Reimagined Confucianism and the “New Woman”: Shen Yiyun and the synthesis of humanism and patriotism in modern Chinese Women’s education
Abstract This study examines the reimagination of Confucianism in early 20th-century Chinese women’s education by the revolutionary and educator Shen Yiyun (1894–1971). Through close readings of two major texts, Guoxue Rumen Jianggao (Lecture Notes of the Introduction of Chinese Studies) and Yiyun H...
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Springer Nature
2025-08-01
|
| Series: | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05615-z |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849344613922373632 |
|---|---|
| author | Shuhui Yin |
| author_facet | Shuhui Yin |
| author_sort | Shuhui Yin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract This study examines the reimagination of Confucianism in early 20th-century Chinese women’s education by the revolutionary and educator Shen Yiyun (1894–1971). Through close readings of two major texts, Guoxue Rumen Jianggao (Lecture Notes of the Introduction of Chinese Studies) and Yiyun Huiyi (Memoirs of Yiyun), supported by historical contextualization and theoretical triangulation, this paper reveals how Shen synthesized Confucian self-cultivation with modern humanist ideals to empower women as both patriotic citizens and autonomous moral agents amidst modern China’s sociopolitical crises. Tensions persisted, however, between Shen’s nationalist imperatives and her feminist aspirations, despite the fact that her educational philosophy transcended Confucian gender constraints. Underlying these tensions, it will be argued, were unresolved paradoxes in modern Confucian gender discourse. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ea7cc6443c1f4cf883ff3b19c3c59321 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2662-9992 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Springer Nature |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-ea7cc6443c1f4cf883ff3b19c3c593212025-08-20T03:42:37ZengSpringer NatureHumanities & Social Sciences Communications2662-99922025-08-011211610.1057/s41599-025-05615-zReimagined Confucianism and the “New Woman”: Shen Yiyun and the synthesis of humanism and patriotism in modern Chinese Women’s educationShuhui Yin0Macau University of Science and TechnologyAbstract This study examines the reimagination of Confucianism in early 20th-century Chinese women’s education by the revolutionary and educator Shen Yiyun (1894–1971). Through close readings of two major texts, Guoxue Rumen Jianggao (Lecture Notes of the Introduction of Chinese Studies) and Yiyun Huiyi (Memoirs of Yiyun), supported by historical contextualization and theoretical triangulation, this paper reveals how Shen synthesized Confucian self-cultivation with modern humanist ideals to empower women as both patriotic citizens and autonomous moral agents amidst modern China’s sociopolitical crises. Tensions persisted, however, between Shen’s nationalist imperatives and her feminist aspirations, despite the fact that her educational philosophy transcended Confucian gender constraints. Underlying these tensions, it will be argued, were unresolved paradoxes in modern Confucian gender discourse.https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05615-z |
| spellingShingle | Shuhui Yin Reimagined Confucianism and the “New Woman”: Shen Yiyun and the synthesis of humanism and patriotism in modern Chinese Women’s education Humanities & Social Sciences Communications |
| title | Reimagined Confucianism and the “New Woman”: Shen Yiyun and the synthesis of humanism and patriotism in modern Chinese Women’s education |
| title_full | Reimagined Confucianism and the “New Woman”: Shen Yiyun and the synthesis of humanism and patriotism in modern Chinese Women’s education |
| title_fullStr | Reimagined Confucianism and the “New Woman”: Shen Yiyun and the synthesis of humanism and patriotism in modern Chinese Women’s education |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reimagined Confucianism and the “New Woman”: Shen Yiyun and the synthesis of humanism and patriotism in modern Chinese Women’s education |
| title_short | Reimagined Confucianism and the “New Woman”: Shen Yiyun and the synthesis of humanism and patriotism in modern Chinese Women’s education |
| title_sort | reimagined confucianism and the new woman shen yiyun and the synthesis of humanism and patriotism in modern chinese women s education |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05615-z |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT shuhuiyin reimaginedconfucianismandthenewwomanshenyiyunandthesynthesisofhumanismandpatriotisminmodernchinesewomenseducation |