The Women's Rights Recovery Association () was a Tokyo-based political movement founded in 1907, by

anti-Qing Anti-Qing sentiment () refers to a sentiment principally held in China against the rule of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty (1636–1912), which was criticized by opponents as being "barbaric". The Qing was accused of destroying traditional Han cultu ...

members of the

Chinese diaspora Overseas Chinese () refers to people of Chinese birth or ethnicity who reside outside Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. As of 2011, there were over 40.3 million overseas Chinese. Terminology () or ''Hoan-kheh'' () in Hokkien, refe ...

. It was an

anarcha-feminist Anarcha-feminism, also referred to as anarchist feminism, is a system of analysis which combines the principles and power analysis of anarchist theory with feminism. Anarcha-feminism closely resembles intersectional feminism. Anarcha-feminism ...

group, one of the earliest Chinese organizations adhering to

anarchism Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessa ...

and

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

alike. The Association, which opposed the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

and

Confucianism Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...

, advocated the end of male privileges in traditional Chinese culture, and prohibited female submission to men. Its members were forbidden to become

concubines Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive. Concubin ...

or secondary wives. In return, it promised to help all members in their fight against individual and societal oppression. Ideologically

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

, unlike others at the time in China, the Women's Rights Recovery Association identified the cause of women's oppression as the economic systems of

feudalism Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...

and

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for Profit (economics), profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, pric ...

, rather than in a perceived weakness in national character and culture. Most of its ideology was formulated by its founder, He-Yin Zhen – a

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...

-born anarchist, who had gone into Japanese exile together with her husband

Liu Shipei Liu Shipei (; 24 June 1884 – 20 December 1919) was a philologist, Chinese anarchist, and revolutionary activist. While he and his wife, He Zhen were in exile in Japan he became a fervent nationalist. He then saw the doctrines of anarchism a ...

. She also published the newspaper ''Natural Justice'', and contributed to the

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

-based ''

Xin Shiji ''Xin Shiji'' (, eo, La Tempoj Novaj, french: Les Temps Nouveaux – later ''Nouveau Siècle''), translated to English as both New Century and New Era, was a periodical published by the " Paris Group", a movement of radical Chinese intellectuals ...

''. Unusually for her time she focused on the exploitation of the class-based exploitation of women, singling out prostitutes, domestic servants and female factory workers as the most oppressed. She condemned the unequal distribution of wealth, and refused to subordinate this women's class struggle to any other ideological cause. Writing that "the goal of equality cannot be achieved except through women's liberation", He-Yin – and the Association – viewed female freedom as something that women must accomplish on their own, since no one would give them their rights. Revolutionary change, not reform, was seen as the only way forward. While little is known about the exact workings of the Women's Rights Recovery Association, it is probable that the group was dissolved after He-Yin Zhen and her husband left Tokyo in 1909, returning to China.

References

{{Authority control 1907 establishments in the Japanese colonial empire Anarcha-feminism Anarchist organizations in China Anarchist organizations in Japan Defunct anarchist organizations Defunct organizations based in Japan Organizations established in 1907 Socialist feminist organizations Feminist organizations in Japan

See also

References