Confucianism as a Eurasian Driving Force: What Does It Really Mean for Women in China and Eurasian Space?

from the influence of gender because gender relations operate at every level of social life. In my paper, various interpretations of Confucianism are explored in regard to female social roles and statuses. Also, women’s roles under patriarchal Confucian social norms are closely examined. Moreover, the deconstruction of sexism through a feminist lens is presented. Finally, the example of women’s re-sistance to the chauvinist Confucian doctrines and examples of some outstanding women are introduced.

Funding. This work did not receive any specific financing from any governmental, public, commercial, non-profit, community-based organisations or any other source.
Conflicts of interest. None declared. in forming political and cultural traditions in Eurasian space, in my paper I demonstrate that it formed masculine political power, degrading women to lowest social strata and limiting their agency to household and family only. In the account of Confucianism, women are assumed to be family-oriented, femininity has been extolled as the mainstay of the nation, and men's efforts should contribute to something in the public sphere that is articulated as masculine. Under such a model, the binary oppositions of femininity/masculinity and private/public spheres are seemingly fixed and unproblematic. However, I maintain that this dichotomy is too oversimplified regarding men's and women's potentiality in performing their social roles as well as the notion of femininity and masculinity. Virtually, men can be in feminine roles (e.g., male nurses), and, conversely, women can be in masculine roles (e.g., female fire fighters and warriors). Yet, in the eyes of sexists, the above examples are viewed as exceptional cases, and as such can be ignored.

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Throughout history and across Eurasian cultures closely connected with the Chinese culture, women have participated in military warfare and national movement, but they have been mainly absent in masculine narratives. Therefore, it is not only of vital importance to retell their stories, but also to question their absence in the first place, given that social organization of nations cannot eschew For centuries, the belief and practice of Confucianism has steadfastly been incorporated in Chinese people's everyday life. Chinese history has witnessed the predominance of Confucian values in politics, culture, economy, religions, social life, and education for well over two millennia. In addition to China, a weighty influence of Confucianism on individuals, societies, and nations has also been well documented in the historical narratives of East and Southeast Asian countries and regions, such as Taiwan, Hainan, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Cambodia, Burma, Laos, Malaysia and Vietnam. Although an orthodox form of the Confucian philosophical tradition might not be easily observed today in Eurasia largely due to the recent social, economic, and political changes under the impact of Western culture as well as Communist intervention, the Confucian mechanisms are, to some extent, still exerted in government, education, family rituals, and social ethics.
The tradition that men take responsibilities for "external" jobs and women "internal" jobs in a Confucian culture has long been a taken-for-granted assumption. The first and foremost duty of women, mothers in particular, is to maintain harmony as well as solidarity within the household and to secure the foundations for the achievement of their husbands and offspring. Another good example might be to explain the relationship between women and harmony through the Chinese linguistics, where the character that stands for "woman" consists of the character denoting "peace" or "harmony," and the character signifying "home." Families in Confucian-based Eurasian cultures are expected to be harmonious only when women are in homes. In actuality, the chaste and hardworking women glorified in Analects and Mencius often appeared in the role of the mother. The imagery of the virtuous mother (selflessness in motherhood) in Chinese literature set up a perfect role model for the majority of women to reflexively examine and internalize the tenets of Confucianism and then follow in those laudable/exemplary women's footsteps.
It may be argued that Confucian male elites' insistence on rigid, mutually immune and formalized gendered division of labor is at the expense of the consideration of the interrelated issues of class, ethnicity, and gender that operate on a day-to-day basis. Also, there is a suggestion that masculinity and femininity flow in a continuum rather than remain static and bipolar extremes. While Chinese women have long been viewed as exclusively passive and void of agency, numerous women have taken action and indeed made contributions not only to the family but also the larger community. However, they have been seen as ''non-traditional" and their deeds have rarely been mentioned in masculine narratives. That notwithstanding, in the historical past of imperial China and in the modern Confucian-based Eurasian states, women have won the right to equal opportunities and destiny with men, going beyond the boundaries of domestic