Abstract In a certain sense,the women of Kong family are the symbol and model of Confucian norms on women's virtues in ancient China. Through the daily life,educational situation and inner world of this special female group,we can reflect on its complex relationship with the dominant Confucian norms of women's morality and gender order,which provides us an excellent perspective to re-examine some “established”“dominant” and “orthodox” female education concepts.Based on an international literature review on the research field of Confucianism,history of Chinese women,and the descendants of Confucius,also with the declaration of the academic value and social significance of the study of the women of Kong family,an alternative framework is then outlined as follows.Firstly, rethinking the “reflection” of the “May Fourth” construction of the victimized women in traditional China. Secondly,shifting our focus primarily on “women” to a broader view of “gender”,namely including females and males,as well as other social issues. Thirdly,shifting our focus primarily on “individual” to “family”,interpreting personal deeds in the context of family and society,by combining personal life history with family narrative method. Fourthly,shifting our focus primarily on “literature” to “material”,exploring the everyday lives of the women of Kong family by using documentary evidence and material culture,etc,following the material turn of the western historiography and Chinese women's history,as well as the paradigm transformation of educational historiography in contemporary China.
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