China’s Song dynasty was one of the heirs of the Han dynasty in East Asia. The Song dynasty was similar to the Byzantine Empire in terms of size and wealth. But there were plenty of differences, too.

The Song dynasty was a time of population growth and expanding wealth. Farmers produced an enormous amount of food. This allowed the population to increase greatly. Trade within China and with other countries increased greatly as well. As a result, city-based merchants became much more important in society. The Song dynasty years were mostly peaceful. However, in the 1200s, the Mongols invaded China and toppled the Song rulers. With that, the dynasty came to an end.

The Song dynasty was a time of peace and expanding opportunities. We will look at how Song women’s lives were shaped by belief systems and government laws.

Belief systems

Confucianism is a belief system in China. Confucianists believed that men and women had different roles and behaviors. Women were always seen as lesser than men. The concepts of Yin and Yang are found in the I Ching, or “Book of Changes,” which was written around 800 BCE. Yin and Yang are two forces at work in the universe. Yin is linked with the female, and is seen as cold and inactive. Meanwhile, Yang is the male force. It is seen as warm and active.

About three centuries after the I Ching was written, the early Confucianists took up the idea that men and women had specific roles and behaviors. Confucianism did honor women as mothers and mothers-in-law. Still, it was clear that a woman’s place was in the home. A woman obeyed her father until it was time to obey her husband.

Confucianism is not really a religion, because it doesn’t have temples or ceremonies. Buddhism was the main religion of the Song period. It had temples and ceremonies in which women could take part. There were also Buddhist convents. These were houses set aside for women who wanted to live a life devoted to religious learning and religious work. Women who devoted their lives to Buddhism were called nuns.

Religious Buddhist women could join a convent and live among other women who were studying Buddhism. Families could also send their daughters to a convent to avoid having to pay a high dowry to a potential husband’s family. Convents were a place for women to live a life outside of getting married and having children. They allowed a woman to receive an education and to live under female leaders. Nuns were able to control their own lives in many ways. They were also respected by the community.

Social structures

Law declared that women in China were the property of their nearest male relative. A woman’s social status, or position in society, was linked to her father or her husband. But Chinese women were unlike European women in other ways. For example, Song Chinese women could inherit part of their father’s estate when he died.

Noble and aristocratic women had more privileges than ordinary women. They received an education, through private tutors. Their principal jobs were to run households and to have many children. Daughters of Confucian scholar officials were also considered upper class. They were often taught to read.

One problem upper-class women could face was if their husband brought home a concubine, or qie. This concubine was basically a second wife. Concubines were expected to give birth to children. However, their status was lower than that of a wife. Concubines were treated as a household maid. 

Some upper-class families forced their daughters to go through foot binding. This involved tightly binding a girl’s feet for years, to keep them small. Over time, foot binding crippled a girl’s feet. Chinese families believed this would lead to a better marriage. Having a foot-bound wife was considered a sign of high social status. A foot-bound woman could not work in a store or a field and often needed the help of servants to walk. Then her husband could brag, “I’m so rich my wife doesn’t have to walk.”

Historians know more about upper-class women than peasant women. Peasant families were farmers. They made up about 80 percent of the population. Few peasants were able to read or write about themselves. We can assume Chinese peasant women, like other farming women in the world, worked alongside men. They were likely also responsible for taking care of the house and children. Since standing and walking were part of the job, these women were not foot-bound.

Confucianist ideas saw merchants as lower class. Instead of producing anything, merchants simply bought stuff for one price and sold it for more. In Confucianism, that’s cheating.

Nonetheless, businessmen, traders, and merchants did very well during the Song dynasty. Many women were involved in trade and business. Along with helping with their fathers’ or husbands’ businesses, these women could take on other jobs. They could be Buddhist nuns, midwives who delivered babies, innkeepers, or work in silk production. A father with a store would certainly bring his wife and daughters to work. All of this often made it necessary for these women to learn to read and write. This helped women keep records and write bills.