Women in the Yijing

Abstract

Abstract Surprisingly, references to women in the earliest section of the Changes have received relatively little scholarly attention. They are discussed in detail in this chapter, both as a source of information about women’s lives in the Chinese Bronze Age and also in development of (male) attitudes toward women. The discussion in this chapter is among the first to analyze Zhouyi references to women without the overlay of the much later commentaries. This analysis demonstrates that the early text does not provide any basis for the later misogynistic interpretations of many “Confucian” commentators such as Wang Bi. That women are yin, or should be passive and home-bound, does not appear in the Western Zhou text. The Zhouyi does not contain any prescriptions concerning proper roles for women. Rather it refers to common concerns in women’s lives, particularly marital situations. Relationships and marriage have always been common topics for divinatory inquiries. The Zhouyi does indicate that women could attain a certain degree of control over their own lives; however, it does not provide evidence that women were given full equality.