Tag Archives: Ming Dynasty

Women’s Work in Imperial China, Women Shaman, wu-po

Shamanism has a long, respected history in China. The word wu 巫 , interpreted as shaman, was first found inscribed on oracle bones dating from the Shang Dynasty (1554-1046 BCE).  A shaman is a spirit-intermediary or a spirit median. This term referred to either a male or female practitioner until by the late Zhou Dynasty (4th to 3rd centuries BCE) when it often meant women practitioners, not males (the latter were referred to as  xi 覡). A female shaman was also called wu-po 巫婆

During this early period shaman were valued, well-regarded, both females and males. However, by the Imperial Period there was a distinct change. Confucianism became the founding principal for the country’s rulers and the bureaucracy—based on meritocracy—needed to run the government. To become a government official, a man had to pass a series of examinations largely based on Confucianist texts. There was no place for spirit-intermediaries and their philosophies or rituals in this changed world view.

By the Ming Dynasty, the wu-po was much maligned by the state and considered a disreputable person. In many parts of the country being a granny-shaman was illegal. Nevertheless, throughout the country, especially in rural villages and towns, she was still needed by women without resources, for either their physical or psychological health.

Although considered charlatans by the government, the wu-po did not use their powers to become rich. They were typically very poor women themselves. To be a true wu-po the woman could not simply train under another shaman, she had to be called by a spirit. And she could not turn the spirit down. Once called, she had to capitulate. Another wu-po could guide her in her new journey as a shaman, but only after she’d been chosen by a spirit to be a median.

When sought out to solve a problem, the wu-po would seek her spirits’ advice or would exorcise evil spirits through a series of rituals. The rituals involved may involving beating a drum or cymbal and by dancing until the median goes into a trance and becomes a vessel for her particular spirit. If a woman’s illness was due to a malignant spirit, and an exorcism was needed, the median’s spirit could be called upon to force the evil spirit out.

So, it seems these women shaman lived between two worlds in Imperial China: despised by officialdom and condemned for their work and, at the same time, needed and respected by their women clients, who were often poor and underprivileged.

References:

*” Shamanism Theory and the Early Chinese Wu.” Thomas Michael. JSTOR Journal of the American Academy of Religion. Vol. 83, No.3 (Sept 2015), pp.649-696. Oxford University Press.

** “Wu (shaman)” Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia April 16th 2024.

***Dangerous Women. Victoria Cass. 1999, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. Boulder.

WOMEN’S WORK IN IMPERIAL CHINA, the physician granny

Undoubtedly the most well-known female doctor in China’s long history is Tan Yunxian (1461-1556) of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).  It’s not that there were no other noteworthy female doctors; it’s just that there are very few detailed records of their lives and their work. Lorraine Wilcox with Yue Lu opened up the window into her life and work by translating Tan Yunxian’s book, Miscellaneous Records of a Female Doctor, into English. Today there are many movies and stories written about Tan Yunxian.

TV drama, 50 Episodes. Directed by Li Guoli, Zheng Weiwen and Lu Zeliang. Tan Yunxian is played by Liu Shi Shi (AKA Cecelia Liu)

Although movies may make up parts to add excitement/tension to the story, because of this book, we have factual information about her and her family—she came from a medical family and was trained by her accomplished grandmother. Much of her medical prowess was based on well-established medical texts, but she also developed some of her own treatments. My character, Xiang-hua, in the A Ming Dynasty Mystery series (Deadly Relations, No Way to Die,and Justice Delayed, Justice Denied) is modeled on her life.

Because of China’s social conventions demanding varying degrees of separation between men and women—including male doctors and their female patients—female doctors were needed to treat women. A male doctor was limited in how much he could examine, touch, his female patient.  Usually, and only under appropriate circumstances, he could take her pulse to determine her illness and prescribe medicine. A female doctor could examine her patient more directly and more completely. She could also give a wider range of treatments, some involving touching the patient.

Of the other female doctors we know about, most are written about because they served in the imperial palace taking care of the emperor’s women. For example, in the Western Han Dynasty (206 BCE-9 CE), Yi Shuo (AKA Yi Xu) from Shan Xi province is known to have been a valuable and trusted female doctor because of her treating the empress dowager.*

Some were also noted because they worked with their husbands. Bao Gu of the Jin Dynasty (265-420 CE), who traveled with her highly acclaimed husband throughout Guangdong, was also so well-known and so famous, people called her the “Immortal Lady Bao.”

One female doctor, Wei Hua Cun (?252-334 AD) seems to be an exceptional case. She came from a literati family; her father was a court official. After marrying and having two children, she separated from her husband and apparently lived alone, practicing medicine for the rest of her life.

As important as female doctors were to their women patients, however, they were often roundly criticized by well-educated male doctors and other Confucianists as incompetent charlatans that should only have limited access to their families’ women. As with the other grannies, this distrust arose out of the lack of control men had over these relatively independent women. Nevertheless, in spite of this, female doctors were ultimately allowed into the homes because they were medical experts and served an important function—caring for sick women and children.

* NOTE: Information for this blog was taken from: Women Practitioners in Ancient China” bartleby.com; “Female Doctors in Ancient China,” Elena Santilli; A Flourishing Yin, Gender in China’s Medical History, 960-1665, Charlotte Furth; Dangerous Women, Victoria Cass.

To order books go to: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=pa+de+voe&i=stripbooks&crid=20Q1ZL6QA6K16&sprefix=pa+de+voe%

WOMEN’S WORK IN IMPERIAL CHINA

Midwives–Grannies

While there was some variation over the centuries, Imperial China was largely a highly gendered, patriarchal society. The lives of men and women were kept separate as much as possible. While families and friends could get together now and then, by and large, mixing was discouraged. Including in the area of medicine.

This meant that such medical needs as childbirth, fell to other women. The latter specialists, midwives, took care of pregnant women and delivered their babies. However, they didn’t receive formal training and were often illiterate. They learned their skills through experience, through on-the-job training. Those who were successful in their deliveries were sought after; those who failed to save a baby or its mother, were not.

If there was a complication the midwife failed to handle successfully, she may even be considered bad luck to have in a delivery room in the future. So, being a midwife required her producing safe pregnancies. If she did this, she earned a good reputation and respect.

One way such practitioners were shown respect was by calling them Granny (po), Old Granny (lao po), Old Elder Sister (lao jie), Old Lady (lao niang), Old Mom (lao ma), and Old Auntie (lao sou).* The use of the word “Old” didn’t refer to their actual, chronical age but to their status. Traditionally, all older people deserved deference and esteem because of the wisdom they accumulated through a long life. Therefore, using the appellation Old was a way of honoring them, of showing them respect.

However, they were not always seen in a positive light. Because midwife grannies were able to travel about on their own and to go to any woman’s home—no matter what that patient’s family’s social position was—they were also considered dangerous. Dangerous to the family and to the over-all society.

This fear of the grannies’ power lay in their independence.  As unrestrained women they could infiltrate a family, learn its secrets, and cause disruption in the its order and harmony. The men of the family often saw these grannies as outsiders who had too much access to their patriarchal family’s women. And, therefore, it was risky to allow them to become intimates to the family’s women.

Thus, we see that granny midwives had an essential, yet complicated, position throughout Chinese history.

If you have any stories about granny midwives, I’d love to hear them.

*An excellent book on women in China is Dangerous Women, Warriors, Grannies and Geishas of the Ming by Victoria Cass, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. Boulder. 1999.

** pictures from depositphotos.com

https://www.amazon.com/Deadly-Relations-Ming-Dynasty-Mystery-ebook/dp/B079J9CPRW/

MOVIES: Historical Chinese–The Sword and The Brocade

There are many historical Chinese movies and serials available on the Internet. Periodically, I will talk about some that I thought were interesting or fun. They will all be historical– whether dramas, mysteries,  adventures, or even fantasy. I hope you enjoy learning about them and go watch them, too.

#锦心似玉 #TheSwordandTheBrocade #WeTV

ENG SUB【The Sword and The Brocade 锦心似玉】EP01 | Starring: Wallace Chung, Seven Tan, He Hongshan, and Daddi Tang

YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtaKlLEdLic

Premiered Feb 28, 2021

Captions in English & Chinese

Set in the Ming Dynasty

The Sword and The Brocade is a Chinese historical serial set in the Ming Dynasty. The costuming and setting are extravagant, as befitting the characters’ upper class status. Definitely, a feast for the eyes.

The story takes place in an extended family including a matriarch, her two sons and their families. The older son, General Xu Lingyi carries the responsibility of protecting the Xu name and ensuring its future. He is married to a wife and two concubines and has two young sons. After his first wife dies, he marries her younger step-sister, Luo Shiyiniang.

The theme of each episode is the growing love and respect between Lingyi and Shiyi in spite of their union being an arranged marriage. Shiyi was chosen as a wife for Lingyi because—after his first wife died—the matriarch wanted someone to care for Lingyi’s son. However, the matriarch herself and all of the women in the family were biased against Shiyi due to her drive for independence and her low status as a concubine’s daughter. Eventually, through consistent optimism, loyalty to the Xu family, and strength of character, Shiyi earns her place in the family.

This series is about how an extended family and its internal relationships affect each of its members in different and dramatic ways. Its about finding love after entering an arranged marriage. And, I believe, its about gender roles: how they can be stifling and crippling or open to change.

Did You Know

Did you know that for hundreds of years during the Imperial Period China’s magistrates embodied the entire judicial system in the area they served? That they were the crime investigator, prosecutor, judge, and jury?

Magistrates were appointed to their office and generally served for only three years before being moved on to another location. This short-term service was designed to avoid corruption. The idea was that in three years, the magistrates would not be able to become too closely aligned with the elite of the area. The emperor wanted his representatives to remain distinct and isolated from the people they served. This was because the magistrates had immense authority and power. A close relationship with local influential families could pressure the court to act more as a personal judicial arm for them and their interests versus the emperor and his government.

 

Another critical element in keeping the short-term magistrates from becoming closely aligned with the local elite was that sometimes magistrates would serve an area where they didn’t know one or more of the local languages. Chinese writing is not phonetic and, therefore, could be read by anyone, whether they spoke the dominate Chinese language or not.

 

What we think of as spoken Chinese, however, is not really one language. One language means those who speak it must be able to understand each other—their words are mutually intelligible. Spoken Chinese can differ significantly from region to region. The language spoken in one area may be not understood by their neighboring area. Think of the difference between Spanish and Italian. Both are Romance languages but they are quite distinct from each other. They are mutually unintelligible.

 

This was the situation Chinese magistrates faced. They had a three-year appointment with heavy responsibilities and were often placed in an district where they could not understand the local language(s).

 

Such a situation meant that, in spite of the emperor’s desire to keep the court separate from the local power sources, the day-to-day running of the judicial system depended on local people to fill the positions needed: the jailer, runners, police, scribes, etc. Magistrates sat as an outsider on a pyramid of staff that they had not chosen, did not know, and could not necessarily trust.

 

That is why magistrates often brought their own court reporters. The court reporter played a key role in making sure the documents were accurate and not manipulated in one way or another. The magistrates also often brought a couple of his own personal guards. Men he chose himself, who depended solely on him, and who, therefore, he could trust.

 

I invite you to come and explore the tensions and challenges faced by a magistrate, Judge Lu, as he brings justice to those under his protection—in spite of countervailing forces which could destroy him at any moment. You’ll find a collection of these stories in Judge Lu’s Case Files, Stories of Crime & Mystery in Imperial China. Available as e-book, paperback, or hardback.

A trip back to Ancient China

Hidden takes you back to Ancient China

What was it like to live in 1380 China? What did people do? How did they travel, dress, or eat? Where did they live? Hidden, the first adventure/mystery novel in my Ancient China trilogy, takes you back and plops you down in the middle of this fascinating time.Cover Hidden front cover only March 2015

Hidden is the story of a young, bi-racial heroine who finds her world turned up-side-down when her father, a magistrate, is threatened by enemies who are trying to accuse him of treason. Treason was considered the worst of all crimes because it was an act against the Emperor himself. If found guilty, the punishment included death or—if you were lucky—banishment to the farthest corners of the empire and social ostracism for not only her father but for every member of his own and his extended family.

To protect Mei-hua, her father sends her away to live with a friend in Hangzhou City. On the way there, Mei-hua is captured and sold as an indentured servant to a wealthy family. She must hide her identity in order to avoid the authorities and her father’s enemies. Will she be able to free herself and find her father’s friend and safety?

This is a story of survival and discovering the meaning of family, friendship and loyalty set in the intriguing and dangerous world of Ancient China.

For the history buffs among you, there is an Author’s Note section at the end of Hidden with more information on the culture of Mei-hua’s Ancient China.

You can find Hidden by searching under PA De Voe on Amazon or going to http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=pa+de+voe.

I look forward to your comments.

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