Son Preference in China: What Are the Causes?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54691/bcpssh.v21i.3806Keywords:
Son preference; Confucianism; China; patriarchal society.Abstract
In China’s rapidly developing technological and economic society, there still exists a patriarchal ideology. From ancient times to the present, most women have been hampered by this concept, which has been ingrained in Chinese society for thousands of years. Son preference is an ideology that has been perpetuated in China from traditional feudal society to today. It is also important to understand why the son preference has persisted in China for thousands of years. This paper focuses on the specific reasons for the long-standing Son Preference ideology in China. This article mainly collects evidence from relevant Chinese unique literature such as the Analects of Confucius and survey reports to prove it. It also discusses the reasons by classifying them into three categories, namely economic, cultural and political. This research can help people in the present society to learn to find out the root cause of patriarchy and change it. In this way, the inequality between men and women in Chinese society can be reduced in the future.
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