Abstract: The early communist history of China was founded on the principles of modernization and cultural revitalization. The intellectuals of the time believed that in order to achieve modernization, the imperial rule must be overthrown, and China as a country must adopt new ideologies. Communism rapidly became popular as it presented an ambitious way forward after China’s devastating defeat to Japan during the Sino-Japanese War. Communism was a vital pathway to providing women with increased social power. This paper examines the causes and spread of the women's rights movement in China during the early 1900s by examining the progression and expansion of communism, considering key figures and organizations. Specifically, the relationships between communism and feminism in order to evaluate the effectiveness of this "women's emancipation" in combating gender oppression. Although increasing gender equality was not one of the Chinese Communist Party's primary goals, the rise of communism still created increased opportunities for the spread of feminism in China with notable female figures like Xiang Jingyu taking the helm, then later martyred for her communist beliefs and the women’s liberation movement of China.
Keywords: Communism, materialism, feminism, feminist movement in China.
Title: The Rise of Communism and the Women’s Liberation Movement in China
Author: Megan Peng
International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research
ISSN 2348-3156 (Print), ISSN 2348-3164 (online)
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