Blog 14

It is interesting to know that Chinese officials that governed China were elected through examinations. If this kept occurring, the governmental institutions would be all over the place because they might have gotten a leader that was corrupt and maybe a benevolent and understanding leader next. With governments, there must be stability and they must keep in mind the best interest of the people. Further, the examination system that it was based on was very conservative as a result making the people be more conservative not allowing them to express. Further, a document written in 1898 that critiques the examination system states that the way exams were programed were very corrupt and students found it difficult to balance out their social life and responsibilities with these examination systems. Further, they saw themselves falling behind in comparisons with other countries. It is nice to know however, that citizens oppose and express their concerns. The document that I found most interesting was Qiu Jin's document on women's rights. She mentions foot binding and explains that on a woman's wedding day, people compliment the father on doing a good job on his daughter's feet not really the daughter or the mother. This is interesting because he may not have even played a part in the foot binding other then ordering that the mothers do it yet he still gets credit. This is patriarchy taking its course. Further, women were seen as someone else's property in the 1900's. With the roaring 20s on the rise and the abolition of slavery in the United States, it is hard to crazy to know that women were seen as property still being treated that way in other parts of the world. Women in China had no say in what their future would look like. Women in China were not living, they were surviving. It is also brave and courageous that Qiu tells her readers to no longer depend on men and to stop binding their daughters feet.