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Nü sanzijing 女三字經

Jun 20, 2011 © Ulrich Theobald

Nü sanzing 女三字經 "Three-character classic for girls" is textbook for primary teaching for girls written by the Qing-period 清 (1644-1911) scholars Zhu Hao 朱浩 and Wen Xingyuan 文星源. The short book was printed in 1905 by the Tingyu Studio 聽雨堂. It is 4,500-characters long that stretch over five chapters. All phrases are composed of three characters in a vernacular language that is easy to understand.

It was written in imitation of the archetype Sanzijing 三字經. The first chapter describes the construction of the cosm and society, including the inferior position of women to men. The second chapter explains how a girl has to behave before being married. Foot-binding is mentioned here, and obedience to the parents is a very crucial point. The focus of obedience changes after marriage towards the husband and the parents-in-law. As a mother then, responsibility for an excellent education was put into the hands of a woman. In the last chapter, the authors narrate some examples from the past which a girl should follow during her life.

Sources:
Liu Shuying 劉淑英 (1997). "Nü sanzijing 女三字經", in Men Kui 門巋, Zhang Yanjin 張燕瑾, eds. Zhonghua guocui da cidian 中華國粹大辭典 (Xianggang: Guoji wenhua chuban gongsi), 283.
Su Guoxia 蘇國霞 (1995). "Nü sanzijing 女三字經", in Lu Leshan 盧樂山, ed. Zhongguo nüxing baike quanshu 中國女性百科全書, Vol. Hunyin jiating 婚姻家庭 (Shenyang: Dongbei daxue chubanshe), 76.