The Education of Northern Sung Elite Women

Tao Jing-shen

Department of East Asian Studies, University of Arizona

Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica

    Many elite women (women of shih-tzu) in Northern Sung times were literate. This essay is an attempt to trace their education and the role in their children's education. Even though the education of Northern Sung elite women was elementary and informal, many women appear to have been highly educated. Examples of literate women's biographies (mu-chih or funerary inscriptions) in Sung collected works show that they read and studied a variety of books, from classics, histories, and literature to Buddhist and Taoist works. However, being confined to the household, most women of letters only wrote poems and there are some surviving pieces. In their old age many women believed in Buddhism and enjoyed reading Buddhist sutras. Education was a necessity for elite women because they often had to be managers of their husbands' households, of matters of clan members, and of estates. In fact, women were valued not only for their role in producing and bringing up heirs, but also for their many skills. They often assumed a major role in the direction of their children's education, when their husbands were pursuing a degree through the civil service examinations, or were appointed official positions away from their homes. Many strong-willed women were determined to teach their sons or to supervise their education when their husbands ignored education or died early. Not all women stayed home. The widows who chose not to remarry had to engage in many productive activities in order to support themselves and their children. In sum, literate women seem to have been desirable wives for Northern Sung elite men.