Rolul și situația socială a femeilor în China daoistă
The role and social situation of women in Daoist China

Summary/Abstract: Daoism emerged and developed in the territorial space of today’s China, and, although this philosophical tradition is considered extinct it managed to transcend borders in the last century and had a major global impact on the existing socio-political and religious systems. The art of arranging objects (feng shui), the ecology, the martial arts and Chinese medicine are all part of Daoism. Being born hundreds of years before Christianity, this religion brings a change to the traditional mentality with regard to the role and social situation of women. Starting from a patriarchal structure, in which the man was the pillar and leader of the household, and the woman a simple servant, Daoism succeeded to give women a special status. Thus, women were recognized not only as being equal to men, but, in some cases, they were considered superior in social and spiritual grounds, being the representatives of the yin force, the feminine principle of Dao. In this paper we observe the evolution of women’s position in China, as well as its impact on the encounter with the Western mentality and Christianity.

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