Legal Aspects of the Family Life of Chinese Women in the First Half of the Twentieth Century: Erosion of Patriarchate, Consequences of Modernization

Abstract

The article analyzes the perception and attitudes of local residents towards the reforms implemented by the new authorities during the period from 1937 to 1949, particularly regarding the change in the social status of rural women in the provinces of Shaanxi, Gansu, and Ningxia. We argue that deeply rooted traditional beliefs created significant difficulties in implementing programs aimed at radical transformations, which were endorsed by a portion of Chinese society embracing a socialist perspective. The ideal of “freedom of marriage”, actively promoted by the ideologues of the new authorities, faced recognition with noticeable difficulties. Nonetheless, the reforms that began in the 1930s not only undermined the reliance on seemingly eternal Confucian-based traditions but also contributed to the formation and rise of the social self-consciousness of women, prompting them to learn to defend their rights and interests.