Chapter I
The first chapter describes the position of women in Neo-Confucian regimes in China and Japan. When comparing the attitude of the society towards women in these two countries, it is possible to see that Chinese society was more strict with them (Hughes, S.S. & Hughes, B., 1997). However, women’s position in both societies was quite low because China and Japan were patriarchal countries dominated by males, though Japan once was a matrilocal system.
Chinese government adopted several laws that were meant to protect women’s dignity and chastity, but in practice, they served as severe restrictions on their freedom and violation of their rights. Thus, the Quing rape laws adopted in the middle of the XVII century made it hard for women to achieve justice since they needed to provide evidence of being raped. Apart from that, the definition of rape was officially established, and it was hard to classify an assault as rape if it did not match the definition (Hughes, S. S. & Hughes, B., 1997). In addition, the Chinese government restricted the position of widows since they were forced either to live in the household of their late husband and take care of the family or to remarry, leaving all the property and children in the family of the first husband. Thus, many widows were remarried against their will and left without property and reputation.
Hence, women in China were forced to protect their chastity by themselves, sometimes even with their own lives. However, despite significant law positions and almost no social status, some Chinese women were prolific painters. Thus, Chen Shu is among the famous artists of this time, and the emperor himself valued her works. Women in Japan were raised with more freedom than in China, though they still were expected to obey men. They started working at the age of twelve or earlier and, after marriage, were expected to not only run the household but work alongside the husband (Hughes, S.S. & Hughes, B., 1997). Wealthy peasants, however, could afford their daughters to get an education to become servants in the houses of the nobility.
Chapter II
The book’s second chapter is devoted to women’s position in the Ottoman Empire in the XVII century. To begin with, men could officially marry more than one woman, and a lot of noblemen, including the sultan, had harems where their concubines lived (Hughes, S. S. & Hughes, B., 1997). Thus, during the reign of Suleman I, one of his former concubines, Hurrem, became one of the most powerful women in the Empire and influenced the politics of the country. Despite all the privileges they had, including getting the education and opportunity to marry a nobleman, all women in the sultan’s harem, apart from his mother and sisters, were slaves. Despite being slaves, the sultan’s favorite concubines could build social interactions with the nobility and gain their support or even friendship.
Apart from that, dynastic marriages were quite popular in the Ottoman Empire during the XVII century. It is interesting that Turkish princesses could marry several times in life since their first marriage usually happened when they were at the age of two or three (Hughes, S. S. & Hughes, B., 1997). This policy helped the dynasty increase its political power and influence not only inside but outside of the country as well.
When speaking about women who did not live in harems, it is necessary to mention that they could go to court to protect their rights or solve problems with the estate, marriage, divorce, and other issues. The sources of that time say that Turkish women applied to court almost as frequently as men did (Hughes, S. S. & Hughes, B., 1997). Despite the fact that a woman could divorce her husband, she was required to obey him during their matrimony. Though men could have more than one wife and several concubines, women were free to choose their husbands, and marriage against the woman’s will was almost impossible.