The Role of the YWCA in the Development of the Chinese Women's Movement, 1890-1927

Abstract

Nineteenth-century socioeconomic turmoil transformed women's position and spurred women's movements in the West and later in China. Founded to deal with women's new problems, the YWCA, quasi-religious in character, was carried from Britain and America to China in 1890. Attracting both Christians and non-Christians, the China YWCA became prominent in the effort at urban social reform. It initiated projects promoting women's welfare in such areas as adult literacy classes, vocational training, physical education, and overseas scholarships for female students and infant hygiene and nutrition. As the view that women essentially differed from men gave way before egalitarian ideologies, the YWCA's prestige among educated Chinese declined between 1919 and 1927. In its heyday, however, the YWCA not only awakened many Chinese to women's issues, but also provided women with the leadership skills that fueled the more politicized women's organizations of the late 1920s.