Was There Ever a Matriarchy?

Abstract

Whether the evolution of human society has passed through a stage of matriarchy (muquan zhi) or not has long been a controversial issue. Some foreign anthropologists dispute the existence of the matriarchy and maintain that the very concept of "matriarchy" as such is "an absurd notion… originating with Bachofen's idealism." They maintain that matriarchy is "pure speculation," or at best a kind of "science fiction." They even assert that the theory of matriarchy is "in the throes of death." In China, some comrades also doubt the existence of matriarchy, and cite Engels's words to the effect that the term matriarchy [or "mother right"- Trans.] is "ill-chosen, since at this stage of society there cannot yet be any talk of ‘right’ in the legal sense."1 Whether the existence of the matriarchy is historical fact or fiction is indeed a question that merits serious study. This article will discuss the issue of matriarchy by analyzing the status of women, the role of women in group fighting (xiedou), and some funeral customs among Chinese minorities prior to Liberation. Group fighting has been a strikingly common social phenomenon among minorities in southern China. It represents the continuation in class society of acts of blood revenge that had existed in gentile society. As we know, the gens was a consanguine bond. In the early stage of gentile society, people had a strong sense of consanguinity and solidarity. Consanguine ties were important elements of mutual support. The fate of the individual was closely tied to that of the whole gens. When one member of a gens was killed by other gentes, the whole gens of the victim rose up to extract revenge. It needs to be pointed out that this blood revenge served a positive function of unifying the gens and disciplining its members. Subsequently, in class society, blood revenge lost its original primitive and simple character, and group fighting became the means by which the ruling class engaged in pillage. It had a negative impact on social development. However, one striking phenomenon deserves our attention, which is that no matter how intense the mutual hatred was, and how cruel the group fighting was, women were not harmed. They could even take simple but efficient measures to stop large-scale blood feuds. Group fighting prevailed for a long time among the Yi in the Greater Liang mountains in Sichuan. Disagreements over slaves, land, and other property were its most common causes. Fighting might break out among the gentes over something quite trivial, such as over half a pound of salt, or a copper bell. Once the fighting had begun, it would continue for an extended period, possibly even for generations. In serious cases, it led to the destruction of homes and the sacking of entire villages. Despite the cruelty of the group fighting, the Yi had a custom strictly observed by everyone, namely, that no party was allowed to harm or kill women. To the Yi, harming a woman was something disgraceful. A woman had three social ties-one to her husband's family, one to her maternal family, and one to her mother's brother's family-and harming her would also inevitably expand and prolong the fighting. This custom allowed women to spur the fighting parties on, as well as to call for an end to hostilities. Whenever women, especially those with great prestige, entered the battleground waving their skirts and calling for peace, both parties would promptly withdraw. In this way, large-scale fighting could be brought to an end.