Hangzhou, 25 Oct (ZXS) -- Question: Why is "she" the "gentlest force" in East-West exchanges?
——Interview with Li Tao, Vice President of Zhejiang Women's Studies Association
Written by Wang Yifei
With the emergence of more and more global issues, as the "gentlest force" in cultural exchanges between countries and even between the East and the West, how can "She Power" play a greater role in promoting the cooperation of all parties? China News Agency's "East-West Question" recently interviewed Li Tao, professor of Zhejiang Administrative College, academic member of Zhejiang Association for the Promotion of Chinese Culture Overseas Communication, and vice president of Zhejiang Women's Studies Association.
The following is a summary of the interview:
ZXS: Chinese civilization has a long history of more than 5,000 years. What changes have taken place in the image of Chinese women from ancient times to the present? How exactly does the "power of her" manifest itself at different stages?
Li Tao: In every stage of China's history, women's contributions have never been missing.
Influenced by traditional Confucian culture, in the temple culture of ancient Chinese society, men dominated the writing of history, so women were "submerged" in the official text. However, in the customs and culture of the people, because of the importance of filial piety, the depiction of women has never been absent. For example, in Chinese mythology, there is a legend of "Nuwa mending the sky". Chinese women in feudal society are more likely to appear as diligent and thrifty, tolerating humiliation, and obeying silence.
Nuwa mending the sky statue. Photo by Jin Wei
In the 20th century, starting from the Xinhai Revolution, the image of Chinese women began to change with social progress and conceptual changes—they were no longer oppressed, but revolutionaries seeking equality and liberation, participants in reform and construction, independent, responsible, innovative, enthusiastic and tireless. During the war years, the high image of many Chinese revolutionary female soldiers full of fighting spirit made some young people in the West yearn for China. After the founding of New China, the saying "women can hold up half the sky" was well known to hundreds of millions of people, and its important birthplace was Qianhe Village, Jiande, Zhejiang. This sentence is very eloquently about the status and role of women in China, and later became a famous saying widely spread by Western revolutionary women in the global women's liberation movement.
Since the reform and opening up, Chinese women have basically been liberated from traditional confinement, and have entered all aspects of economic and social development with a more free identity and more equal roles, whether it is government officials, scientists, entrepreneurs, athletes, etc., many typical female images have appeared in all walks of life, contributing to economic and social development. Especially in the past decade, with the country's great leap in strength, the new image of contemporary Chinese women who are confident, independent, dare to dream and dare to pursue has accelerated and been more and more recognized around the world.
Ballet "Red Detachment of Women". Photo by Luo Yunfei
ZXS: What is the difference between the development of women's cause in China and the path taken by the West? How do you contribute to the world?
Li Tao: Different from the path of the Western women's liberation movement, China has explored a unique path of Chinese women's liberation. Its greatest characteristic is that it can first shake off poverty economically and guarantee the right to subsistence and development, which can have the basis for the realization of other rights. I think this is the most important contribution to the world.
Last year, China completed the largest poverty alleviation campaign in human history, lifting nearly 100 million poor people out of poverty, completing the poverty reduction goal of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 10 years ahead of schedule. This "poverty reduction miracle" has liberated a large number of rural women from poverty. Gender equality is first and foremost to achieve economic equality, and China's exploration has a very important enlightenment role for the current women's liberation movement in the third world.
Compared with China, which first solves women's economic independence and then improves the system in development, the West is the first to exert efforts from the level of institutional construction. Of course, the starting points of these two paths are different, and there is no difference between one superior and one inferior.
China News Agency: In the establishment of national image and exchanges between different civilizations, why can women become the "most gentle force"?
Li Tao: For any country and any race, women are the most gentle and romantic force, and their authentic, tolerant and amiable qualities can cross language and distance. The female image is also an excellent reflection of the development face and spiritual temperament of a country.
There are many such cases. Like last year, the Chinese media completed a comparative photo of an ordinary person: in 2010, Bamu Yubumu, a young mother of the Yi nationality, hurried to the Nanchang railway station in Nanchang Province with a heavy bag on her back and her child. Last year, the media found Bamu Yubumu in Daliangshan, Sichuan, where she no longer needs to take her children out to work, her family has been lifted out of poverty, built a new house, and her three children are studying, and her bright smile in the sun in the photo contrasts sharply with the tiredness and dazedness in the photo more than a decade ago.
For foreign friends, understanding China's poverty alleviation achievements and the living conditions of Chinese women is the most intuitive and deeply rooted image. On the simple face of Bamu Yubumu, one can see the spiritual confidence of Chinese women after their continuous liberation and economic independence. This is the unique role of the "most gentle power".
In 2021, Ba Mu Yubumu, the protagonist of "Spring Festival Mother", came to the sea area of Xinan Town, Xiapu County, Fujian Province, to engage in sea fishing and sea cucumber farming. Photo by Wang Dongming, reporter of China News Agency
China News Agency: People have seen that malicious behavior of "vilifying" women's images has appeared from time to time around the world.
Li Tao: The vilification of women's images is not a new problem, and the vast majority of them are motivated by political ends, as a low-level means of "cooperating" politics. It was detrimental to the development of the cause of women worldwide, but it could not stop the emancipation of women in the world.
In the West, a small number of forces often "vilify" the image of Eastern women. There are two main reasons for this, one is that a small number of people in the West still have "stereotypes" of China, and the impression of Chinese women stays in Western novels in the thirties and forties of the 20th century, believing that Chinese women are still the image of the weak who are deprived and trampled on. Second, China's rapid economic and social development and continuous strengthening of influence on the international stage have made some forces very uncomfortable and unbalanced, which has intensified the distortion of the image of Chinese women, which is intentional.
In this context, we must learn how to dissolve this "malice". On the one hand, we must give a strong response in the face of provocation, and at the same time, we must pay more attention to the dissemination of women's image and gradually change backward cognitive concepts on a global scale, of course, this is a relatively long process.
On the "Science Island" where the Hefei Institute of Physical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Anhui Province, a group of female scientific researchers have spent more than 10 years efficiently ensuring the development, delivery and launch of 13 optical remote sensing main payloads of 6 satellites. Photo by Han Suyuan
ZXS: How can the East and the West strengthen mutual learning in promoting the development of women around the world and allowing women to better contribute to cultural exchanges?
Li Tao: Since the founding of New China, Chinese women have deepened their friendship and cooperation with women from all over the world through dialogue and exchanges. For example, the Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing in 1995, adopted the landmark Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. In recent years, the Women's Forum has also been held under the framework of APEC, the G20 and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. In the new era, under the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind, to promote the development of women's cause around the world, global cooperation, especially mutual learning between the East and the West, will inevitably become more important.
In order to promote women's development, China can appropriately learn from Western experience in the construction of its education system and explore more educational models that are conducive to women's development, including women's universities and women's colleges. For the West, China's exploration of achieving women's economic independence, such as contract processing and the cultivation and development of cottage industries, can be used as lessons for experience. In terms of top-level design, China's practice of comprehensively promoting the protection of women's rights and interests through the establishment of special women's federations is also of reference significance to the West.
In May 2018, the first SCO Women's Forum organized by the All-China Women's Federation opened in Beijing. Photo by Cui Nan, reporter of China News Agency
Mutual learning needs to be achieved in mutual communication. I believe that in terms of women's contribution to East-West exchanges, on the one hand, both sides need to make their own efforts, have the mentality of learning from each other, looking at each other, and appreciating each other; On the one hand, it is necessary to form a joint force to further promote the exchange of women's organizations and groups between countries. At present, there are a large number of industry-specific and professional exchanges and visits in the world, but there are not enough dialogues with women as the main body, especially people-to-people dialogues. For example, female artists, scientists, and international students from the East and the West can increase their contacts. In addition, there is also broad space for exchanges and cooperation between the East and the West around global common issues such as improving women's overall capabilities, further promoting gender equality in all fields of society, and opposing domestic violence.
For thousands of years, Chinese civilization and Western civilization have been moving forward in mutual exchanges and collisions, and gradually formed a pattern of "you have me, I have you". In the new era and new situation, women can play a greater role in enhancing understanding and mutual trust between the East and the West. (End)
Respondent Profiles:
Li Tao, professor of Zhejiang Institute of Administration, academic member of Zhejiang Association for the Promotion of Overseas Communication of Chinese Culture, vice president of Zhejiang Women's Studies Association, visiting scholar of Institute of Modern History of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, National Chengchi University and University of Rome Dai, presided over more than ten key projects of the National Social Science Foundation, general projects, national postdoctoral funds, the Ministry of Education and other topics, published 7 academic monographs and more than 60 academic papers.