I found the discussion of China during the late Classical/early Modern era to be quite tragic for the role of women. In the European Renaissance, the female form was highly regarded. Women were allowed more rights than ever before. Women were very nearly equals in many ways. However, in China, such was not the case. Women had been much more free in the Tang dynasty, yet during the Song dynasty, there was a complete reversal. Women were to be subordinate to their male counterparts. Women were considered weak and fragile, unfit for many activities that men took part in.
In order to make women more fragile and weak, the Song dynasty took up foot binding, and act of breaking the bones in the feet of women in order to make the feet appear smaller, then binding the feet to prevent any proper healing. This made it so women could barely walk, leaving them to be unfit for many physical activities of any kind. "The most compelling expression of a tightening patriarchy lay in foot binding" (Strayer, 2013, pg 371). Female beauty standards were altered in such a way that women could not conform without doing permanent damage to their bodies that left them literally crippled.
I do not see the Chinese as having a true Renaissance that is even slightly comparable to that of Europe due to the poor role of women in the Chinese "Renaissance". The entire point of the Renaissance is a rebirth of humanism, and humanism does not define one's worth by their gender.
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