Tang And Song Dynasties Essay

Looking between Europe and the Tang and Song dynasties of China, one must wonder how two cultures with such vast differences could be so similar. China was a unified nation, which was ruled by a monarch with complete power, while Europe on the other hand was separated into over 60 different kingdoms, each of them were served by their own lords who had commoners working for them. During the Tang Dynasty, women, especially those from elite families, lead a life with very few constrictions, but that all changed when the Song Dynasty took over. Europe though gave women the opportunity to join guilds, take apprentices, inherit land and businesses, and get a proper education. Trade was an important part of both cultures, China was able to trade goods
During the Tang dynasty, the lives of elite women in Northern China were heavily influenced by the lives of women in the nomadic, egalitarian tribes to the north. Statues and paintings have been found from this time that depict women riding horses, and the rise of a female Daoist deity known as the Queen Mother of the West. This all changed during the Song Dynasty though, as the rapid spread of Confucianism and economic growth caused patriarchy to become even more strict, and women were forced into submission once again. The most obvious sign of the rise of patriarchy was foot binding, the process of tightly wrapping a woman’s foot, so that it was only a few inches long. This practice was seen as a sign of power and riches, as well as being commonly associated with beauty, frailty, and being confined to the only place Confucianism taught girls belonged, “inner quarters.” Though this process was long, difficult, expensive, and painful, many women would do this to their daughters, and some girls even looked forward to it, as it became more of a right of passage than a commonly accepted torture method. And though it is not as widely practiced or known, foot binding