Feet and Fabrication: Footbinding and Early Twentieth-Century Rural Women’s Labor in Shaanxi
The early twentieth-century transformations of rural Chinese women’s work have received relatively little direct attention. By contrast, the former custom of footbinding continues to fascinate and is often used to illustrate or contest theories about Chinese women’s status. Arguing that for rural women at least, footbinding needs to be understood in relation to rural economic [...]
Read moreFeet and Fabrication: Footbinding and Early Twentieth-Century Rural Women’s Labor in Shaanxi
The early twentieth-century transformations of rural Chinese women’s work have received relatively little direct attention. By contrast, the former custom of footbinding continues to fascinate and is often used to illustrate or contest theories about Chinese women’s status. Arguing that for rural women at least, footbinding needs to be understood in relation to rural economic [...]
Read moreText, Practice, and Life Narrative: Bridal Lamentation and a Daughter’s Filial Piety in Changing Rural China
This article explores, through the lenses of text, practice, and life narrative, how Chinese peasant women as daughters manage patrilocality and carry out—or fail to carry out—filial piety toward their parents. Based on field research in a locale in southern China conducted since 1992, this article focuses on four women’s life histories and juxtaposes how [...]
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