ABSTRACT
This chapter presents at the Conference on the History of the Republic of China, held in Taipei, Taiwan, August 24-28, 1981. In 1982 it was published in the St. John's Papers in Asian Studies series. It attempts to show how tradition has contributed to changes in Chinese women's status in modern times. According to the historians, traditional Chinese society consisted of two camps, with oppressive males on the one side and oppressed females on the other. This idea started in the declining years of the Ch'ing dynasty and gained popularity during the early Republican era. It still has a strong hold among contemporary scholars The legalist Book of Lord Shang outlined the following military organization of the state: 'Strong young men form one army, strong young women another army, and the old and weak men and women still another army. These are the so-called three armies'.
