吴孟班:过早谢世的女权先驱

Wu Mengban: a feminist pioneer who passed away untimely

在中国女权思想史上,吴孟班是一个不应被遗忘的名字。她虽然只有19岁短暂的生涯,却足以成为其时“中国少年”意气风发的代表。由她发起创设的上海女学会,在近代中国女子社团中,首次明确提出了以增进女学为事业、以发达女权为宗旨的目标。其以女权为中心的女性自主意识,给予后来者深刻的影响。因此,从戊戌变法时期称说的“男女平等”,到20世纪初开始流行的“男女平权”,吴孟班实乃其间思潮演进的一位关键人物。

Wu Mengban, the organizer of Shanghai Women＇s Education Union, should be better remembered as a feminist pioneer in China. Having lived only 19 years, she was especially representative among China＇s energetic and daring youths of the time. The Union she established put forward its aims of enhancing women＇s education and developing women＇s rights for the first time among the modern women＇s organizations in China. With a consciousness of independence for women, Wu＇s thoughts played an important role in the evolution from ＂gender equality＂ to ＂equal rights for all genders. ＂