Confucianism and Women

Li-Hsiang Lisa Rosenlee is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Mary Washington.

"…an intelligent, thought-provoking study." — China Review International"…an ambitious and far-ranging work that manages both to be accessible to non-specialists, thereby facilitating consideration of Confucianism by feminist philosophers working outside the tradition, and to be provocative for scholars of Confucian studies … [an] excellent book." — Journal of Chinese Religions"…Confucianism and Women is a concisely presented and coherently structured piece of writing. It is a welcome addition to the current research in the fields of Chinese gender studies and philosophy." — Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society"…an excellent work; its style is engaging and it fills an important vacuum in the contemporary feminist scholarship … The book will greatly benefit anyone who is interested in cross-cultural philosophy and gender studies. Its sequel will undoubtedly be eagerly awaited." — Dao"Insights on Confucian feminism make this a useful reference." — WATERwheel"This book offers conceptual and historical evidence to challenge the stereotypical perception that Confucianism systematically oppresses Chinese women. This is a sharp and insightful work that will make a good contribution to current scholarly work, especially in the field of feminist theory." — Robin R. Wang, editor of Chinese Philosophy in an Era of Globalization

• Acknowledgments 1. Introduction 2. Confucianism, Chinese-ness, and Ren Virtuous Personhood Confucians before Confucius: Ru and Its AmbiguityRu, State, and Chinese-nessDefining Ru: Ren as Confucian Virtue Ethics 3. Yin-Yang, Gender Attributes, and Complementarity Yin-yang and the Oppositional Binary of Femininity-masculinityYin-yang and Correlative CosmologyYin-yang Complementarity and Gender Hierarchy 4. Nei-Wai, Gender Distinctions, and Ritual Propriety Nei-wai, Ritualization, and CivilizationNei-wai, Functional Distinctions, and Gender Hier-archy 5. Didactic Texts for Women and the Womanly Sphere of Nei Lienuzhuan, Guifan, and the Tradition of Virtuous Women’s Biographies The Four Books for Women and by Women The Question of Female Literacy and the Virtue of Women’s Speech (Fuyan) 6. Chinese Sexism and Confucianism Gender Oppression and Confucian Virtue EthicsCase Studies: Widowhood and Footbinding 7. Toward a Confucian Feminism— Feminist Ethics In-the-Making The Problems of Gender and the Politics of Femi-nism Outline of a Confucian Feminism: A Hybrid Identity Reflections and Conclusions NotesBibliographyIndex