Chinese Women and Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Chinese Women and Culture - Essay Example The recent developments on China portray a comparatively liberal image of the women than was possible some decades ago. Not too far off in history, in fact if a critical analysis is made for the 1980`s and the 1990`s both the authorities in China as well as the traditional Chinese society were resistant to the growth of feminist attitudes.The traditional ancient Chinese rituals and belief systems though still prevalent to some extent in China adds to the limitations that women have to face to contribute significantly to the Chinese cultures and traditions. 1990`s however opened doors towards acceptance to the fact that women can also significantly contribute to the cultural development in China.To understand China in the modern context, it is crucial to analyze the role of women in the ancient century as well so that patterns in evolution can be drawn.China is always perceived as a culturally isolated and a backward society, and the image of the state is that of an authoritarian tyra nnical one. Modern elements of change like modern art, modern music, internet evolution and social networking seems to be absent and highly controlled. The beginning of the new century saw an immense increase in modernization. With the opening of market in the late 1990`s, China`s economy started to boom as markets expanded and modernized. Cultural values, however, didn’t saw as immense of a change but some level of change was inevitable and 12 Girls Band is the product of this change. Thus, 12 Girls Band is symbolic for women empowerment, the ability for Chinese to preserve their traditional legacies, portraying a liberal yet sophisticated image of Chinese woman throughout the world. All members of the 12 Girls Band are thus Ambassadors to China who have positively affected the cultural variables in China at home and abroad. To understand China in the modern context, it is crucial to analyze the role of women in the ancient century as well so that patterns in evolution can b e drawn. In the ancient China women were considered to be inferior to men, and all their lives they were expected to obey the male members of the family, thus they had no freedom of their own and their role towards cultural community development was absent. The practice of binding women`s feet is symbolic for the control over women during that century. However, with time when the People`s Republic of China was found the role of women started to change, at least rhetorically and a significant level of independence was gained by the women. It wasn’t until 1979 that the government enacted reforms which enabled women to seek jobs in the market. This was the beginning of the initiation of the contribution of women to art; however the role was still very limited. However, with the cultural revolutions more and more opportunities were produced for the women and the process of evolution began to speed up (Wales 1967). Until the 1990`s the women were significantly contributing economi cally as well as culturally to the Chinese legacy. During this period, women poetry groups and arts clubs began to emerge and their activities began to enhance rapidly (Descoteaux 2008). The beginning of the new century saw an immense increase in modernization, and thus 12 Girls Band is a product of the modernization and cultural fusion. The band was selected in an audition in 2001, and twelve members later constituting of thirteen members, this band was a unique blend of girls who knew to play diverse range of instruments both modern and traditional in nature. All band members have gone through rigorous trainings in the field, and all of them belong to the conservatories groups which include the China`s Academy of Music, Central Conservatory of Music and the Chinese National Orchestra. The idea behind the concept belongs to Wang Xio-Jing who wanted twelve members for a band and his aim was to promote folk music however make it appealing by adding a modern touch to it. Thus, the wom en were inspired by the work of Yue