitalistischen Geldstreben auf dem Rücken junger Frauen.
Insgesamt ein spannendes Buch, das Einblicke in die chinesische Geschichte und wichtige Impulse für Feminist_innen liefert.
Während Jin und Liang sich eher als "Retter der Frauen" sehen, formulierte He-Yin Ideen, die der westliche Feminismus erst Jahrzehnte später aufnahm oder die selbst heute nicht selbstverständlich sind. Außerdem ist sie radikaler als die beiden Männer. Diese argumentieren vor allem für Bildung und mehr (nicht unbedingt gleiche) politische Rechte für Frauen. Zu was Frauen nun genau fähig sind und was ihre Beteiligung in der Politik bedeutete, bleibt widersprüchlich.
Dagegen belegt He-Yin erst ausführlich die mannigfaltigen sexistischen Traditionen des feudalen Chinas und sieht die Lösung im Kommunismus. Sie problematisiert die Spannung zwischen Erwerbs- und Reproduktionsarbeit von Frauen und korrigiert die Annahmen der Schreiber, die hoch-rangige Frauen im Blick hatten. Absolute Gleichberechtigung und Gemeinbesitz sind ihre Lösungsansätze, dann erübrige sich die Trennung von Mann und Frau (dabei erhält sie gleichwohl das heteronormative System).
Mit der derzeitigen Entwicklung Chinas wäre sie vermutlich äußerst unzufrieden, wird es doch zunehmend wieder zum kapitalistischen Geldstreben auf dem Rücken junger Frauen.
Insgesamt ein spannendes Buch, das Einblicke in die chinesische Geschichte und wichtige Impulse für Feminist_innen liefert.
February 10, 2017
This is an amazing book and I highly recommend it to anyone who studied Chinese history (Boxer Rebellion > May 4th Movement > Cultural Revolution, etc). I might be a little bias because Rebecca Karl was my favorite professor at NYU and I think the lady is brilliant.
May 12, 2015
Hab nur die Texte von He-Yin Zhen gelesen, nicht die der Männer...
http://www.bzw-weiterdenken.de/2015/0...
http://www.bzw-weiterdenken.de/2015/0...
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews