The role of women in society Mann begins by showing how different were the life-courses of elite men and

d women: at every stage, women were seen to mature earlier, so that by midlife, when a man was in the flower of his career, his wife's reproductive years were over, her children grown, and her parents-in-law gone to their reward. Mann's description of Chinese "grand family" structure, in which virtually all women were expected to become wives or concubines, playing out the role of filial daughter-in-law, created very different options from the European structures that included nuclear families and acceptable life-patterns for unmarried women. During the Southern Song dynasty, women were expected by their family to get married to contribute towards their familys financial success (Mote, 350). As married women, they were expected to receive a solid education and both head and manage their new household. Because of the growth in the money economy under the Southern Song dynasty, families began to use marriage as a means to expand their wealth and prestige, which transformed a Chinese marriage into almost a business transaction where their daughters were used as bargaining tools. In addition, women were given a good education because Confucian scholars at the time, such as Sima Guang (Ebrey, Women and Family in Chinese History, pp. 29-30), argued that well-educated women make better wives and better manage the household, and it was believed that a well-educated mother would ensure success for their sons, if they become literati. Although women were expected to remain subordinate to their husbands, they were still able to grow as women because of their position as the head of the household or private sphere, and they were able to exchange ideas and socialize through women social clubs (Ko, Teachers of the Inner Chambers, 226-230). Moreover, the womens subordinate status was due to Confucian teachings, especially the Thrice Following that called for women to obey their fathers, husbands, and even sons. The social conduct outlined by the Thrice Following helped reinforce the womens subordinate status by stripping them of a legal and formal social identity, and justifying the male domination of the opposite sex (Ko, 117-119). These social norms during both the Song and Ming dynasties had conditioned women to obey men and made them subordinate to their fathers, husbands and sons. Nonetheless, these restrictions and their subordinate status only stripped women of a public life and did not invade their private life. Although certain domestic and familial duties were expected of women in Song society, they nonetheless enjoyed a wide range of social and legal rights in an otherwise patriarchal society. Women's improved rights to property came gradually with the increasing value of dowries offered by brides' families. Although women were on a lower social tier than men (according to Confucian ethics), they enjoyed many social and legal privileges and wielded considerable power at home and in their own small businesses.

As Song society became more and more prosperous and parents on the bride's side of the family provided larger dowries for her marriage, women naturally gained many new legal rights in ownership of property.[52] They were also equal in status to men in inheriting family property.[53] There were many notable and well-educated women and it was a common practice for women to educate their sons during their earliest youth.[54][55] The mother of the scientist, general, diplomat, and statesman Shen Kuo taught him essentials of military strategy.[55] There were also exceptional women writers and poets such as Li Qingzhao (10841151), who became famous even in her lifetime.[52]