Annotation: "Here we can see, in the rural outskirts of the city depicted in the Qingming scroll, two women riding what..." (Annotation)

Annotation: "Here we can see, in the rural outskirts of the city depicted in the Qingming scroll, two women riding what..."

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Here we can see, in the rural outskirts of the city depicted in the Qingming scroll, two women riding what appear to be donkeys, attended by an entourage of servants, along with a woman playing with a child. Among the many thought-provoking areas of the scroll, this section of the scroll stands out to me, as it shows women, by themselves, out and about in the rural scene. This was of note to me because of our discussion of the evolving roles and societal status of women occurring during the Song Dynasty in both lecture and discussion section. As we learned, the mobility and freedom of women was generally restricted over the period of the Song, due to the introduction of neo-Confucian ideology and the widespread practice of foot binding, along with other social and legal factors, including changes in women’s inheritance of their dowry when they were widowed. All of this led me to be rather surprised seeing the two scenes I’ve highlighted. Firstly, I was surprised to see the women riding out and around with their attendants, without any visible husband, father, or other male companions other than their attendants. Thought I might otherwise wonder if these were lower-class women, not as in tune with the changing upper-class social mores of the time, their attendants and the fact that they are riding donkeys make me think that it’s most likely they are upper class. It does make me think that it’s possible that their feet are bound, further explaining why they might be riding donkeys instead of walking. Secondly, I was surprised to see the woman out playing with a child (possibly hers), as I had assumed that much of childrearing and domestic duties took place within the household. Overall, this section of the Qingming scroll stood out to me because of how much it contrasted with my conventional understanding of women’s roles in Song China.