The Ancient Origins of Chinese Traditional Female Gender Role: A Historical Review from Pre-Qin Dynasty to Han Dynasty

There were different courses of gender development in China and the West. Traditional Chinese ethical culture, as the guiding principles in dealing with gender relations, laid the foundation of moral character of men and women, and also caused the formation of the feudal ethics of women in ancient China. This paper discussed the ancient origins of Chinese traditional female gender role in two parts, the first one is the history of establishment of the patriarchy in ancient China, and the second one is the ideological system of the gender relationship. In the second part, this paper focuses on the theory of Yin-Yang and Qian-Kun which was the base of the traditional Chinese gender culture. The theory of Yin-Yang and Qian-Kun regards male and female as a male-centered integrated whole, which was the core and Characteristic of the traditional Chinese gender relationship.