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Cultivation of virtue: Women's practices and gender issuesduring the Song era (960-1279) Item Type text; Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Lu, Hui-tzu Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 04/10/2021 03:38:19 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/280429 CULTIVATION OF VIRTUE; WOMEN'S PRACTICES AND GENDER ISSUES DURING THE SONG ERA (960-1279) by Hui-tzu Lu Copyright © Hui-tzu Lu 2003 A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF EAST ASIAN STUDIES In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 2003 UMI Number: 3108925 INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI UMI Microform 3108925 Copyright 2004 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA ® GRADUATE COLLEGE As members of the Final Examination Committee, we certify that we have read the dissertation prepared by [-|| ^ j - f 7 11 In entitled Cultivation of Virtue; Women's Practices and Gender Issues during the Song Era (960-1279) and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement for the Degree of Doctor Of Philosophv Chi a - Ii n l'ao_^ I ao Date // ~n -6 3 Brian McKn igfvt ' Date //- 5f n g - s he n T a o Date /(•/ iz /03 Marie Chan Date ''4^ Ronald C. Miao Final approval and acceptance of this dissertation is contingent upon the candidate's submission of the final copy of the dissertation to the Graduate College. I hereby certify that I have read this dissertation prepared under my direction and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement. Dissertation Director Qhia-lin Pdo-Tao Date Brian McKnight 3 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this dissertation are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the copyright holder. SIGNED; 4 Acknowledgements This dissertation could never have been completed without the advice, support, and help of many people. I would like to begin by expressing my deepest gratitude to Professor Chia-lin Pao-Tao for introducing me to Chinese women's studies, and for the constant support and advice she provided throughout my study over the years. Her generous assistance to me often went beyond the duty of an advisor. I am also greatly indebted to Prof Brian McKnight, my mentor and another chair committee, who led me into the field of Song history. His inspiring guidance and rigorous standards always encouraged my intellectual aspirations. His meticulous editing of the entire manuscript contributed a great deal to this work. Special thanks go to Prof. Jing-shen Tao for his instruction and consultation. He unstintingly shared with me his erudition on Song history and sources from which this project enormously benefited. I owe much gratitude particularly to Professor Marie Chan and Ronald Miao for their unfaltering encouragement. I received tremendous help in particular from Prof. Chan, who patiently corrected and edited most chapters of this work and offered insightful comments. I would like to extend my thanks to Prof Huang Minzhi, who generously shared her scholarship and expertise; to Prof. Patricia Ebrey who kindly contributed her time and invaluable advice in support of this study; and to many others I met in the international conference on Tang Song Women in the Context of Historical Studies held in Beijing, China, June 2001. My many thanks go to friends and colleagues in Arizona and the Bay Area. My classmates and religious masters, Zhiru shi and Zhihui shi, were inordinately helpful to me along the way. I am especially indebted to Gabriella Duncan and Roger Herrington for their editing and comments to this work. Thanks also due to Chung Hsiu-feng, Xi Wei, Li Yan, and Choo Pengyin; their friendship and help enlivened my life while I was struggling to write in a remote, secluded desert. My family has been an inexhaustible source of spiritual sustenance throughout this solitary and long journey of research and writing. Without their love, support, and faith I would not have overcome numerous difficulties and frustrations and finally completed this dissertation. I am most indebted to my parents for their unconditional love and unwavering confidence in me. The unremitting support from my in-laws also deserves special mention. And most of all, my deepest gratitude must go to my husband Ching-Jyh, who has seen me through every crisis with his steadfast affection and patience. His encouragement and faith in me have been indispensable to my work. I dedicate this dissertation to him with love. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT 8 ABBREVIATION 10 INTRODUCTION 11 Song Women in Chinese History: Previous Scholarship and New Directions 11 Motivation, Question, and Methodology 14 Materials 18 Limitations and Problems 20 Outline 21 PART I: WOMEN'S PERSONAL CULTIVATION IN SONG CHINA 24 Chapter 1 Women's Bodily Cultivation: Women's Ascetic Practices in the Song 25 Introduction 25 Zhaijie as a Form of Asceticism in Traditional Chinese Culture 26 Women's Ascetic Practices as Bodily Cultivation in the Song 31 1. Zhaijie—Women's Ascetic Practices in the Song Times 32 2. Daoist Fasting as Personal Cultivation 40 3. Mixed Cultivation 45 4. Women's Observance of Non-Killing 46 5. Seclusion as an Ascetic Practice 49 6. Song Male Literati's Opinion 51 Food Practices—Dietary Culture and Rituals in the Song Social Context 53 1. Food Practices—Rituals and Women 55 2. Dietary Culture in Historical Context 57 3. Vegetarianism and Related Practices in the Song 64 4. Collective Vegetarianism among the Populace in Song China 67 Motivation, Influence, and Other Underlying Elements 70 Conclusion 81 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS - Continued Chapter 2 Spiritual and Literary Cultivation: Women's Religious Practices and Literary Learning during the Song 84 Religious Practices in the Song Historical Context 85 Song Women's Daily Religious Practices in the Domestic Realm 88 1. Song Women's Daoist Devotion and Mixed Practices 89 2. Elite Women's Religious Practices: From Buddhist Sutra Reciting to Religious Poem Composing 93 Women's Education before and during Song China 106 1. From Ban Zhao to Zhu Xi—Women's Literary Learning in Didactic Texts 106 2. Women's Literary Learning and Religious Practices in Epitaphs 113 Non-Elite Women's Religious Practices in the Song 129 The Efficacies and Incentives of Religious Practices and Gender Discourse in Buddhist and Popular Literature during the Song 136 1. Sutra Reciting and Copying 136 2. Invocation of Buddha or Bodhisattva's Names and Mantra Chanting 141 Antecedents to Misogynistic Views Reflected in Song Religious Literature and Practices: The Analysis of Motivations for Song Female Religious Practices 147 Conclusion 156 PART II: FROM INNER TO OUTER: SONG WOMEN'S PRACTICES AND REALIZATION 159 Introduction 160 Song Gender Discourse on Inner and Outer Spheres 162 Chapter 3 Female Religious Offerings in Song China 173 Female Religious Patronage in the Chinese Historical Context 173 Female Religious Offerings in Song China 177 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS - Continued 1. Embroidery as a Female Offering 177 2. Women's Offerings beyond the Inner Quarters 182 (1) Village Women's Religiosity and Filial Piety 182 a. Erection of Divinities' Images 184 b. Erection of StUpas 187 c. Erecting Pillars 189 d. Casting Monastic Bells 191 e. Financing Public Works 192 (2) Elite Women's Monastic Patronage 193 a. Construction and Renovation of Temples or Cloisters 194 b. Donation of Estates 197 (3) Patronesses of Song Monastic Treasuries 199 The Significance of Female Offerings during the Song 205 Chapter 4 Song Female Practices and Realization: Women and Public Works in Their Communities 210 Public Works and Philanthropic Culture within the Song Historical Context 211 Song Women's Participation in the Local Public Works 219 1. Building Weirs and Farm 220 2. Repairing Roads, Building Bridges, Boring Wells, etc 223 3. Engagement in Local Relief Work 226 Other Non-Financial Involvements 236 Empowering the Purse: An Examination of Sources of Song Women's Financial Access and Power in the Family 238 1. Women's Working Labor and Their Personal Income 239 2. The Dowry as Song Women's Private Property 242 3. Women's Inheritance Rights during the Song Era 244 Definitions of Female Virtue and Some Implications of Women's Charitable Practices 249 Conclusion 257 CONCLUSION 260 REFERENCES 270 8 ABSTRACT Idealized presentations of female behavior prescribed by Ban Zhao f|E0S (A.D. 45-120) and later male Confucians defined women in the role of inner helpers, thus confining them to the domestic arena.