Yu Zhengxie (1775–1840) was a
Qing Dynasty scholar from
Yi county in modern-day
Anhui province. Along with his
philological work, he was a noted critic of
foot binding, female
infanticide
Infanticide (or infant homicide) is the intentional killing of infants or offspring. Infanticide was a widespread practice throughout human history that was mainly used to dispose of unwanted children, its main purpose is the prevention of reso ...
, and the
cult of widow chastity
Widow chastity was an ideal in traditional Chinese cultural practices and beliefs that honored widowed women and discouraged their remarriage, encouraging them instead to live a life of "virtuous chastity".Theiss, Janet. “Female Suicide, Subjecti ...
.
Biography
Yu Zhongxie was born in Yi county, but he grew up in
Jurong,
Jiangsu, where his father Yu Xian (1750–1801) served as sub-director of schools from 1778 to 1794. While in Beijing, Yu assisted
Ye Mingchen in the compilation of the 1818 edition of the ', and also wrote a history of his hometown. In 1821, he was a successful candidate in the imperial provincial examination, obtaining the rank of
juren
''Juren'' (; 'recommended man') was a rank achieved by people who passed the ''xiangshi'' () exam in the imperial examination system of imperial China. The ''xiangshi'' is also known, in English, as the provincial examination. It was a rank high ...
. Despite his wide learning and exceptional memory, he was unsuccessful in the metropolitan examination of 1833.
For his stance on women's issues,
Lin Yutang regarded him as one of the three pre-modern Chinese
male feminists
Pro-feminism refers to support of the cause of feminism without implying that the supporter is a member of the feminist movement. The term is most often used in reference to men ("male feminists") who actively support feminism and its efforts to ...
along with
Yuan Mei
Yuan Mei (; 1716–1797) was a Chinese painter and poet of the Qing Dynasty. He was often mentioned with Ji Yun as the "Nan Yuan Bei Ji" ().
Biography
Early life
Yuan Mei was born in Qiantang (, in modern Hangzhou), Zhejiang province, to a cu ...
and
Li Ruzhen
Li Ruzhen, formerly romanized as Li Ju-chen (; c. 1763 - 1830), courtesy name Songshi (松石), art name Songshi Daoren (松石道人), was a Chinese novelist and phonologist of the Qing dynasty. A native of Beijing, he was the author of the novel ...
.
A skilled philologist, Yu researched the history of language, which influenced his views on women. According to his interpretation, Chinese historical texts supported an
egalitarian view of
marriage. He also wrote about the island of
Taiwan, religion in
Tibet, and the relationship between Tibet and the Manchus.
Further reading
*Brownell, Susan and Wasserstrom, Jeffrey N. (2002). ''Chinese Femininities/Chinese Masculinities: A Reader''. University of California Press.
*Ko, Dorothy (1995) ''Teachers of the Inner Chambers: Women and Culture in Seventeenth-Century China''. Stanford University Press.
*Zhengxie, Yu. (1833). "Jealousy is not a wicked behavior for a woman". Shanghai:Shangwu, reprint.
*
References
Male feminists
Chinese feminists
19th-century Chinese philosophers
Qing dynasty essayists
1775 births
1840 deaths
Philosophers from Anhui
People from Huangshan
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