Essay Example on Thesis Statement: A Crucial Element of Academic Writing

The thesis is a statement that is often put forward as a premise to be proved or maintained. It is a proposition that is typically put forward for consideration, especially one that requires discussion to be tested or maintained against possible objections. Usually, the thesis statement appears at the beginning of the introductory paragraph of any academic writing. It is a basic summary of the central claims or points that essay paper would address. An example of a thesis statement is "despite the neo-Confucian conservatism of the Qing regime, many women of elite households engaged in activities considered to fall within the realm of men."

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The Neo-Confucian is a term that relates to the revival of various strands of Confucian philosophy and the cultural practices that had begun in the 9th century up to the later stages of social and intellectual creativity (Silbergeld and Dora 6). It relates to a movement in religious philosophy that emanates from the Confucians in China around AD 1000 in response to the idea of Buddhism and Taoism (Chu 5). The Neo-Confucians attempted to offer specific explanations regarding the problems of the universe and those affecting human existence. The Neo- Confucian attempts to explain the genesis evil in human nature as well as the practical teachings of cultivations, which portrayed important intellectual pursuit and moral progress and rules to be followed within their societies.

Although the neo-Confucian conservation of the Qing regime, many women of the elite household engage in the activities considered to fall within the realm of men. This can be observed in the Qing regime, where the husbands were allowed to remarry, whereas the women were never allowed to remarry. Still, many women became widows, and the economy dropped; thus, they were committing suicide due to being forced to get remarried (Chu 7). The women were being remarried so that the men could inherit the property of the dead husband so that they could continue improving the economy of the country.

According to Confucian, women were majorly supposed to remain in the households and take care of their families (Chu 5). From the early times in China, men were seen as the center of the family. However, when women joint the historical record, they are seen to cause men problems. The women in their lives had the capability of being loyal, courageous, and devoted. They were also capable of selfishness and manipulation.

Confucius had taken for granted all these attitudes towards women. The role of women was majorly the kinship roles, and gender was viewed in terms of yang and yin. The women were referred to as the yin and were characterized by softness, receptiveness, passive, and yielding (Chu 6). On the other hand, the men were associated with being hard, dominating, and assertive. In the yin and yang theory, the male and female forces complement each other, albeit not in equal measure.

In the Chinese tradition, the administrative structures and the success of Confucianism helped in the shaping of the family system and the women's role in it. The maintenance of the physical separation between the world of men and that of women was a significant step towards assuring that the yin did not dominate the yang. The value of segregation within the home set up is also by the Confucian classic the Book of Rites (Chu 4). According to the classic, the houses could be divided into two sections, with the women taking the inner part while the men were staying in the outer section. The family heads were the senior male. However, in case the family had died while his sons were young, the widow was to serve as the family head until the young boys became of age (Silbergeld and Dora 51).

During the Qing regime, according to the neo-Confucian, the eunuchs and the women were never allowed to be taught because the women were only seen to have been taught by their mothers on how to take care of their husbands and households. In the Qing regime, women were never allowed to make orders within the home and society in general. Their duty was significant to be led and to follow the rules given by their husbands (Chu 3). In the twentieth century, women have the right to education, just like men. Women can study in school whatever they want and create for themselves good careers. Therefore, the women dedicate most of their lives in a professional job than in having a family, which was the ideal role of a woman in the neo-Confucian rules.

Most importantly, at the time when widow chastity was becoming prevalent, wore, and more women were becoming educated and outsmarting the men. Many women with poetic talents began writing on the power of women (Silbergeld and Dora 5). The poems presented a fictional woman who had forced her nephews and sons to do whatever she wanted. In the twentieth century, the various practices meted on women to make them more disadvantaged were eliminated. Among the reduced methods against women include; widow chastity, foot binding, concubine, and the parental control for marriages.

Works Cited

Chu, Hunglam. "Confucianism." The Encyclopedia of Empire (2016): 1-7. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118455074.wbeoe353

Silbergeld, Jerome, and Dora CY Ching, eds. The Family Model in Chinese Art and Culture. PY and Kinmay W. Tang Center for East Asian Art, 2013.