Using the passage below, answer all parts of the question that follows. A. Describe ONE way in which Xu's argument was influenced by long-
standing Asian cultural traditions. B. Explain ONE example of Xu's
recommendations to Chinese women that boundaries of gender in the
period between c. 1200 and c. 1450. C. Explain ONE historical situation
from c. 1200- c. 1450 in which states in Asia attempted to limit Chinese
political power or cultural influence.
"The Moral Nature
Being upright and modest, reserved and
quiet
, correct and dignified, sincere
respectful
, humane and perspicacious (shrewd, wise), loving and warm, meek
and gentle: these represent the complete development of the moral nature.
The moral nature of being innate in our endowment, it becomes transformed
and fulfilled through practice. It is not something that comes from the outside
but is actually rooted in our very selves.
Cultivation of the Self
Now if the self is not cultivated, then virtue will not be established. If
one's virtue is not established, rarely can one be an influence for good in
the family-how much less in the wider world. Therefore, the wife is one
who follows her husband. The way of husband and wife is the principle of
the strong and the weak. In the past, the reason why enlightened monarchs
were careful about establishing marriage was that they valued the way of
procreation and perpetuation. [The rise and fall of the state is intimately
linked to the prosperity or decline of the family. I”
Empress Xu, Instructions for the Inner Quarters, c. 1420