Chinese Journal of Sociology ›› 2016, Vol. 36 ›› Issue (5): 197-221.

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Theory of Matriarchal Society and Its Problematic Application in China

ZHOU Dandan1, LI Ruohui2   

  1. 1. School of Social Science, Shanghai University of Engineering ScienceAuthor;
    2. School of Philosophy, Fudan University
  • Online:2016-09-20 Published:2016-09-20

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Abstract:

The theory of matriarchal society has had quite a different fate in China than in the West. As an academic proposition, matriarchy, referring to primitive female-dominated societies, is largely discredited in the West. However, as an academic myth, it gained popularity among the Chinese social scientists in the 20th century. The collapse of matriarchy theory in the West offers us an opportunity to reflect on the origin and the meaning of the Chinese phrase "zhimu bu zhifu" (one only knows his/her mother but not father). The term of "matriarchy" was introduced into Chinese language during the late Qing and the early Republican period. Ever since then, the term has been applied to describe a Chinese prehistoric period in order to cast China in the same light of the West sharing the same universal pattern of evolutional development stages of human history. Phrases such as "zhimu bu zhifu" from ancient Chinese classics were treated as evidences for the existence of a matriarchal period in China. However, a careful examination of the original text challenges such assumption. "Zhimu bu zhifu" speaks for different sets of ideas in Daoism and Legalism. During the Warring States, Confucianism was the main advocator of monarchical power. In Confucian views, serve one's father is equal to serve one's emperor, the same reverence should be observed. But, Daoism rejects monarchy, thus the followers of Zhuangzi forsake fathers for the love of mothers. The followers of Legalist Shang Yang saw love for mothers as love for self, a motivation for people to pursue competition and conquest. The strong and the virtuous would emerge and compete with each other. A monarchy with absolute power is the necessary solution to such competitions. Therefore, in Legalist views, love to mother leads to a strong monarchical state. Our study demonstrates a clear mismatch of what "zhimu bu zhifu" meant in the pre-Qin Chinese classics and its modern interpretation in the Chinese application of the theory of matriarchal society.

Key words: recognize mother to remain state, matriarchy thought, cancel father to cancel monarch, matriarchal society, the localization of Chinese sociology