China has a unique tradition, and it has undergone tremendous social changes over the
last fifty years. As a result, the development and social status of Chinese women have
evolved differently than they have for women in other countries. In this paper, the author
traces the course of Chinese women’s development within a broad socio-political context
since 1949. She draws on findings from Chinese feminist research in three main areas.
One area concerns the meaning of equality and the long process Chinese women have
experienced in transforming ideas about equality. Another area, the subject of on-going
discussions among Chinese academics, centres on questions about the advancement of
Chinese women’s emancipation and on whether emancipation has upset the traditional
division of labour within the Chinese family and thus diminished economic and social
development. The third area of research deals with the various new problems and
challenges facing contemporary Chinese women in this time of great social
transformation