ABSTRACT
The missionaries were the first to draw Chinese attention to the irrational, traditional ways in which men treated women. On the opposing side, an edict prohibiting foot-binding was issued on 10 February 1902 and in response to this regular meetings for the liberation of women's feet were instituted in Soochow on 2 July 1905. However, the more radical thinkers went further than the mere physical emancipation of women's feet. Mai Hui-t'ing replaced the traditional marital morality with her undefined concept of love. When it became unavoidable, the feeling was that divorce should be based on mutual consent and on considerations of its wider consequences for society, morality and the children. Chinese youth concerned and active young people were the champions of modern China's family revolution. When the labour movement threatened to disrupt China's international relations with the major powers the Kuomintang government came down on the side of suppressing the workers.
