五四新文化运动时期中国的婚姻制度与女性的地位

Women’s Status in Chinese Marriage System During the Period of May Fourth New Cultural Movement

本文以五四新文化运动为历史背景,探讨这一时期的妇女在婚姻制度中的地位与妇女解放进程。本文主要分为四个部分:第一部分分析清朝末期(1911)基于中国传统的儒教伦理的婚姻制度以及女性的从属地位,认为在鸦片战争后中国开始进入现代进程之后,已经出现了对于儒教思想的批评以及反对性别歧视的活动;第二部分考察辛亥革命后军人政权下的婚姻制度依然是维持妇女低下地位的保守性制度;第三部分审视在新文化运动的发生与《新青年》杂志出版的时间阶段,对于儒教的批判与女性解放的历史实存;第四部分重点考察了五四新文化运动时期妇女在婚姻制度中的地位,发现大城市的青年知识分子在运动的影响下开始选择爱情婚姻,而在农村偏远地区,传统的婚姻制度仍然继续维持,基于儒家伦理的妇女地位依然非常低下。

This paper examines women s status in the marriage system during the period of May Fourth New Cultural Movement in terms of women s liberation. To acquire the historical background, the first chapter examines women s subordinate status in the marriage system based on Confucian ethics in traditional Chinese society at the end of the Qing Dynasty (1911), and introduces some criticism against Confucian ideas and against sexual discrimination appearing in China s modern movement after the Opium War. The second chapter examines the marriage system under the military regime after the Revolution of 1911, finding out that the conservative nature of the system kept women s status very low. The third chapter examines criticism against Confucian ideas and women s liberation in the New Culture Movement taking place with the publication of the journal New Youth . The fourth chapter which is the main section of this paper, examines women s status in the marriage system during the period of May Fourth New Cultural Movement. It was found that love marriages were taking place among intelligent youths in big cities who were influenced by the movement, whereas in rural areas traditional marriage system was maintained, keeping women s status, based on Confucian ethics, very low.