Since the textbook, a secondary source, is an abbreviated version, many statements do not include elaboration past the main points.  With the implementation of the primary source, Lessons for Women by Ban Zhao, the vague aspects of family culture in Imperial China can be examined more thoroughly.  Lessons for Women appears to be a letter from a mother, Ban Zhao, to her daughters alerting them of “the proper customs for married women.”   The textbook makes references to family placement and values, while Lessons for Women divulges into how women in that time period would have thought and acted accordingly.

            According to the textbook, a family is “viewed as a living, self-renewing organism” that “required sons to perpetuate (them)selves and ensure the immortality offered by the ancestor cult”, giving the impression that only men had the ability to stay in good favor with the ancestors.  Lessons for Women gives that same impression in a totally different way.  Lessons for Women speaks of “the third day after the birth of a girl.”  The mother was to “announce her birth to her ancestors by an offering,” which maintains that her “primary duty (is) to humble herself before others.” The primary source reveals two things here.  First, only the men could please the ancestors.  Second, this was such a way of life that the women, not the men, would sacrifice the female children.

            “People saw themselves as having responsibilities within the domestic hierarchy according to gender, age, and family relationships rather than as individual agents.”  Here, the textbook is stating that families viewed one another as different pieces on a machine.  Every part has a specific function. Once again, Lessons for Women takes us inside a woman’s head to get an alternate perspective on this way of life.  It says “those who are steadfast in devotion know that they should stay in their proper places.”  Not only does it confirm what the textbook says, but takes if a step farther by referencing it to a level of commitment.  In other words, any person who did not play their part was not truly devoted to the family, or the family’s honor.

            Lessons for Women is an excellent example of how a primary source can give more insight to a secondary source, such as the textbook.  In this case, the secondary source was supported by the primary source.  Both convey the same message of family value.  The textbook appears to not include as much information, but this could also be largely because of the abbreviated form. Based on this evidence, the book appears to be a valid source.

back to homepage