China’s ‘first wave’ of feminism took place between 1911-1913. It sprung up after the fall of the Chinese Empire in 1911; women had fought for the Republic during the 1911 Revolution as spies and in direct military efforts, so many women felt that they had more than earned the right to be included in the new constitution. 

However, when the constitution was unveiled on 11th March 1912, women’s suffrage was nowhere to be seen. The suffragists who had been relentlessly petitioning parliament for months were outraged, and they left their seats in the gallery to storm the parliamentary sets. The next day, they were barred from entering, but this did not stop them; they began organising protests and upping the intensity on their campaigning for women’s suffrage.

But who were these women?

On 12th November 1911, Lin Zongsu formed the Nüzi canzheng tongzhihui (Women’s Suffrage Comrades’ Alliance), which aimed to “enhance women’s knowledge of politics, nurture women’s political strength, and to win the rights to political participation due full citizens”. However, though there were many small groups like this popping up in China at the time, it was clear that they did not individually hold enough power to make a difference.

Thus, on 20th February 1912, the Nüzi canzheng tongmenghui (Women’s Suffrage Alliance) was founded by revolutionary and activist Tang Qunying. The Alliance was an umbrella organisation, composed of five women’s groups, including Lin Zongsu’s Nüzi canzheng tongzhihui. Their goal was to “realise equality between men and women and achieve participation in politics.“

The Alliance had eleven demands, which covered issues such as women’s education, marriage laws, and prohibition of body-harm customs. Their members were mostly middle- to upper-class women, many of whom had been educated in Japan where they had learned ideas of feminism, equality, and democracy. In order to be admitted as a member to the Alliance, a woman had to have knowledge of, and be in agreement with, the principles of the movement, and they also had to pass an investigation. Men could join as honorary members.

At the founding congress, there were over 200 members in attendance, plus around 80 male observers. 

The Alliance had strong connections to China’s elite, which granted them significant access to those in power. Tang Qunying, who had been elected president, had been the first female member (and one of the first overall members) of the Chinese Revolutionary Alliance and she had fought alongside Sun Yat-sen, the provisional president of the Republic. This meant the Alliance could go directly to President Sun to petition him in person about women’s rights. 

On February 27th, a letter was submitted to the Assembly in which the suffragists requested that ‘men and women are equal, both should have the right to vote and to be elected’ be inserted into the constitution. They argued that all men had equal suffrage despite not being equally qualified, so why shouldn’t women have such rights too?

They also suggested that the line ‘People in the Republic of China are all equal; there is no difference based on their ethnicity (zhongzu), class or religion’ should be edited; either the second half have the word ‘sex’ added to it, or it be removed completely.

Sun Yat-sen was actually supportive of the women, but the same could not be said of other members of the Assembly; thus, their requests were denied.

At first, the suffragists stuck to their (metaphorical) guns and turned in another petition to the President, when he cautioned them to avoid violence. Yet, in the end, it was the Assembly that first turned militant against the women by stationing guards to prevent their entry. Shortly after, the Alliance engaged in more forceful tactics—they punched in windows at the Assembly, stormed parliament, and assaulted some of the guards when they attempted to stop them.

It quickly became clear, however, that militant tactics were not going to succeed. As soon as this was apparent, the suffragists switched back to their legal methods of petitioning the president, and in April they organised a congress and printed a manifesto which was distributed across China. 

After the unveiling of the new constitution, the Women’s Suffrage Alliance fought on for another year. Unfortunately, the sympathetic Sun Yat-sen was replaced as president by Yuan Shikai, who was much more hostile to their struggle. He shut down several democratic organisations, and in March 1913 he banned the Alliance. An arrest warrant was issued for Tang Qunying and she was forced to flee to Changsha, in the Hunan Province.

Tang spent the rest of her life investing her wealth in women’s education, paying heed to Sun Yat-sen’s advice that only when women are strong can they fight for and win the franchise. She established two schools for girls, and she also started a number of journals and newspapers which promoted women’s rights and education.

The Nüzi canzheng tongmenghui was a short-lived organisation; however, the influence of its leaders, particularly Tang Qunying meant that the next generation of women were educated and stronger than ever. The new women’s movements of the 1920s onwards were much more successful, and women’s suffrage was included in the Constitution of 1936.

Sadly, the constitution would not be implemented until 1947, meaning that Tang Qunying, who died in 1937, would never get to see it. 

Today, equality between the genders is still far from achieved in China, as in many other countries around the world. Politically, very few women play an important role in government and their influence is still low. However, it has been increasing since the equality laws were passed, and we can hope it will continue trending in this direction.

Sources:

• Edwards, Louise, “Opposition to Women’s Suffrage in China: Confronting Modernity in Governance”, pp. 107-182 in Mechthild Leutner, Nicola Spakowski (eds) Women in China: The Republican Period on Historical Perspective (Muenster: LIT, 2005)
• Ma, Yuxin, ‘Women Suffragists and the National Politics in Early Republican China, 1911-1915’, Women’s History Review, 16.2 (2007), 183–201
• Zhang, Shuran, “A comparative study of women’s suffrage organizations in 1910s and 1920s China.”
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C3%BCzi_canzheng_tongmenghui
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tang_Qunying