Research Articles

 

Historical Studies (Chinese Edition)

No.5, 2017

 

Rural Women’s Lives between Home and Temple: With a Focus on Two Sages (Er Xian) Worship from the 9th to the 14th Century (Abstract)

 

Yi Sumei

 

In the Tang and Song Dynasties, as the writing of temple inscriptions was taken up by ordinary people, a change occurred in images of women at home and at the temple. On the one hand, the Confucian idea that women stayed home while men worked outside had penetrated into grassroots society and was reflected in the gender bias of religious activities and historical writings. Temple inscriptions were mostly written by men, and even half-literate villagers knew that women’s names were taboo in inscriptions, thus obliterating the information on women’s participation in temple activities. On the other hand, not only was it not uncommon for women to participate in temple activities, but their participation was generally acknowledged by their families and local communities. In the late Song and early Yuan, temple observances not only integrated individuals and families from different classes and ethnic groups, but also became a domestic matter through which ordinary families could fight for influence in local society. This permitted the role of women in temple matters to be recognized. Er Xian worship on the Shanxi-Henan border areas shows that women actively used their kinship relations, control of finances, and social networks to gain a voice in the localization and popularization of historical writing. This research helps deepen our understanding of the diversity and historicity of Chinese religion and clan development.