這本書是在北京和上海兩地分別舉辦研究生班和博士班的直接成果之一。2002年，中國首屆婦女學研究生班在中華女子學院、香港中文大學和美國密歇根大學三校合作下舉辦。2006年夏天，複旦大學和密歇根大學合作舉辦了中國首屆婦女與社會性別學的博士生班。兩次課程的意義都非常深遠。
我們感謝這兩個課程班邀請了密歇根大學的Carol Boyd教授。Carol Boyd教授是這兩次的“女性主義研究方法”課程的總設計師。所有的閱讀材料都是她精心選定的。我們在本書中選入的各章英文篇目都出於其中。所以出版這本書首先要歸功於她豐富的學識和無私的貢獻。
本書總體策劃是密歇根大學的王政教授。王教授這些年為國內的婦女與社會性別學的發展傾注了大量心力。百忙之中，她多次催促和支持本書的出版，並為本書涉及的版權和出版申請了經費，還親自為本書寫序。我們作為編者，在此深表謝意。
感謝在女性主義研究方法領域做出了重大貢獻的中外學者。我們最初計劃出版中文和英文兩本書，我們聯係了很多作者，所有的作者都對我們的工作給予了祝福和支持。其中一些作者還免費授予我們版權，可是最後由於翻譯時間和篇幅關係不得不有所割愛。我們向本書文章的作者表示感謝，更向那些因為各種原因我們不得不割愛的那些文章的作者表示真摯的歉意和衷心的感謝。謝謝她們對本書出版毫無保留的支持！
特別感謝密歇根大學的博士生李旭。雖然我和她從未謀麵，但是通過大量的電子郵件和電話聯係，我對李旭的印象非常深刻。作為密歇根大學中美婦女研究項目的項目助理，李旭在聯係英文作者和出版社版權等方麵花費了巨大心力。她爽朗明快的工作作風、誠懇負責的人際技能使這項充滿了複雜和變化性的出版工作變得有序和高效。
另外，我也特別要感謝瑞典隆德大學亞洲研究中心。我在2006年2至6月間在該研究中心擔任客座教授，關於本書材料的取舍、各方的聯係，以及我所分工負責的重新翻譯和校對的大量工作，都是在瑞典完成的。非常感謝亞洲研究中心為我提供的優越的辦公條件和豐富的學術資源。
複旦大學、北京師範大學以及其他高校的一些老師和同學參加了翻譯工作。當時參加翻譯的研究生如今都走上了工作崗位，感謝他們的參與和貢獻。按照本書章節順序排列，他們分別是沈奇嵐、範樂娟、朱源、李婷、邵麗麗、鍾婉娟、李麗華、陳瑤、龍燦、薑雲飛、黃繼豪、邢婷婷。
本書所有翻譯都進行了兩次校對，以保證翻譯的質量。兩次校對在原來的翻譯基礎上作了很大範圍的修改。兩次校對的責任分工如下：第1章（張莉莉、梁營章）、第2章（孫中欣）、第3章（孫中欣）、第4章（張莉莉）、第5章（張莉莉）、第6章（張莉莉）、第7章（時麗娜、張莉莉）、第8章（孫中欣）、第9章（孫中欣）、第10章（孫中欣）。全書的格式統稿和其他事務性的工作由我本人承擔。翻譯和校對是很辛苦的工作，雖然盡力了，但是一定還有不盡如人意的地方。由於時間倉促和水平有限，我們在本書工作中的疏漏敬請讀者批評指正。
感謝複旦大學出版社的曹珍芬老師。我最初認識曹老師，是因為複旦大學教務處派她到我雙語教學“女權主義方法論”課程來聽課並作評估。曹老師以她作為出版人的敏銳，看到這門學科在國內大學的迫切需求，課後立刻和我討論先出版一本雙語教材來滿足國內大學師生的需要。具體的出版花費了相當長的時間，曹老師一直以她的平和與耐心來支持我們。
本書獲露斯基金會（The Henry Luce Foundation）基金讚助出版。特此致謝。
孫中欣
2007年8月1.Virtuous Wives and Kind Mothers：
Concepts of Women in Urban China
Margaret R.Weeks
Institute for Community Research
2 Hartford Square West，Suite 100
Hartford，CT 06106，U.S.A.
Synopsis—China's leaders since 1949 have generally held that women's emancipation is an automatic result of socialist economic development and that a separate focus on gender issues is therefore unnecessary.This has left certain structural and conceptual problems of gender inequality unaddressed.Old and new concepts defining and giving value to women and women's activities result in limiting the development of a feminist consciousness among urban women，and limit opportunities and choices for these women in education，jobs，and leadership.Comparison of the perspectives of women in official positions with urban working class and college-educated women shows that class differences affect their responses to the current concepts of and opportunities for women.These differences are also reflected in their assessment of the degree to which women have achieved emancipation in China，and their interest in further work toward creating gender equality.
Acknowledgements—I am very grateful to Norman Chance，Robert Dewar，James Faris，Mark Gentry，Leslie Kriebel，Joan Landes，John Omohundro，Judith Stacey，and several others for their comments on earlier drafts of this article.Findings here are based on doctoral dissertation research，which was supported with funds from a Charlotte W.Newcombe Fellowship（Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation）.
The 1980s have been a time of dramatic change for urban China.Yet forty years of socialist development，including the dramatic reforms of the post-Cultural Revolution decade，have done little to dislodge attitudes of male privilege and concepts that give form to gender relations of male dominance.Despite women's increasing activity in the non-domestic economic and political realm and their ostensible legal equality with men，serious limitations to progress on improving women's status and opportunities remain.
The source of these limitations is twofold.First，the assumptions of the predominantly male Communist Party about gender and women's issues have led Party leaders to moderate feminist demands when carrying out socialist revolutionary changes.They have generally done this for political expediency in implementing economic programs they considered of greater import.Second，the Chinese communist leadership's classical Marxist theoretical perspective places gender in a secondary and dependent relationship to economic conditions and dynamics.This presumably eliminates the need for a separate feminist theoretical and political focus to break down the gender hierarchy.
Many Western feminist researchers of Chinese women decry the lack of such a separate focus on gender issues（Andors，1983；Croll，1978，1983；Davin，1976；Diamond，1975；Honig，1985；Johnson，1983；Stacey，1983；Wolf，1985）.They believe the result is that China's traditional patriarchal and patrilineal family structure continues to determine the nature of gender relations and the definitions of gender roles.Many of these feminist analyses accord the system of gender relations and concepts relative theoretical autonomy from the economic system.They stress the dynamic relationship between the two systems for content and change.The underlying position adopted in the following pages parallels that of these scholars.Gender concepts are analyzed as interrelated with contemporary gender relations played out in economic，political，and family life.
Presently，China's official position on issues of gender is reflected in the statements and activities of the National Women's Federation.The Federation is a branch organization of the Party instituted to handle special issues of women's status and legal rights.Their policies often reflect the prevailing political positions of the Communist Party leadership.As a result，many Chinese see the Federation as a tool of the Party，without the power to protect women from government policies that may have a negative impact on women's status and opportunities.And in fact，although the Federation has offered women some protection from traditional discrimination，Federation leaders virtually always support the government's economic agenda，sometimes at the expense of their objective to eliminate gender inequality.
While China's leaders and the National Women's Federation give issues of gender a status subordinate to and dependent on economic issues，they allow concepts and popular ideologies significant theoretical and political autonomy.For example，they explain continuing popular traditional beliefs as“remnant”from earlier economic and social relations and separate from those prevailing.China's leaders have tried to pick and choose among the traditions in gender roles，relations，and definitions.Some they condone as assets to their policies for economic development，while others they condemn as inimical to socialist advancement.They assert that the latter are irrelevant to contemporary gender relations，but assume that the former are free of the meaning they held when they constituted patriarchal social relations in the old（pre-1949）society.
The following discussion analyzes some popular traditional gender concepts as they relate to contemporary gender relations.It suggests that the pervasive patriarchal attitudes the Women's Federation considers inappropriate“remnant”ideas indeed constitute continuing power relations of men over women.However，those traditional ideas deemed desirable by China's male leaders and the Women's Federation also indicate patriarchal structures in current social relations.Taken together，these concepts illustrate the variety of ways patriarchy continues in contemporary Chinese society.Ideologies that demean women and define them as naturally deficient in productive potential persist and continue to restrict women's opportunities to advance and further contribute to China's development.This，in turn，reinforces and justifies allowing men to maintain their positions of privilege in the new socioeconomic setting.As will be demonstrated below，the Women's Federation's theoretical and political approach to gender concepts has thus far contributed to perpetuating the traditional hierarchy between men and women in the new context of socialist China.
In comparing the concepts officially adopted as defining desirable gender roles and relations with those ideas popularly held by a variety of people in the city，I make use of the comments and experiences of my urban Beijing informants.1 The more than seventy people I interviewed at length from 1982 to 1984 fell roughly into three occupational categories，each offering differing views on issues of gender and male and female equality.Officials，male and female，such as representatives of the National and Beijing Women's Federations and factory managers，generally provided the Party line on gender issues.Their definitions of women and female roles incorporated new expectations for women while still accepting some traditional ideas of women and gender relations.Factory and nonprofessional service workers，both men and women，were the second category of informants.
These people，who I will refer to as the working class，constitute the majority of the urban labor force.My working class informants tended to present consistently traditional views on gender issues.Thus，class more than gender seemed to shape their views on women.The third category of informants，college-educated intellectuals and non-administrative professionals，constituted the largest portion of my interviews.2 Intellectuals are a growing and increasingly influential proportion of urbanites，especially in the larger cities，3 whose level of education and whose professional aspirations have important effects on their ideas of gender issues.Compared to both working class people and officials，these women and men were most critical of traditional gender concepts，though women in this group were significantly more critical than were the men.This is apparent in educated women's choice of roles and their attitudes toward traditional expectations of women.
These interviews took place within a social and political milieu characterized by Deng Xiaoping's economic reforms and an increasingly relaxed atmosphere following the chaotic“Cultural Revolution”（1966-1976）and its aftermath.The government frequently expressed a desire to increase contact with the West and eased restrictions on Chinese people to interact with foreign visitors.Many of the people I spoke to felt comfortable expressing to an American their views on personal and political issues，though they were more reluctant to do so to other Chinese.The growing popular sense，during the period of my stay that the economic and political atmosphere was improving helped to increase people's willingness to express a variety of views and opinions，values and attitudes，including those on gender issues.
Models for the New Chinese Woman
The traditional model for women is summarized in the still popular phrase“xian qi liang mu，”which can be translated“virtuous wife and good mother.”This phrase epitomizes the Confucian ideal of women.It suggests that a woman's energy and efforts should all go to serving her husband，her family，and her children.This concept of the ideal Chinese woman has varied at different times and in different regions of the country.The salient feature of selfless devotion and contribution to her husband's family and to domestic duties in general remains strong in contemporary China.
Recent emphasis by officials on this popular traditional ideal indicates the precarious state of women's role in the work force relative to men's.Stories of“model”women publicized by the Women's Federation and in national and local media praise married women—most with paid jobs of their own—who take on the entire burden of domestic responsibilities so that their husbands may put full effort into success at work（Wen，1984；Xia，1984；S.Xiao，1983）.At the 12th National Party Congress in September 1982，Hu Yaobang，then General Secretary of the Communist Party's Central Committee，pointed to women's special role in building a socialist society.He said that in addition to their economic contribution，women“have a particularly significant role to play in building socialist spiritual civilization”（“A new year's message，”1983）.4
The concept of women as a moral force，that is，as having responsibility for upholding and teaching morality in the family and in society，is an integral part of the present leadership's call for women to build“socialist spiritual civilization.”This varies strikingly from traditional ideas of the polluting power of women and the need to keep them under tight control（Ahern，1975）.But the effect of this recently bestowed moral responsibility is not necessarily to increase women's power in the family.Rather，it opens them up to blame and criticism if domestic tranquility（and control of family members）is not maintained，even if they are the victims of such disruptions as domestic violence.
As“virtuous wives and good mothers，”women's role in the family for creating“socialist spiritual civilization”is outlined in a transcription of a Shaanxi Province radio broadcast：Within the household，the main role of the female head of the family is to insure the stability of family relationships such as harmonious relations between husband and wife，support of the aged，education of the young，proper arrangement of the children's weddings［that is，no lavish ceremonies—author］，and organization of the family's regular activities.The state of women's thinking and the height of their moral values are related to the level of civilization in the family.Likewise，every family's level of civilization directly affects society.Therefore，giving full play to women's enthusiasm in building spiritual civilization is a question of utmost importance.（Jiating Wenti，1982，pp.1-2）
Harmony，especially（but by no means exclusively）in the family，has been a prominent concept in Chinese history.The balance of relationships to insure harmony is considered essential for the preservation of society and for avoiding“chaos.”Women's role in maintaining harmony in the family is clear from the above passage.The weight given this role is heavier than virtually any other aspect of their expected behavior within the family.
Significantly，this passage makes no reference to women's non-domestic jobs，either to encourage their participation there or to acknowledge that most women do hold jobs outside the home.Such an omission suggests that women's domestic responsibility has been given official priority over their contributions to“socialist material civilization，”that is，China's technological development.As unemployment continues to rise with China's economic reforms，this omission may open the door to increasingly discriminatory hiring practices by factory managers and other employers.
Despite this emphasis on women's domestic role in China's post-1980 modernization efforts，the idea of the“virtuous wife and good mother”is officially counterpoised by a widely publicized second model of the ideal working woman.This model relies heavily on an image of the well-known scientist Marie Curie.The Chinese praise dedication such as hers to the development of science for the greater social good while still playing a supportive role in her family.Many Women's Federation leaders feel Marie Curie should be an inspiration for Chinese women to do the same in working for China's Four Modernizations economic program.“Model”Chinese women who have dedicated their lives to their jobs，even on occasion at the expense of family life，gain publicity for their selfless spirit and contributions to society（Huang，1983；Xiu，1983；Yue，1983）.But this obviously leads to ambiguity about where women should focus their energy.Many of the“model”working women express feelings of guilt at slackening their emphasis on traditional family roles（Xia，1984），a guilt nurtured by the Party leadership's advocacy of women's moral role.
Women's Federation representatives who discussed this situation with me agreed that the modern Chinese woman must try to be both a“virtuous wife and good mother”and a Marie Curie，or“use two shoulders to hold up half the sky.”Each woman must somehow find a balance for herself in her job and her domestic duties.Federation officials concede that this is not easy.One representative pointed out that“being a 'virtuous wife and good mother'should not be the highest goal for women.But women need to educate children and keep the family harmonious.”Another representative admitted that the Federation and the government“want families to be stable；so［the country］needs 'virtuous wives and good mothers.'This is important for society.”Regardless of the difficulty for women，these Women's Federation leaders say that achieving a balance between the two models is a duty of the“new Chinese woman.”No doubt，these leaders themselves are caught in the dilemma of trying to accommodate this model，yet they remain uncritical of the ideal and express few reservations about working toward it.
Official views of women's roles modify and augment the traditional ideal of women to fit the modern context.My working class women informants indicated that they accept the tradition more than they do these official modifications.Popular notions of“xian qi liang mu”emphasize the personal sacrifice women must make for men and the family.The comments of a woman who works in a Beijing sweater factory reflect what seems to be a widely accepted definition of the“virtuous wife and good mother，”though she herself indicated that this ideal was overly demanding：The traditional idea of what a woman should be is that she should do a lot of domestic work and her husband should not do anything.She must take very good care of him so the man will feel the warmth of the woman … .The“traditional”woman thinks that her husband is her soul.She takes good care of him so he's free from worries at home.She doesn't worry about her own job—just does it OK.The“best”woman is the one who never thinks of herself.In the countryside today，women are like this.They eat last and the least，and they work the hardest.They give everything to others and enjoy very little themselves.Comments like this one indicate the presumed need for women to play a supportive role in the family to insure harmony.In cities，husbands and wives discuss and compromise in domestic decision-making more than traditional practices allowed.But a modern-day“virtuous wife”is still expected to subordinate her own needs and goals to insure that her husband has the opportunity to succeed in his career and in public life.
Many working class women I interviewed felt it is virtually impossible to achieve the Women's Federation's ideal balance between the traditional and modern roles.These women said they will do their best in domestic and nondomestic responsibilities.Yet for many，the traditional“virtuous wife and good mother”is the role on which they prefer to concentrate.A young female store clerk summed up these ideas：After marriage a woman forgets about everything except home and children.There's no need to put much energy into her job.A university teacher described the attitude of a female friend in the foreign trade business：［My friend's］husband wants her to pass an exam［to get a promotion］.But my friend thinks she has a good job，a husband，and a child，and she doesn't want to work that hard.She doesn't want to compete and move up；she just wants to be good enough in personal life and work.She doesn't want to put any effort into it.It seems many women feel that if they have a good job，that's success enough.They don't have to surpass others on the job；they feel they should think of their families.Many women I interviewed in Beijing，whether cadre，intellectual，or working class，felt strongly that full time paid employment is absolutely necessary in terms of the money it brings in and the effect that being an independent wage earner has on women's status in the home.But a high proportion of the urban working class also maintain that a woman's first job is to manage and care for her family.
More highly educated and professional women I interviewed were less concerned with being“virtuous wives and good mothers，”though they did not reject the goal altogether.Many of these college-educated women would like to achieve the Women's Federation's suggested goal of balancing the“virtuous wife and good mother”and the Marie Curie models.They feel that husband and wife should work together，and each should have his or her own interests，ideas，and voice in decision-making.But they also see that an educated professional woman who wants to be successful in her work and a good wife and mother will have numerous difficulties trying to accomplish these goals.These women's desire to pursue a career has to be resolved with conceptions and expectations of women as the source of stability in the family and the repository for morality and harmony，ideas shared by the country's leaders and their own husbands.
Educated and professional women have an additional problem associated with a pervasive traditional belief illustrated in the old saying that“talent［or education］is no virtue for a woman.”A number of Chinese cities report an increase in the 1980s in unmarried educated women over thirty.5 Many urban college-educated women，especially with graduate degrees，are almost 30 before they begin seriously looking for a husband.Postponing marriage，according to several of my female Chinese colleagues，is necessary for women to insure that they have adequate time and energy to complete their degrees and establish their careers before taking on the responsibilities of marriage and family.
Their difficulty in finding husbands comes from the widely held belief that a man should be better than his wife（even if only slightly）in every way，including education，status，and even intelligence（Zhang，1984）.The few“eligible bachelors”for educated professional women are mostly unwilling to marry a woman who they think will put a lot of time into work at the expense of properly carrying out her domestic duties（C.Li，1983；S.Xiao，1983；Zhang，1984）.Many believe that“intelligent，well-educated women will not be good，'obedient' wives and mothers，”and that“a family cannot have two strong-willed members”（Wang，1984）.A 24year-old female college teacher related a story about a young man she had briefly dated，who had refused to marry several other women because they were too interested in their own careers.A prerequisite quality of his choice of wife was that she be less accomplished than he.Such men believe their chances for a successful career will be diminished if their wives do not take on most of the domestic duties.The number of unmarried educated women over 30 years of age is now recognized as a potentially serious social problem（“Marriage agency，”1984；“Party seeks，”1984；Wang，1984；W.Xiao，1984）.It exemplifies the difficulty of combining the two models for the new Chinese woman in practice，and indicates one consequence of the persistent traditional concepts defining women's proper place.
The dual burden for women is assumed within the combination of models currently advocated as the“new Chinese woman.”Both male and female officials and members of the working class uncritically accept almost complete domestic responsibility for women.Professional women must deal with this expectation even if they do not agree with it.A result is that women lose interest in expending the effort necessary to compete with men for leadership positions or for opportunities to make social contributions to China's economic or technological development.Many urban women see success at being a“virtuous wife and good mother”as much more attainable and desirable than becoming Marie Curies or trying to balance the two.Women are encouraged to make this choice by friends，family（especially husbands），and the government.Even those women who do put forth extra effort in competing for better social positions are more likely than men denied the chance to enter the competition.This is the result of ideas about the greater value of men than women in China.
Further Obstacles to Women's Equality
Major concepts affecting gender roles and feminist consciousness in China today include attitudes about the relatively greater importance of men than women.These ideas are summed up in the phrase“zhong nan qing nü”（“exalting males and demeaning females”），which the Chinese also translate as“concepts of male superiority.”There is a general preference，among both men and women，for males（for example，male children，leaders，and employees），and this results in behavior that gives men further privileges and advantages over women.The Women's Federation sees these particular traditional gender concepts as the greatest obstacle for attaining women's equality in China today，and frequently organizes campaigns to criticize these beliefs and publicize women's new rights.But despite Federation condemnation of these attitudes—and perhaps partly because of its leaders'own ambivalence—behaviors indicating acceptance of this preference for males affect women in all occupational categories.
Women's Federation leaders assert that concepts of male superiority are without foundation in the“new China”since they stem from the Confucian lineage and authority structures.Women should hold power in society and can contribute to China's economic development.China's Communist Party leaders have also assumed that bringing women out of the home and into non-domestic production would eliminate the basis for the archaic preference for men.Despite these assumptions，the continuing widespread belief in male superiority indicates that current social relations still accord power and privilege to males.It suggests that Confucian authority structures have been replaced with a modern patriarchy founded on newer economic and social relations.
The prevalence of“exalting males and demeaning females”is evident in the popular preference for sons over daughters.Concepts of the bloodline and the family name are still very strong，and the general notion remains that only male progeny can carry on the line.Official pronouncements that“boys and girls are the same”have not substantially affected most Chinese people's preference for sons.The lineage structure no longer denies women all rights and power within the family.But the modified authority structure，however weakened，is still patriarchal，and concepts of the family line promote the idea that men are more important members of the family（and of society）than are women.