On this day, 10 June 1907, the first edition of Tianyi (天義 – Natural Justice), a Chinese anarchist feminist magazine, was published in exile in Tokyo. It had been founded by He Zhen (何震 – He “thunderclap”, pictured left), a leading member of the Women’s Rights Recovery Association (女子妇权会).
The Association advocated forceful resistance against oppression by men, as well as that by capitalists and the ruling class. It also forbade its own members from being subservient to men or becoming a concubine or second wife, while offering to come to the assistance of any member who was being abused by their husband, or under some other form of male dominance.
Zhen urged: “You women, do not hate the man: hate that you don’t have food to eat. Why don’t you have food to eat? Because you can’t buy food without money. Why don’t you have money? Because the rich have stolen our property and walk all over the majority of the people.”
Tianyi argued for a sexual revolution and the abolition of the family, which it believed gave rise to selfishness, patriarchy and private property.
Zhen also argued that women forming part of a government would be inadequate for the liberation of women, believing that while a few women might be able to join the ruling class, they would only join men in oppressing everyone else. And so liberation would only come with the overthrowing of both patriarchy and the state: “What we mean by equality between the sexes is not just that men will no longer oppress women. We also want men no longer to be oppressed by other men and women no longer to be oppressed by other women.”
In total, 19 issues of the journal published over the next couple of years.
*
If you enjoy our content on social media, make sure to check out our podcast. Find it on Apple podcasts, Google podcasts, Spotify or every other major podcast app, or on our website: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast https://www.facebook.com/workingclasshistory/photos/a.296224173896073/1735608683290941/?type=3