Yu-Fang Research Paper

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Even after Yu-fang found another suitor and eventually fell in love with him, her hardships were far from over. Before marrying Dr. Xia, Yu-fang faced immeasurable backlash from his family because of her age, gender, and history as a concubine. When Dr. Xia explained that he was planning to marry again, the entire family scoffed at the idea of a respectable doctor marrying someone who was once a concubine and hoped he meant to simply take Yu-fang as a concubine of his own. This hostility stemmed from a culture of deference to elders and parents, and even though Yu-fang was similar in age to some of Dr. Xia’s children, they would have to show her utmost respect as a parent. This proposal was so heinous in the mind of one of the doctor’s son that he killed himself in protest. Yu-fang was fortunate to have found a man willing to ignore…show more content…
Her life of servitude and subordination before her marriage to Dr. Xia was unfortunately common in pre-communist China. Women were typically illiterate and we unable to express any opinion or emotion if it was seen as outside of strict Chinese social standards. This lead to many women being beaten and abused by their husbands for decades, like in the case of Yu-fang’s mother. Even before the communism took control of China’s political structure, Bao Qin and her generation were subjected to less torture than was previously common. Women no longer had their feet bound and, with the temporary rise of the Kuomintang, women were allowed to receive some education and even hold jobs within the community. Because illiterate women were once seen as favorable, access to education was a step forward in China. However, while this seems like a substantial progression towards change on the surface, male and female students were forced to segregate and received drastically different educations. Women were educated on

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