Disputes Between and Reciprocal Rise and Fall of the Two Conceptions——Biographies of the Women Martyrs and Norms of Women Morals in the Zhou, the Qin, the Han, and the Tang Dynast

Women's historical places will be justified not only by their performances in different historical phases, but also by moral norms laid out for women in different times. An investigation of the variation of moral norms for women in the Zhou, the Qin, the Han, and the Tang Dynasty show that the perception of virginity which shackled women's personality in ancient China resulted both from the vigorous advocacy of Confucian scholars in the North and South Song Dynasties and from profound historical causes. It owes a great deal to the reconstruction of the feudal ethics from the North Wei to the Sui and the Tang Dynasties, which led directly to strengthening women education.