in death. Fortunately an era of change is developing, and slowly some of these consequences are becoming less frequent and less severe than they were even five years ago. In China as with many other countries, women are still considered inferior. The poem written by Fu Xuan in 3 AD can be said to sum up the life of a girl in China. How sad it is to be a woman! Nothing on Earth is held so cheap. No one is glad when a girl is born, by her family sets no store. In China, many people live on the farm, and strong hands are needed in the fields; therefore, the Chinese favor sons over daughters. Sons take care of their parents in their old age, while daughters leave their homes when they marry and became part of the husbands family. When a baby girl is born, the family views her as a temporary possession. Some parents sell the baby girls when they need the money; these girls are often brought up as household servants or as prostitutes. At other times, baby girls are drowned at birth. Women in China are still considered inferior to men. A woman is expected to obey her father as a child, her husband as a woman, and her son in her old age. On the other hand, it is a moral obligation of the person in authority to be just and reasonable. Therefore, the man should be kind but at the same time deal severely with faults. The 19th century saw the beginnings of womens rights for Chinese women. Western missionaries started schools for girls in China that introduced western ideas that influenced the Chinese. In 1901, foot binding was officially banned although it continues to practiced as traditions are hard to destroy (Sui Noi Goh p. 67). In 1919 educated Chinese women took part in movements to modernize China, and give women equal rights with men. In the early 1990s, the Chinese themselves set up schools for girls. During the Great Leap Forward in the 1950s, Mao Zedang gave women equality with men, saying women held up half of the heavens. Wome...
