Gender+Roles-+Huang+He


 * //__Huang He Gender Roles__//**

Chinese Society gave authority to elderly males who headed their households. In the Neolithic times, Chinese men wielded public authority. Only two Queens received high honor of having temples dedicated to their memories. The Shang, Zhou, and Xia had women in the shadow of men. The military and political contributions of men brought them into sharp focus. Males guided their families when the ruling classes were preforming ceremonies honoring the spirits of departed ancestors. This made men look like the most important gender in the society. After the Shang Dynasty, not many queens had temples dedicated to their memories. The painting on the bottom shows Wu Ding, a person who was once emperor of the Shang Dynasty and who ruled for 59 years. I chose his painting as my artifact because it shows how men were most dominant in the Chinese society and how women were not as dominant because they rarely ever became queens.

Wu Ding

In China ancestors were very important. When honoring these past family members, men were always more than the women. Women were always recognized by their husbands when the rituals were performed. Below shows a picture of a temple of the Shang Dynasty dedicated to a prince. This was important because temples dedicated to women were little to none, which proves that men were respected in the afterlife more than women were.