ABSTRACT
The religious culture of women has had a long and continuous history in central China, well illustrated in the urban milieu of Kaifeng. Though archival documents and the memories of religious believers tell only a fragmented story, the diversity of Kaifeng’s religious landscape, the plurality of its religious cultures and the prominence of co-existing female religious organizations tell us something about the fluidity of society that opened up a space for the benefit of women. Of particular importance, especially since the twentieth century, have been the links between political ideologies and attitudes towards education for women, for it is in that arena that religious organizations were able to offer women important, potentially empowering resources. In this chapter, we will explore those linkages. First, however, we will review the background on the diverse religious groups in Kaifeng during the preceding dynastic periods.
