ABSTRACT
The People's Republic of China (hereafter China), occupying a vast area in Asia, is home to a population of 11.6 billion, of which 48.6 per cent is female, and 74 per cent is rural (Guojia, 1992). It is one of the oldest civilizations in the world. For 4,000 years, from the twenty-first century BC to the early twen tieth century AD, the country was run on a cyclical dynastic pattern. Modern ideas, including women's rights, began to develop in the nineteenth century and China became a republic in 1911, when revolutionaries overthrew the last emperor of the Qing dynasty. During this time the weakness of China prompted its intellectuals to search for ways to strengthen the nation. One of the ways, according to reformers Liang Qichao (1873-1929) and Kan Yuwei (1858-1927), was to educate women.
