Yu Zhengxie (1775–1840) was a

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

scholar from Yi county in modern-day

Anhui Anhui is an inland Provinces of China, province located in East China. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze and Huai rivers, bordering Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the east, Jiang ...

province. Along with his

philological Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...

work, he was a noted critic of

foot binding Foot binding (), or footbinding, was the Chinese custom of breaking and tightly binding the feet of young girls to change their shape and size. Feet altered by foot binding were known as lotus feet and the shoes made for them were known as lotus ...

, female

infanticide Infanticide (or infant homicide) is the intentional killing of infants or offspring. Infanticide was a widespread practice throughout human history that was mainly used to dispose of unwanted children, its main purpose being the prevention of re ...

, and the

cult of widow chastity Widow chastity () was an ideal in traditional Chinese cultural practices and beliefs that honored widowed women and discouraged their remarriage, encouraging them instead to live a life of "virtuous chastity".Theiss, Janet. "Female Suicide, Subjec ...

Biography

Yu Zhongxie was born in Yi county, but he grew up in

Jurong Jurong () is a major Region, geographical region located at the south-westernmost point of the West Region, Singapore, West Region of Singapore. Although mostly vaguely defined, the region's extent roughly covers the Planning Areas of Singapore, ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

, where his father Yu Xian (1750–1801) served as sub-director of schools from 1778 to 1794. While in Beijing, Yu assisted

Ye Mingchen Ye Mingchen (21 December 1807 – 9 April 1859) was a high-ranking Chinese official during the Qing dynasty, known for his resistance to British influence in Canton (Guangzhou) in the aftermath of the First Opium War and his role in the begin ...

in the compilation of the 1818 edition of the ', and also wrote a history of his hometown. In 1821, he was a successful candidate in the imperial provincial examination, obtaining the rank of

juren ''Juren'' (; 'recommended man') was a rank achieved by people who passed the ''xiangshi'' () exam in the imperial examination system of imperial China. The ''xiangshi'' is also known, in English, as the provincial examination. It was a rank high ...

. Despite his wide learning and exceptional memory, he was unsuccessful in the metropolitan examination of 1833. For his stance on women's issues,

Lin Yutang Lin Yutang (10 October 1895 – 26 March 1976) was a Chinese inventor, linguist, novelist, philosopher, and translator. One scholar commented that Lin's "particular blend of sophistication and casualness found a wide audience, and he became a ma ...

regarded him as one of the three pre-modern Chinese male feminists along with

Yuan Mei Yuan Mei (; 1716–1797) was a Chinese poet of the Qing dynasty. He was often mentioned with Ji Yun as the "Nan Yuan Bei Ji" (). Biography Early life Yuan Mei was born in Qiantang (, in modern Hangzhou), Zhejiang province, to a cultured famil ...

and

Li Ruzhen Li Ruzhen, formerly romanized as Li Ju-chen (; c. 1763 - 1830), courtesy name Songshi (松石), art name Songshi Daoren (松石道人), was a Chinese novelist and phonologist of the Qing dynasty. A native of Beijing, he was the author of the novel ...

. A skilled philologist, Yu researched the history of language, which influenced his views on women. According to his interpretation, Chinese historical texts supported an

egalitarian Egalitarianism (; also equalitarianism) is a school of thought within political philosophy that builds on the concept of social equality, prioritizing it for all people. Egalitarian doctrines are generally characterized by the idea that all h ...

view of

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

. He also wrote about the island of

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, religion in

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

, and the relationship between Tibet and the Manchus.

References

Male feminists Chinese feminists 19th-century Chinese philosophers Qing dynasty essayists 1775 births 1840 deaths Philosophers from Anhui People from Huangshan {{China-philosopher-stub

Biography

Further reading

References