Between Birth and Death
Female infanticide, a practice that existed both in the West and East, has become a cultural marker for Chinese society particularly. In order to find out why this practice was tied to Chinese culture despite its prevalence globally, Michelle King has done a meticulous study to show the changed perceptions of female infanticide in China. She argues that while female infanticide was perceived as a moral, local and philanthropic issue by Chinese male intellectuals prior to the mid-nineteenth century, it was seen as a “cross-cultural, political, and scientific issue of international concern” after that, and eventually it became a cultural marker of China (p.8). The major force that had contributed to this transition was works about China by Westerners such as missionaries and scholars.
The first two chapters devote to female infanticide prior to the mid-nineteenth century. King has shown that in this early period, infanticide was not due to the gender of the new-born, but rather the combination of social, economic and many other factors. The works from male elites such as Yu Zhi further demonstrated that at that time, female infanticide was nothing more than a local and moral issue (p.52). Chapter three and four focus on the works of Westerners in the mid of nineteenth century and reveal the changed perceptions of female infanticide. Scholars, missionaries and the Holy Child Association, all emphasized the physical bodies of Chinese infants as victims (p.79), distorting the original meanings of Chinese texts about female infanticide (p.102). In chapter five, King turns her attention to female infanticide in twentieth century China, concluding that disregard Chinese intellectuals’ continuous attempts to resolve this issue, female infanticide has worsened in contemporary China due to the one-child policy, sex-selective abortions and so on (p.175).
King has made several significant contributions to the scholarship. Firstly, she has achieved her goal of “breaking down the naturalized and eternal relationship between female infanticide and Chinese culture” (p.3). She successfully demonstrates that infanticide was a global practice rather than a Chinese one, and the association between female infanticide and Chinese culture was a creation of the imperial context of the late nineteenth century. To scholars who have emphasized female infanticide as a Chinese problem, King’s book will undoubtedly make them rethink their understandings. Secondly, by offering different perceptions and solutions of female infanticide at different time periods, King’s careful analysis has refuted the idea that Chinese culture has been backward and unchanging. Together with scholars like Dorothy Ko, they have provided revisionist histories of some of the gender issues in Chinese society, revealing a society that has been not only changing, but also in its own unique way and at its own pace. Lastly, with female infanticide in China as the subject, King’s findings remind us of the everlasting impact of Western imperialism. In their studies of non-Western societies during the imperial context, Westerners often transmitted indigenous knowledge in a way that lacked its original meanings and intentions. As a result, the popular perception of the Indian practice sati (widow burning) shared a similar fate as female infanticide in China, as both were heavily dramatized by the British and both ended up becoming the cultural markers of their own societies.
Despite the depth and breadth of this study, however, some questions remain. While it is easy to accept the fact that female infanticide was not a China-only problem, it is also obvious to see that sons were gradually preferred over daughters in China. If abandoning female infants prior to the mid-nineteenth century was not simply because of the gender of the baby, why it was gradually rare to hear anyone abandoning their male infants, while female abandonment continues to exist until today? In today’s China, some women who give birth to daughters would be treated badly by their in-laws; some were even forced to divorce so the guy could marry again and hopefully have a son with the new wife. As argued by King, the one-child policy and sex-selective abortions have actually worsened female infanticide in contemporary China (pp. 181-183).
It is too much to expect any book to cover all aspects of a given topic. This study provides a useful foundation for understanding the issue of female infanticide in China, historically and contemporarily. It is an excellent addition to the study of female infanticide in China. The book is well written, and each chapter has its related stories, making it a fascinating read. The combination of sources collected from China, the United States, Britain, and France makes the stories and argument compelling. To scholars of gender studies, mission studies, cultural studies, and colonial studies, each would find its merit.