Essay Sample about Han Women and Subtle Power

Throughout history, the role of women has remained flexible and adapted to the needs of the era. From homemakers to breadwinners, women have constantly evolved. In the Han dynasty’s governmental mix of feudal structures and bureaucracy, the role of women skewed heavily toward stereotypical gender roles rather than the equilibrium of equality. Both feudal structures and bureaucracy heavily favored men and leadership typically fell to males. The Han dynasty hushed influential women by keeping them from many places of power, yet women stood firm and persisted in capitalizing on what leaders granted them. In the Han dynasty, women did not receive respect in places of power but through property rights and beauty standards, they slowly gained footing as contributors to society.  

In the Han dynasty, emperors typically ruled, and males became the figurehead of expected power. Contrary to popular belief, women still lived in places of power and existed in royal settings. The rise of bureaucracy in the Han dynasty contributed to the power imbalance in genders. Olivia Milburn of Seoul National University writes, “Intensive research has been almost entirely restricted to qiangong officials: that is to say men… studies for the hougong… their recruitment and education, promotion and demotion, the remit of the positions they held, and their organizational structures are much more rare…” (Milburn). This alone shows the lack of respect for women in the Han dynasty. Even when recording history, women seemed to fall short. As researchers continue investigating the role of women, their perspective cannot fully encompass the experience of women due to the imbalances between the qiangong and hougong. Immediately, males have an advantage in the narration of history as women did not have a seat at the table. 

Research on social rankings shows seven male ranks and a further ten grades of female rank. Ritual texts stated, “Women do not have rank [in their own right], they follow their husband’s rank” (Milburn). However, women contributed to the Han government. Palace women nestled behind palace walls formed institutional structures and created their own legacies. While intelligent and independent women could not outwardly rule in the Han dynasty, they quietly built their lives and influenced the potential lives of many generations to come. Milburn’s additional research and findings prove the importance of women in the Han dynasty and the lack of recognition and respect they received. These women did not have a social rank and yet did the work of many powerful men. To further female stereotypes, Bret Hinsch writes in the Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, “Liu Xiang also used stories of evil women to warn men against the dangers of female power, repeating Sima Qian’s tales of wicked queens who brought down previous dynasties” (Hinsch “The Criticism”). In places of power, women needed to minimize themselves and become docile to make impactful change. Hinsch again points out the demonization of powerful women and the dangers women faced in recognizing and acting upon their own power. Women needed to undervalue and minimize themselves when acting as leaders. This again explains the Han dynasty’s lack of female respect.

While the Han dynasty provided a hostile environment for women of power, property rights allowed more freedom and independence. Hinsch writes, “Han law offered… support to female property rights. For example, a widow could assume her husband’s role as head of household after his death. Moreover, both married and unmarried daughters could inherit from their natal families” (Hinsch “The Conditions”). This view on property ownership makes a rapid departure from Han beliefs on women in power. Many consider property ownership a universal sign of power and this change marked a starting point for women to have more substantial roles in society. Even today, becoming the head of a household means taking on a position of responsibility, ownership, and even the care of others. The Han dynasty allowing widowed women to take charge of their own living accommodations and properties seems radically feminist compared to other eras. Letting daughters inherit from biological families also signified change for women in the Han dynasty. Milburn writes, “If [a widow] does not become head of household and heir, but she wishes to become [an independent] head of household with a reduced allocation of land and housing, she could receive the land and housing given to a commoner” (Milburn). In previous eras, women needed a man to take the place as head of household. This again proves the value the Han dynasty put upon bureaucratic titles and formal positions of power. Women could own property, but they could rarely hold governmental positions. Women could become the head of a household, but men received warnings about their witchy deposition. Milburn and Hinsch show that women led normal lives, they just lacked titles and official respect when placed under review. 

Beauty standards also show a different side of power. Just like in modern times, the way people dress typically aligns with their career path, lifestyle, or disposable income. Simply put, appearance reflects power. Sheri Lullo, an associate professor of visual arts at Union College writes, “Generally, colour, garment edging, quality or patterning of fabric and layering of robes are among the ways that status was distinguished more often than clothing design” (Lullo). In the Han dynasty, appropriate dress revolved around practicality and many women, workers, farmers, businessmen, and scholars dressed alike. Because women lacked roles of governmental power, they could not simply dress like nobles. Instead, they relied on their hair as a form of expression. Lullo writes, “To writers of the Warring States and Han, beautiful hair was a fundamental component of a woman’s idealized appearance… the trailing lock as it spills out of the low bun most likely is… a purposeful styling that flaunted the length of the hair” (Lullo). Again, this expression seems eerily familiar to modern times. Working women need to pull their hair away from their faces to complete their jobs and sometimes long hair stands in the way. While Lullo mentions long hair as a symbol of age, it also showed a visible sign of power. Women with long hair did not suffer from breakage or damage caused by strenuous work. Women with long hair also had the ability to care for their locks and keep them healthy. Lullo continues to say, “For women of the Han, teasing out from the bun a lengthy lock of hair may have enabled them to simultaneously participate in socio-cultural structures and circumvent their restrictions” (Lullo). A trailing lock of hair could also allow a woman in a hidden role of power to show her status. While participating in social codes by tying hair, these women could also defy the norms quietly. As always, beauty standards showed a clear difference between women of different classes, but also allowed for small, nonviolent expressions of power. 

Traditional roles of power, property rights and ownership, and beauty standards all tell the complex and convoluted tale of women’s ability to possess power in the Han dynasty. While women typically could not hold leadership roles in the government, they could own property on a technicality. These same women used their dress and hair to express their power and status. Letting a long, trailing lock of hair go free symbolized power just the same way deep royal tones did. In creating ways to subtly show power and confidence through dress, property ownership, and even silent positions of power, women in the Han dynasty stepped into a transformative role in proving female worth to society at large. Their grit defines their legacy. 

Works Cited

Hinsch, Bret. “The Conditions of Han Dynasty Women's Lives.” Nan Nu -- Men, Women and 

Gender in Early and Imperial China, vol. 16, no. 2, 2014.

Hinsch, Bret. “The Criticism of Powerful Women by Western Han Dynasty Portent Experts.” 

Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, vol. 49, no. 1, 2006, pp. 96–

121.

Lullo, Sheri A. “Trailing Locks and Flowing Robes: Dimensions of Beauty during China’s Han 

Dynasty (206 Bc-Ad 220).” Costume, vol. 54, no. 2, 2019, pp. 231–255., 

doi:10.3366/cost.2019.0122.

Milburn, Olivia. “Palace Women in the Former Han Dynasty (202 Bce-Ce 23): Gender and 

Administrational History in the Early Imperial Era.” Nan Nu, vol. 18, no. 2, 2016, pp. 

195–223., doi:10.1163/15685268-00182p01.