女性身體與主體性: 民元後的纏足與放足 (1911−1949)

Translated title of the contribution: Women’s Body and Subjectivity: Foot-binding and Anti-foot-binding in the Republic of China (1911-1949)

Katon Lee

    Research output: Working paper

    Abstract

    民國時代雖延續了上千年的纏足習俗,但1927年後南京國民政府所推動的放足政策,卻動搖了此一根深柢固的文化,可謂深深影響着後世婦女身體的歷史發展。本研究蒐集各地的口述歷史記錄,綜合了190位民國時代居住在中國各地纏足婦女的口述歷史,配以回憶錄、自傳及傳記作為口述歷史的補充,並運用民國政府所編輯的檔案、報告和紀錄,以及當時社會各界所編輯和出版的各種文本,作為重建當時歷史大環境的重要史料,以印證民國纏足與放足的歷史。

    本文首先簡介傳統中國的纏足概況,其後專研民國的纏足文化。文章從有關民國纏足婦女的報道,分析纏足婦女在家庭和社會所受制約,以及部分「自願」纏足婦女的表述及處境,以理解纏足婦女在個人選擇與社會制約之間的張力,如何影響其主體性的展現。文章再分析放足政策和政治鬥爭對纏足婦女的衝擊,以及時代與觀念的變遷對她們的擺弄,以論證纏足婦女在面對民國時代強制性的放足政策時,已失去對自己身體的自主權,並總結纏足文化在民國時代逐步式微的歷史趨勢。

    Although the Republic of China inherited a deep-rooted culture of foot-binding, the Nationalist Government brought changes to this culture through a series of Anti-foot-binding Policies starting from 1927, which had a significant impact on the historical development of women’s bodies in China. This study examines the oral histories of 190 Chinese foot-bound women, supplemented with their memoirs, autobiographies, biographies, as well as governmental archives and reports, to reconstruct the history of the foot-binding culture and Anti-foot-binding Policies in the Republic of China.

    This paper is divided into three parts. The first provides a brief introduction to foot-binding in traditional China. In the second part, the restrictions that the Chinese foot-bound women came across in the private and public spheres of their lives are investigated by analysing their oral histories. The life experiences of those who “voluntarily” bound their feet will be specifically studied in order to understand the foot-bound women’s dilemma between insisting on personal choice and succumbing to social norms. The last section focuses on the Anti-foot-binding Policies carried out by the Nationalist Government from 1927. The impacts of these policies on social norms and on the manifestation of the subjectivity of the foot-bound women are analysed. The paper concludes with observations on the decline of China’s deep-rooted foot-binding culture and the loss of autonomy over their bodies that Chinese foot-bound women experienced.
    Translated title of the contributionWomen’s Body and Subjectivity: Foot-binding and Anti-foot-binding in the Republic of China (1911-1949)
    Original languageChinese (Traditional)
    Pages1-49
    Number of pages49
    Publication statusPublished - Jan 2016

    Publication series

    NameHong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies Occasional Paper Series

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