A Confucian Interpretation of Women’s Empowerment

ABSTRACT

In this paper, I present a cultural interpretation of women’s empowerment by referring to a Confucian classic Neixun (Instructions for the Inner Quarters) that was written by Empress Xu. I explain that Empress Xu rejects the prevailing gender biases and practices concerning the low status and moral inferiority of women. She supports women’s empowerment in three aspects: the exercise of one’s agency, a more balanced approach to power relations, and the provision of essential means to effect change. I further argue that Empress Xu’s reading of women’s empowerment revolves around a Chinese belief in gender mutuality where men and women are moral equals despite performing different social roles. The Niexun underscores the importance of giving girls sufficient educational resources, mentoring and female role-modelling. Confucian perspectives on gender contribute to the existing literature on the diverse sociocultural understandings and application of women’s empowerment.

KEYWORDS:

• Confucianism
• gender equality
• empress Xu
• women’s empowerment

Acknowledgments

The author is grateful to two anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments, especially the suggestion of one reviewer to refer to the Mencian treatment of Sage King Shun.

Bio

Charlene Tan, PhD, has been a visiting professor at East China Normal University. She is the author of Confucius (2013) and Confucian Philosophy for Contemporary Education (2020).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.