子宫里的中国
谁不爱自己的母亲，用那滚烫的赤子心灵。亲爱的祖国，慈祥的母亲，长江黄河欢腾着，欢腾着深情，我们对您的深情。
—— 「祖国，慈祥的母亲」
深入人心的祖国-母亲的政治隐喻是怎样形成的？Motherhood 如何会从私人的情感体验中走出，成为国家意识形态的一部分？Institutionalized motherhood 的建构带来了哪些进步，又掩盖了哪些创伤？
在本校上的 online CC Mothering China: From Womb to Nation，看名字就觉得很有意思。也是唯一一门会影响我这学期 GPA 的课程 —— 好龟来 …… 啊啊 …… 𓀎 𓀏 𓀐 𓀑 𓀓 𓀔 𓀕 𓀖 𓀗 好龟啊好龟 …… 𓀘 𓀙 𓀚 𓀛 𓀜 𓀝 𓀀
This article is a self-administered course note.
It will NOT cover any exam or assignment related content.
Mothers in China
Motherhood is both a personal and public experience.
- personal: mother's body.
- public: family and social role - every mother is subjected to the scrutiny of herself, her family and society.
In Chinese societies, childbearing takes place within marriage despite rising divorce rates, extremely low fertility, and increased tolerance for non-marital sexuality. In constrast, single motherhood is punished with significant fines, and carries an unshakable stigma.
Citizens, or Mothers of Citizens?
- Joan Judge argues that Chinese women became important historical actors in the early twentieth century.
- As virgin political actors, their new role as ‘female citizens’ was open to limitless manipulations.
Late Qing China: Motherhood and National Salvation
Concubinage (妻妾制度) is a social practice in patriarchal societies.
- 母凭子贵与一夫多妻 - wives and concubines exerted influence over politics and male emperors.
- polyandry (一妻多夫) and wife selling in rural families - ironically, woman became the centre in the web of relations among men.
施害-受害关系的另一种解读 - Sommer shows that women (or mothers) were active agents who constructed meaningful choices within the constraints of the Confucian gender system.
解放女性与晚清救国运动 - Joan Judge argues that during the late Qing period, conservative officials, moderate reformers and radical revolutionaries all considered education to be the key to preparing women’s role in the new nation. Their ultimate goal was to mobilize female energies to patriotic movements.
反缠足作为反传统的总代表 - To individuals against footbinding, the practice symbolizes everything that was wrong about ‘tradition’.
- the origin of footbinding: fashion (lotus shoes)
- 1860s-1910s, footbinding was under global scrutiny. 「天足运动」
- 1950s, footbinding officially bent under coercive communist campaign
救国叙事与今日女性 - The discourse of national salvation is still used today to provide or deny maternity policies or services (e.g. breastfeeding, maternity leave, child care subsidies)
那么，代价是什么呢？
- mothers are the main victims of family status discrimination.
- If a woman chooses to become a mother, then it automatically means she chooses to suffer from the so-called motherhood penalty.
Reference
This article is a self-administered course note.
References in the article are from corresponding course materials if not specified.
Course info: CCCH5054 Mothering China: From Womb to the Nation (Online), taught by Dr. C.L. Tsang
Course website: https://commoncore.hku.hk/CCCH5054/