Warriors, Patriots, Traitors and Opportunists: Chinese Women and War

Currently little is known about the connection between women s status and war in China. While most women and men experience war as horrific disruptions bringing chaos and death to their communities and families, some also find opportunities for personal advancement that emerge from the instability produced by conflict. Indeed, dramatic social upheavals associated with war are commonly, and often erroneously, assumed to generate major long-term transformations in gender roles. The project analyses important connections between changing gender status and Chinese war systems from 1900 to the present exploring the roles of women in the military as patriots, peace activists, victims, survivors, traitors, sex-workers and spies.