If she tried to show compassion like an ideal Confucian scholar, what she did would be described as a “妇人之仁”(fu ren zhi ren)-”woman’s kindness.” If a woman expressed her opinion, it would be considered as just a “妇人之见”(fu ren zhi jian)-”woman’s expression”. Traditionally, women were supposed not to be seen and heard in public. There are many other terms that describe women in specifically negative ways: “女人善变”(nü ren shan bian)-woman’s heart and moods shift quickly “最毒妇人心”(zui du fu ren xin )-woman’s heart is most evil “女人祸水”(nü ren huo shui)-women are a cause of troubles or, she is a “母夜叉” (mu ye cha)-a frightful, malicious, ugly woman. The idiom “夫唱妇随”(fu chang fu sui)-”When husband calls, wife follows” reflects the superiority of men and the inferiority of wives at home. This kind of lexical usage even appears in a phrase meant to express gender equality, “男女平等”(nan nü ping deng), however, the male character is always placed first. Male dominance and female subordination are evident in such idioms as “男尊女卑” (nan zun nü bei)-males respected, females despised “男女”(nan nü)-male and female “夫妇”(fufu)-husband and wife and “儿女”(er nü)-son and daughter. The ancient Chinese character for female (女, this is the simplified Chinese character for female) consists of a pictographic representation of a person kneeling with hands folded, a pose seen as a form of submission. I will give some specific examples in Chinese to further illustrate it. As for Chinese, the analysis of Chinese characters and idioms can provide the context for understanding the historical construction of gender roles, and the ideas that inform the oppression of women in ancient Chinese society. French feminists also argue that language, signs, and symbols are keys to understanding gender construction (Kristeva, Jardine, & Blake, 1981 Cixous & Kuhn, 1981 ), English and American feminist linguists have discussed the substance of the English language as literally man made and under male control (Spender & Bardin, 1985 Penelope, 1990). American historian and feminist theorist Joan Scott (1994) proposed that the analysis of language provides a starting point for understanding how social relations are conceived and how collective identity is established.
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