The burgeoning of a new print form—the women’s press—in early twentieth-century China signaled a radical transformation in the ways of women’s literary and cultural production. This dissertation focuses on the discursive and imaginative space afforded by the women’s press. It explores in the women’s journals the processes of knowledge production and circulation that re/formulated the notions of gender and national identity. I examine writings by women and also by men writing in a feminine voice or assuming a female identity. In addition, I include writings that deploy “woman” as a trope through which authors express concerns of national salvation, social transformation, or Chinese modernization. The dissertation shows how experiences and expressions of “modernity” intersect with women’s print culture, and how the women’s press mediates a mixed gendered space for both women and men authors to bring into light a wide range of concerns at a critical historical juncture as Chinese modernity unfolded. How and why did women collaborate, reconcile, or contest with men in their writings or debates on themes related to feminine literary tradition, nationalism, feminism, ethnicity, and the female body to envision and construct “modern” Chinese women? In order to answer these questions, this thesis examines in the women’s press the multifarious writings by various groups of women, including “traditionally” literate women, “progressive” feminist activists, “ethnic” Manchu women reformers, “new-style” urban professionals, and “modern” female students. By reexamining prevailing assumptions regarding the relationship between Chinese feminism and nationalism, the “modern” production of women’s literature, and the masculinist formation of the New Woman, this analysis seeks to both highlight women’s agency and subjectivities in their political and cultural engagements and to illustrate the complexity and multivalence in the imaginings of modern Chinese women. Throughout, I argue that the women’s press provides a productive site for us to understand gender, women’s writing, and modernity in late Qing and early Republican China. / published_or_final_version / Modern Languages and Cultures / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Medical Sciences / Master / Master of Medical Sciences

published_or_final_version / Zoology / Master / Master of Philosophy

With the move to a more market-oriented economy in China, there is evidence of increased inequality in the incomes earned by men and women. To explore this outcome, we turn to an aspect of Chinese society that is pervasive in both economic and social contexts, namely, the Chinese variant of social capital, guanxi. It appears that in an imperfect labour market characterised by frictions, such as restricted mobility, costly job search, and limited employment alternatives, the cultivation of guanxi is important in reducing these transaction costs. The notion that investing in social capital can enhance an individual's opportunities leads to the development of a theory of discrimination that may explain the gender inequalities accompanying marketisation in China, and might be more generally relevant. The model of earnings discrimination is premised on imperfect product and labour markets. Under these conditions, we show that differential wages for similarly productive workers is a profit maximising outcome for firms. We apply this theory in an attempt to explain the trend of increasing gender inequality in earned income in urban China during the current reform period. First, pre-labour market gender inequality is investigated through developing a model of parental investment in children's human capital to discern whether there are productive differences between men and women prior to entering employment. In 1995, household expenditure on children's education is affected by perceived future earnings differentials and support of parents in retirement. Regarding labour markets, an original survey designed to test our model of social capital was administered in urban China in early 2000 and pertained to 1999. We find that there are differences between men and women in their investment in guanxi that correspond to gender inequalities in earned income and rates of re-employment. Both empirical chapters provide evidence in accordance with the predictions of the theory.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Toronto, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 190-204).

Wang, Yajun. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 124-128). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Abstract --- p.i / Acknowledgements --- p.iii / Chapter Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Why Unmarried Women? / Location: Guangzhou / Literature Review / Methodology / Structure of the Thesis / Chapter Chapter 2 --- Love: Abortion and Romantic Relationships --- p.28 / Varied Experiences of Abortion / "Stupid, Stupider, Stupidest" / A Happy Ending / Conclusion: Why Are Men Central to the Abortion Experience? / Chapter Chapter 3 --- Lies: Concealing about One´ةs Abortion Experience --- p.44 / What Is A Lie? / Lying to the Family / Lying to Men / Conclusion: Resistance and Accommodation in Lying / Chapter Chapter 4 --- Loss: Bodily Experiences and Verbal Strategies --- p.61 / Perceptions towards Fetus Life / Verbal Strategies / The Lessons Women Learn / Conclusion: Negotiation with the Meaning of Abortion / Chapter Chapter 5 --- Peasant Workers' Version of the Story --- p.95 / "Location: Houjie, Dongguan" / Informants / Peasant Workers and Love Adventures / Peasant Workers and Birth Planning Policy / Peasant Workers and Arranged Marriage / Conclusion: Not A Different Story / Chapter Chapter 6 --- Conclusion --- p.114 / The Ideal Life for Women / "Defiant Love, Obedient Abortion" / The Value of this Study / Appendix --- p.122 / Bibliography --- p.124

published_or_final_version / Social Work and Social Administration / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Lui Kin-wai. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 158-171). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Chapter I. --- Abstract --- p.i / Chapter II. --- Acknowledgement --- p.iv / Chapter III. --- Contents --- p.v / Chapter / Chapter I. --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter II. --- Population Policy in PRC --- p.9 / A Historical Review 9; Overview of the Fertility Rate and Population / Growth under the Population Policy in the Chinese Mainland 19; Impacts / of the Population Policy on Gender Issue 22; Conclusion28 / Chapter III. --- Literature Review --- p.47 / International Experience 47; Studies of Gender Preference in the Chinese / Mainland 53; Conclusion62 / Chapter IV. --- Methodology and data --- p.67 / Theoretical framework: Gender Preference from the Economic Perspective / 67; Econometrics Models 75; Data95 / Chapter V. --- Estimated Results --- p.107 / Proxies for Gender Preference 107; Estimated Results of Model 1109; / Estimated Results of Model 2 116; Conclusion for the Estimated Results / Chapter VI. --- Conclusion --- p.132 / Appendix / Chapter 1. --- Definition of Indicators --- p.138 / Chapter 2. --- Multinomial Logit model --- p.141 / Chapter 3. --- Different Model Specifications --- p.144 / Different Model Specifications for Model 1 144; Different Model / Specifications for Model2 152 / Reference --- p.158

In the past 30 years, China's economic reforms have forced many state-owned factories (SOEs) to collapse, and both men and women workers were dismissed. In urban Northeast China many laid-off women were able to find employment in the service industry and small-scale private businesses, while their husbands had difficulty finding a satisfactory job. As such, the wives became breadwinners of the families. Based on fieldwork data collected through face-to-face interviews, focus group interviews and participant observation, this study examines resultant spousal relationships in the aspects of family finance, domestic division of labor, power relations, and foundation of marriage, as the husband and wife swapped their economic roles at home. This study finds that when women control more economic capital than men in the nuclear family, domestic division of labor, power relations and affection between couples all tend to be more egalitarian. However, the concept of a male-breadwinner family and the gender segregation of space are still popular on material and social levels. Thus without corresponding changes on the ideological level regarding gender, patriarchy will remain dominant on the community and national levels. Analysis on spousal relationships shows that the economic, political and emotional aspects of marriage are interconnected and interactive, and they work together to decide how spousal relationships may be altered in times of rapid social transformation. In the era of market economy, family and marriage values are diversified, and marriage tends to be less stable. However, this study finds that the integrity of family and marriage has been kept in the laid-off workers' families even when spousal relationships face serious challenges caused by unemployment. The reason is that these laid-off workers have formed their gender identities during the socialist era which emphasized the integrity of family and marriage. In the market era, laid off workers have maintained these values and upheld the integrity of marriage and family as the fundamental standard for being a good man or good woman. In this process, spousal relationship becomes a mechanism of governance by making individuals gendered subjects. / Lu, Ming. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2012. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 161-176). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract --- p.i / Acknowledgements --- p.iii / Chapter Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Background --- p.1 / Literature review --- p.11 / Methodology --- p.25 / Structure of thesis --- p.28 / Chapter Chapter 2 --- Family & Marriage in China --- p.31 / The patricentric Chinese family as ideology and praxis --- p.31 / The family and marriage under state feminism --- p.39 / The family in Post-Mao China --- p.47 / Chapter Chapter 3 --- Dealing with Financial Crisis at Home --- p.56 / Xiagang as a gradual process --- p.56 / The genderedness of re-employment & wives as breadwinners --- p.69 / Besieged masculinity --- p.75 / Women’s success in small-scale private businesses --- p.79 / Chapter Chapter 4 --- Whose Work Is It? --- p.86 / State feminism vs. housework --- p.86 / Childcare: work and authority --- p.96 / The praxis of family authority --- p.100 / Chapter Chapter 5 --- Changing Foundation of marriage --- p.113 / Obliged freedom: Match-making and marriage in the 1970-80s --- p.114 / Marriage and unemployment --- p.122 / Companionship in marriage vs. obliged couples --- p.136 / Chapter Chapter 6 --- Conclusion --- p.144 / References Cited --- p.161

published_or_final_version / Sociology / Master / Master of Philosophy