Chapter 32 An Assessment of the Changes in Women's Roles During the May Fourth Movement
Judging from the modernity level of Chinese women's role changes, the period of the Revolution of 1911 was the historical period for the emergence of modern female role models, and the May 4th period became the historical period for the initial construction of modern female role models.After getting out of the adversity of the change of women’s roles during the Beiyang government, the New Culture Movement was the pioneer during the May 4th period, based on the achievements of the change of women’s roles during the Revolution of 1911, and with the help of the Patriotic Salvation Movement, the change of women’s roles was pushed to a new level. new age heights.Compared with the period of the Revolution of 1911, the change of female roles during the May 4th period not only continued to leave traces of the European style, but also injected the spirit of the Soviet model; The peak of history.Based on this, the changes in the roles of women during the May 4th period still exhibit the following characteristics: 1. The theory of role changes that stretches vertically and horizontally.The changing role of women has become a focus of this cultural movement.All kinds of schools of thought put forward colorful plans for the future of women's roles, forming a complex theoretical system.For example, with regard to the construction of new women's family roles, there are two main plans: the Marriage and Family Reform Plan and the Marriage and Family Destruction Plan.Each of them includes small programs with different levels and different emphases.They overlap with each other, and also sharply oppose each other, forming a more complex theoretical confrontation than that of the 1911 Revolution, and highlighting the urgency of the changing role of women.For another example, in the discussion of the path to the liberation of women's roles, there are "women's psychological liberation", "women's education", "women's career", "children's public education", "women's participation in politics", and "reorganization of families". , "birth restriction faction" and other bourgeois schools.There are also "work-study mutual aid" petty bourgeois utopian socialist programs and the rising Marxist women's liberation theory.
These different schools have their own opinions and set up their own outlets, which deepen the theory of women's role change.It can be said that during the May 4th period, the exploration of women's liberation far surpassed the debate on women's human rights during the Reform Movement of 1898 and the debate on women's rights and responsibilities during the Revolution of 1911.
In the conflicts and collisions of various viewpoints, the gradually formed Marxist theory of women's liberation has found a broad space for development and new vitality, and found a real way out for the liberation of women's roles.Specifically, some of them have been able to deeply analyze women's issues from the economic foundation and social system, and have grasped the essence of the problem.For example, Li Da pointed out: "To liberate a woman today, she must first restore her material freedom. When a woman's desire for material freedom reaches its peak, her desire for spiritual freedom will naturally flourish. Only then can true freedom be fully realized. Only in this way can it be counted as true women's liberation."
Lu Qiuxin reminded the women: "What is the current social system? I can copy a few words from Marx to explain... In this way, if we want to transform others, which method should we use? What kind of commemoration is May Day? Everyone Pay attention! Work hard!"
Between the lines reveals the implication of overthrowing the old social system.Some people have initially realized that only socialism can liberate women's roles.Chen Duxiu's "Women's Question and Socialism" can be described as a masterpiece in this regard.The core of the article is the assertion that "women's issues cannot be separated from socialism".
Some people have shifted their attention from the "third class" to the "fourth class", that is, from middle-class women to working women, in terms of the main force that the society of women's role liberation depends on.Chen Wangdao pointed out: "The third-class women's movement is a human rights movement for women against men; the fourth-class women's movement is an economic movement for laborers against capitalists."
Even if the third-class women's movement "completely achieves its goal, what it achieves is only equality between men and women in the propertied class, not 'human equality'." , that is, above the movement of laborers against capitalists".Wang Jianhong said bluntly in "The Center of the Feminist Movement Should Be Moved to the Fourth Class": "We want to issue a special warning to the future of the women's movement. This warning is: the center of the feminist movement must be moved to the proletariat."
After the birth of the Communist Party of China, these ideas were expressed more clearly at several of its congresses.This makes the Marxist theory of women's liberation relying on the power of the political party quickly externalized into the role practice of women, which promotes the sublimation of the revolutionary significance of the change of women's roles.
2. The changing process of the role of self-discovery The May 4th period was an era when "discovery of man" and "discovery of women" were simultaneously mentioned.While emphasizing the former, the theory of time also involves the latter. "Women's Discovery" not only emphasizes that women and men are equal people, but also begins to discuss that women and men are different people.
Women were the first to realize that "I am also a human being." "At that time, "Nara" was staged everywhere, shouting 'Don't be a plaything', 'Be a personality', and 'Be free'."
The "Ibsen Doctrine" that promotes the liberation of individuality has become a guide to action for progressive women.In order to break free from the feudal marriage network, some of them committed suicide, ran away, and revolutionized anti-marriage; in order to pursue knowledge, some of them died of poverty and illness, some committed suicide because of the humiliation of their husbands, and some were far away from home. Traveling across the oceans, implementing work-study programs; in order to seek personal liberation, some of them were not afraid of being expelled from the school, and resolutely cut off their hair braids; school company.All these kinds are too numerous to mention.In the depths of their minds, some women have a brand-new sense of feminism.They publicly stated: "Now we are all awakened.
Some of the women are awakened... It's obvious that our movement is all about building women's rights.We mention the name of women's rights not outside of men, nor outside of human rights, because men and women belong to human beings, and there are only common human rights, and there is no special women's rights.But traditionally, the so-called human rights have been monopolized by men.We must correct the meaning of human rights, we must recognize the true value of human rights, and we must demand that these human rights be equally distributed to women.The feminist movement is a movement for the equal sharing of human rights. "
On this basis, they called for the use of laws to protect women's all-round role liberation: "Women and men must stand on the same level in the family, socially, politically, and economically. To obtain this equal status, we must The permission and guarantees of the law are required."
They declared: "We don't believe that true democracy can exist without breaking down the classes of men and women. We don't believe that in a society where half the oppressors are half oppressed, there will be true freedom, equality and happiness."
In this way, on the basis of the common interests of mankind and the principle of equality between men and women, women discover the meaning of self-human rights and explore a way to seek role liberation.
During the May Fourth period, women not only discovered that women were equal to men, but also gradually realized that women and men were different people, and tried to get out of the vicious circle of "imitating men".The Confucian generals of the New Culture Movement "did their utmost to instill in them the concept of 'human being', to instill in them the concept of being an independent 'human being' who would not be manipulated and oppressed, so Ibsen's 'Nara' was staged everywhere at that time."While telling women that "Nara" is a "person", they have actually begun to pay attention to Nora's identity as a "woman".They pointed out that "if a woman wants to be liberated, she should realize her self-awareness early on, and first seek spiritual independence. Follow the natural impulse, deal with the environment, rely on her own knowledge, and be a real "human" outlook on life and the universe." This will break In the past, "knowledge, emotion, and will all imitated men's, and they did not have the knowledge of men. They took men's knowledge as knowledge and consulted men for everything." "Male-centered social oppression".Therefore, women's liberation does not mean that women follow the example of men, that women do what men do, that men's behavior is set as a model for women, that men do not do housework, and women do not do it, that men take concubines, and women also set concubines. .Under the tone of liberating women, they sincerely talked about some special advantages of women, such as "women's peace, tranquility, refinement, order, respect for reputation, and compassion..." etc., which are conducive to the implementation of the rule of the people , "The spirit of peace, beauty, and love of women will be able to influence the tyrannical society caused by masculinity and transform it into a civilian society."
For this reason, there is no need for women to imitate men blindly.Even with regard to the goal of changing the role of women, the founding manifesto of "Women's Review" emphasized on a higher basis that it cannot hold the same views as men.Because "we feel that it is not a fundamental way to discuss women's issues just by asking women to be the same as men today. Most men today will not have a 'human life'... Women's requirements If it is limited to obtaining the same life as men now, what is the point?... We advocate the liberation of all kinds of constraints that have been imposed on women in the past, and allow women to freely develop their abilities. All thoughts, We will mercilessly attack any system that can become a new shackle.”This is a way of thinking about the change of roles that fundamentally seeks women's freedom on the basis of surpassing men, and it reflects the eagerness of people at that time to call on women to liberate themselves and mankind independently.
In fact, Chinese women during the May 4th Movement had realized their own life value with an incomparable attitude during the Revolution of 1911.For example, in political struggles, the main force composed of intellectual women and female workers either acted jointly with men, or independently initiated action tasks, and shouted for the interests of the country and the nation with unprecedented scale and courage, and for women’s political rights; During the economic struggle, they called for "maternity", demanded the promotion of women's rights, and demanded the formulation of laws to protect women's labor, highlighting the unique interests of women; To express the taste of women.Looking at the changes in the roles of women during the May 4th period, it can be seen that they no longer obliterate themselves, no longer imitate men, but use the qualifications of women, because women are also the qualifications of 'humans', to seek liberation from male rights, from old-fashioned marriages, Seek emancipation from politics, profession, etc."This is how women find themselves acting.
3. The high-spirited and high-spirited role-changing spirit The unprecedented national crisis and the baptism of new culture gave birth to the high-spirited and high-spirited role-changing spirit of the May Fourth women.In order to save the nation, the May 4th women actively participated in patriotic actions such as publicity speeches, demonstrations, and strike petitions.What permeated it was the resolute stance of "thoroughly and uncompromisingly anti-imperialism and thoroughly and uncompromisingly anti-feudalism".In order to explore the path of role change, May Fourth women joined the experimental mode with high enthusiasm.Miao Boying resolutely gave up her studies in Beijing Women's High School and sponsored and joined the Women's Work-Study Mutual Aid Group.At the age of 54, Ge Jianhao resolutely joined the women's work-study team in France, encouraging young women to move forward bravely.In order to lift the ban on women in universities, Deng Chunlan boldly wrote to the president of Peking University and traveled thousands of miles to Beijing to realize her dream.In order to open up employment channels for women, Chen Lihua, Zhu Qihui and other women are enthusiastic about setting up women's business groups, and their entrepreneurial spirit is admirable.The high-spirited self-motivation spirit embodied in these female elites is exactly the high concentration of the overall style of May Fourth women.
The women of the May Fourth Movement drew experience from the pre-changing roles of women in 1911, melted propaganda and group awareness into high-spirited fighting spirit, and enhanced the realization of the spirit of role change.In addition to actively expressing their voices for change in various newspapers and periodicals, they also determined to create more than 20 kinds of women's publications to provide a theoretical position for the change of women's roles. From 1916 to 1921, the women's periodicals included "Young Women's Daily" run by the Shanghai Young Women's Christian Association, "Women's Weekly" run by the Chinese Women's Society, "Women" run by the Beiping Young Women's Society, and "Women's Journal" run by the Women's World Federation. "New Women", "Awakening the World" organized by the Zhili No. Higher Normal Arts Journal and Women's Higher Normal Semi-Monthly, Guangdong Provincial Women's Teachers' Student Journal, Shanghai Women's Federation's "Young Women's Federation Ten Weekly", Juewu Women's sponsored "Actress " and "Women's Daily", "Leading Association Ten Years Magazine" run by the Hunan First Women's Teacher's School, "Journal of Advanced Study Group" run by the Zhejiang Provincial Women's Teacher's School, "Women's Rights" run by the Kaifeng Lesbian Association, and Shanghai Wuben Women's School "Women's Duo" and "New Women", "Women's Voice" organized by the Shanghai Federation of Chinese Women's World, etc.These publications widely disseminated various theories about the changing role of women and became real forums for women's issues.
In order to strengthen the group strength of women's role change, in addition to extensively mobilizing women from all walks of life to take practical actions, they also founded various women's groups one after another.For example, women's world federations in various places (including Shanghai Women's World Federation, Guangdong Women's World Federation, Zhejiang Women's World Federation, Hunan Women's World Federation, Sichuan Women's World Federation, Jiangxi Women's World Federation, etc.), local Women's Political Consultative Conference Associations (including Beijing Women's Political Consultative Conference Association, Shanghai Women's Political Consultative Conference Association, Jiangxi Women's Political Consultative Conference Association, Henan Women's Political Consultative Conference Association, etc.), women's rights movement alliances in various places (including Beijing Women's Rights Movement Alliance Association) Federation of Women's World Sports, Zhejiang Women's Sports League, Shanghai Women's Sports League, Zhili Branch of Women's Rights Movement League, etc.), female students' federations in various places (including Beijing Women's Scholars Federation, Changsha Girls' Students' Federation, Shandong Girls' Students' Federation, Tianjin Women's Students' Federation, etc.) Women’s Student Union, Shanghai Federation of Girls’ School Branches, etc.) and women’s trade unions in areas where women workers are concentrated (including Women’s Industry Advancement Association, Shanghai Silk Yarn Women Workers’ Association, Shanghai Silk Cocoon Women’s Workers’ Group, etc.) , there are Tianjin Women's Patriotic Comrades Association, Tianjin Women's Star Society, Women's Family Federation, Women's Work-study Mutual Aid Group, Beijing Women's National Salvation Association, Wuhan's "Women's National Products Association", Ningbo Women's "Social Service Agency", Shanghai The Chinese Women's Salvation Congress, the Hunan Women's Work-Frugal Society in France and other women's groups of various natures.In addition, the awareness of May Fourth women’s assembly was not limited to the integration of women’s internal bodies. They also formed alliances with the male world to develop their own roles in the joint pursuit of change between men and women.The federations of all walks of life, labor unions, and student unions that emerged during the May 4th Movement are organizations that combine men and women.In particular, progressive societies with a high degree of integration of men and women were born, such as Xinmin Society and Juewu Society.With the advent of the Communist Party and the Socialist Youth League, radical women joined these revolutionary organizations, expanding the fronts of the coalition of roles.Compared with the women of 1911, it is not difficult to see the deepening of the high-pitched and high-spirited role change spirit of the May Fourth women.
4. The changing pattern of roles in multiple coexistence The modernization of female roles is the basic trend of women's life during the May Fourth Movement.However, under the transitional situation where social political, economic, and cultural structures are undergoing drastic shifts, women of different classes in different regions have different responses to role changes, which makes the change of women's roles present a dynamic and pluralistic pattern.Generally speaking, the degree of modernization of female roles is higher in coastal areas than inland areas, higher in cities than in rural areas, and higher for intellectual women than for female workers and peasant women.This is the difference between regions and classes.During this process, some women not only injected the modern spirit into their family roles, but also became employed in society, becoming a group of professional women with dual roles; some women achieved a certain degree of innovation in their family roles, but did not Opportunities are emerging in the social arena; some women, especially the vast majority of rural women, still stubbornly cling to the traditional single-family role without much awareness and action for change.This is also a reflection of the characteristics of early modernization on the female group.
In this diversity and complexity, we can see the progress and limitations of women's role changes through vertical and horizontal comparisons.Progress is mainly reflected in the respective modernization of women's family and social roles, and the tendency of women to expand from a single family role to a family-society dual role.Among them, the freedom of marriage, social freedom, and coeducational rights were won, which are the direct results of the changes in the roles of women during the May Fourth Movement.The initial awakening of the consciousness of role change and the gradual recognition of the role change status of working women, mainly female workers, lead to a revolutionary path for women's role change, which is actually the long-term effect of the May Fourth Movement of women's role change.These are the changes in the roles of women during the May Fourth Movement that surpassed those during the Revolution of 1911.
However, just like during the Revolution of 1911, the changes in the roles of women during the May Fourth Movement also had limitations common to transitional societies.As far as the consciousness of role subjectivity is concerned, only some women, mainly intellectual women, truly possessed the idea of female personality during this period, and the self-liberation consciousness of the majority of female workers and peasant women has yet to be developed.However, women's overall awareness of role liberation is far from the need to complete the full liberation of roles.Therefore, the overall weak awareness of women's liberation is a major factor hindering the change of women's roles.In terms of the achievements of women's role change, inefficiency and imbalance are still the overall shortcomings.For example, in terms of socioeconomic roles, except for women living in concentrated cities who can partly enter the labor market, most rural women can only abide by simple household labor and cannot perform their socioeconomic roles.In terms of educational roles, May Fourth women can be said to have achieved great results.However, girls enrolled in school only account for a few percent of the total number of women, and women's education is often at a low level.Even in 1921, when "education has improved by leaps and bounds," women's education was still lacking in many ways.Just like Zhang Mojun’s negative comments on girls’ education in provincial capitals: “A, both public and private high schools for girls feel financial difficulties, so school affairs cannot be fully developed, and the number of additional schools is not large. B, There is no special progress in sports, and there are no gymnasiums in girls' schools. C. Girls' schools still have libraries, physical and chemical laboratories, music rooms, remodeled studios, and social rooms that are relatively large-scale and well-organized. D. Students still have Those who do not understand the true meaning of freedom and self-government, but are able to make practical efforts in the study of morality. E. There is no special college for women, so that those who do not want to be male and female students have the opportunity to receive higher education. Self, pay attention to psychology when recruiting new students There are still few general knowledge and physical examinations to distinguish the superiority and inferiority of each person's intelligence. Geng, there is no specific educational organization for gifted and imbecile girls. Xin, there are too few kindergarten normal schools and kindergartens, and preschool education has not yet been popularized in all provinces. Ren, Vocational education for women has not been fully developed in the provinces.”
In fact, Zhang Mojun's evaluation has not yet pointed out the fatal weakness of the extremely small popularization of high school and other girls' education.The well-developed senior high school girls' education is still in the stage of early modernization, and it is self-evident that the education level of those scattered in villages is low.In terms of the role of women in social life, the movement to abolish prostitution was noisy for a while, but it was only a thunderstorm and a little rain. It only stayed at the stage of public opinion operation and did not produce results.There are many shortcomings in this area, and it is impossible to list them all.
During the May 4th period, the opposite of the changes in women's roles was the huge feudal cultural forces.In the confrontation between old and new cultures, the change of women's roles will inevitably be blocked by many obstacles, showing difficulties and repetitions.On the issue of women's haircuts, conservative schools regard female students' haircuts as a scourge, and women's haircuts are inevitably frustrated.For example, after six female students from the Wuchang Provincial Women's Teacher had their hair cut, "Proctor Zhou called us by name, and when he saw our posture after the hair cut, he lowered his head like a madman, his mouth was crooked, and he shook his head." Sigh... the next morning, when the court salute was held, Principal Wang Shiyu said in a gentle voice: "Last night, Mr. XX cut his hair without telling me. It's still not acceptable. It's too dangerous. The current situation doesn't allow it." Gentlemen who cut your hair... please comb your cut hair immediately, and tie your hair well as before...' When we were in class, we all honestly wore cow dung-shaped hats on our heads wig……"
Conservatives speak out about banning women in colleges.Wang Zhuomin pointed out one-sidedly in the article "On the Co-education of Universities in Our Country", "Today's society belongs to women, most of them are good wives and mothers, who can manage their families and educate their children." The necessity of studying.” He also particularly emphasized that co-education will hinder social morality, because “the boundaries between men and women in our country are very strict, and there is no intimacy between teaching and receiving. There is a clear precept in ancient times.” , There must be more harm, one raise of the hand, one throw of the foot, occasional or inadvertent accusations follow, and things that corrupt public morals start, and there is no room for moral damage.”One stone stirred up a thousand waves, and Kang Baiqing, a Peking University student, wrote "Reading Wang Zhuominjun's Comments on Our Country's Universities Are Not Suitable for Coeducation and Business Exchange" and launched a tit-for-tat debate.In the scouring of the trend of the times, the conservatives finally lost their battle.But it shows the difficulty of changing the role of women.This shows that it will take a difficult and tortuous struggle for women's role change to get out of the "trap" of society.
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