Volume XI – Number 1
Alison R. Drucker
Abstract:
This article examines the advancement of women’s status in China as a result of foreign ideas, particularly from relations with the United States and Britain. Western influence solidified after China’s defeat in the Opium War in 1842 by opening China’s border to Western trade and Protestant missionaries. While the U.S. and Britain forced China to comply with their commercial affairs, their newfound relations occurred at time when egalitarian philosophies were gaining traction and assigning new socio-economic roles to women in the West. As a result, China was exposed to the preconditions for a women’s movement. The 1890’s brought about the adoption of Western culture in response to external security threats, causing the women’s movement to become prominent in China. Protestant missionaries from the West also played a pivotal role in this shift by challenging the Chinese status quo and encouraging reform. Until socialism captured Chinese public thought in the 1920’s, American and British influence encouraged advancements women’s status.
