The Relaxation of Rituals and the “Vitality” and “Diversity” of Women’s Lives

This book is a comprehensive monograph that explores women’s lives in the Ming Dynasty. It is divided into eight chapters， with each chapter further divided into sections that provide in-depth analysis and discussion. Through a multifaceted examination of women’s lives in the Ming Dynasty， the author elucidates the collective personality of women that emerged within the confines of traditional ethics and codes.

Since the middle of the Ming Dynasty， the intellectual sphere of that time can be considered the era with the most “vitality” and “diversity.” From this point of view， the Ming Dynasty was unprecedented in terms of its active thinking， wide range of interests， and openness of horizons. The societal shift and the intellectual vitality of the era led to women’s lives in the late Ming Dynasty having more “vitality” and “diversity.”

The vitality and diversity of women’s lives clearly originated from the relaxation of traditional rituals. Women’s liberation serves as a natural scale for assessing social liberation. The budding of women’s liberation in the late Ming Dynasty awaited the loosening of the “ritual” constraint， which was theoretically achieved by Li Zhi.

Wang Yangming， when faced with the gradual decline of traditional morality， aimed primarily to tighten the already loosened “ritual” constraint. However， contrary to his intentions， Wang Yangming’s concept of “Conscience” （the extension of innate knowledge） inevitably resulted in his extraordinary understanding of “ritual，” which provided a theoretical basis for the relaxation of rituals. Wang Yangming， for sure， also interpreted “ritual” as a “heavenly principle” and did not allow any deviation. However， when discussing the relationship between “ritual” and “emotion，” he paid full attention to the constraining role of human emotions in ritual practices. He firmly believed that “the ancient sages established rituals based on human sentiments.” Therefore， future generations should not “be constrained by the conservative” when establishing rituals but should base them on human sentiments and their own “heart.” If “one’s heart is not at peace，” they can completely “establish new rituals based on Yi （righteousness）.” In this regard， Wang Yangming initiated the internalization of “ritual” in the Ming Dynasty， transforming the external， objective norms and natural criteria of “ritual” into internal， subjective “ritual” by introducing many personal factors. In other words， Wang Yangming， through his concept of “conscience，” demonstrated the possibility of “establishing rituals based on Yi” and regarded “simple， clear， and evident” rituals as the ultimate goal. Thus， Wang Yangming， on one hand， acknowledged the eternity of traditional rituals while， on the other hand， allowed for self-transformation and the remaking of ritual practices. This inherent contradiction in his philosophical system provided a beginning for his later disciples to challenge traditional rituals. From a theoretical perspective， Li Zhi completed the alienation of traditional rituals， endowing the concept of “ritual” with the connotations of modern humanism. He explained “ritual” and “non-ritual” as follows： “What comes from within is called ritual， while what comes from external influence is called non-ritual; what descends from heaven is called ritual， while what is acquired from humans is called non-ritual; what arises from no learning， no contemplation， no reflection， no diligence， no knowledge， and no awareness is called ritual， while what is heard， seen， deduced， and imitated is called non-ritual.” It is evident that Li Zhi， starting from the philosophical premise of Wang Yangming’s “School of the Mind，” interpreted “ritual” as something that arises from within， inherent and innate knowledge， rather than an externally imposed moral standard. This alienates the traditional moral criterion of “ritual” into a human instinct， thus providing a sufficient theoretical basis for the theory of “self-desire.” Since “ritual” is considered an instinct， the act of crying when grieving is merely a manifestation of “creating and expressing one’s emotions，” an emotional expression of sorrow by the living for the deceased， rather than an artificial “ritual of mourning” as dictated by the study of ethics.

By the late Ming Dynasty， Huang Zongxi inherited Wang Yangming’s “School of the Mind” and revived Li Zhi’s view of “ritual，” discriminating between “ritual” and “non-ritual within ritual.” He said， “My heart measures and adopts. It is called ritual when my heart is twisted and turned， and it is called righteousness when my heart is at ease. There is no fixed code. But now， if one takes reason as being in things and follows imitation and conformity to establish them， that would be the non-ritual within ritual， the non-righteousness within righteousness. The words and actions of ancient sages were all in accordance with their hearts， and if I do not understand their intentions but only imitate their doings， then they are all dross. Should ritual and righteousness be nothing more than dross？” Although Huang Zongxi subjectively did not deny traditional rituals， he objectively opened the door for people of that time to challenge the traditional ritual practices of “words and actions” and “established codes.”

From Wang Yangming to Li Zhi， and then from Li Zhi to Huang Zongxi， there is clearly an inherent evolutionary “path of reasoning” in the concept of ritual， which differs significantly from traditional perspectives on rituals. It is precisely because of such theoretical foundations that the “vitality” and “diversity” of women’s lives became possible. The “vitality” and “diversity” of women’s lives in the late Ming Dynasty can be examined from three aspects： the change in the consciousness of women from scholar-official families， the strengthening of women’s self-awareness， and the breaking of traditional hierarchical order in women’s lives by challenging ritual practices.

The Strengthening of Women’s Self-Awareness

In the late Ming Dynasty， as the ideological emancipation of women began to take root， not only did a group of enlightenment thinkers hold the belief in gender equality in theory， but women themselves also gradually broke through the barriers of traditional ethics in their actions， striving for gender equality. Along with this came the strengthening of women’s self-awareness. This ideology and behavior were not only reflected in numerous historical facts but also found expression in literary works of the late Ming Dynasty.

As early as the Hongzhi and Zhengde periods， women’s consciousness of pursuing personal freedom had already emerged. In Jiao Hong’s work Two Mulans in Our Dynasty， there are accounts of two women with different identities who dressed as men.

The latter story resembles the well-known tale of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai from traditional opera， except that the male protagonist becomes a merchant instead of a scholar， and the female protagonist disguises herself as a man to engage in commerce rather than pursue education. Their love story is not like Liang and Zhu’s， built upon three years of studying together， but is established during their daily struggles and cooperation in their trade journey. This trend of women pursuing personal freedom reached its climax after the Wanli reign， with not only intellectuals occasionally expressing thoughts of gender equality but women also actively seeking equality to some extent， displaying an extraordinary spirit that women are by no means inferior to men. For instance， Wang Wei， a Taoist， was “a woman of great talent， who carried books in her boat and traveled freely among the Wu regions，” and many of her poems were passed down. Huang Jieling also composed elegant and profound verses embodying the essence of Zen. Their poems showcased profound knowledge and broad imagination， demonstrating the spirit of “women surpassing men.” Ming women could excel over men in talent， which was also reflected in late Ming dramas. In Wu Bing’s play The Green Peony， aside from the lament “the mansions are inferior to the inner chambers，” there is a new line singing “do not underestimate the wisdom and virtue of women compared to men” in the section “Meeting the Sage.”

The awakening of women’s self-awareness regarding personal identity found even deeper reflection in literary works. This self-awareness manifests in specific perspectives on love， such as changes in the criteria for choosing a husband and the understanding of romantic relationships between men and women. Ling Mengchu portrayed in one of his stories the tale of Miss Su Mei， a young woman whose parents had passed away， breaking free from arranged marriages and forming a union based on love and freedom with the scholar Feng Laiyi. In this story， the female protagonist， Su Mei， had made a vow from a young age to choose her husband， and her criteria for selection were not based on social status， wealth， or official titles but simply on finding a “good person.” The most important feature of this change in the concept of love between men and women is that they do not follow the orders of their parents and matchmakers but boldly pursue their lovers on their own. In another story， the union between Wang Weihan and Xie Tianxiang， as well as Zhou Guoneng and Miaoguan， shows the pairing of two individuals with shared interests， be it through writing or the game of weiqi， representing a partnership based on like-mindedness. If the transition from “women confined to inner chambers” to “women entering schools” was only the starting point of women’s liberation of personal identity in the Ming Dynasty， then the statement “women engaging in scholarly pursuits and making their own decisions in marriage” goes beyond the idealistic aspirations of literati scholars; it is a manifestation of women’s self-awareness gradually deepening based on objective reality.

With the deepening of this wave of women’s personal freedom， a peculiar phenomenon emerged in the late Ming Dynasty， where “male scholars were unable to produce poetry， while women were able to; male expostulator were unable to put forward proposals， while women were able to.” This change， rather than the “reversal of yin and yang” appearing at the “end of the dynasty，” can be seen as an inevitable result of the pursuit of personal liberation by women.

Women’s Lives in the Ming Dynasty

Chen Baoliang

China Workers Publishing House

June 2023

108.00 （CNY）

Chen Baoliang

Chen Baoliang is a professor and doctoral supervisor at the School of History and Culture， Southwest University. He is also a researcher at the Center for Ming and Qing Studies， Peking University， and a member of the Chinese Society on Ming Dynasty History and the Chinese Society of Social History.