신생활운동과 ‘婦女의 신생활'

초록

This paper examines the discourse on women that emerged during the New Life Movement, focusing on the movement’s ideological orientation and characteristics to explore how the “woman question” was discussed, and to analyze the contours of this discourse and the meanings of its practical application. Through this, the study seeks to reconsider the intersection between the “New Life Movement” and the “woman question” within the context of intellectual history and critically investigate how the Nanjing Nationalist Government sought to regulate female subjectivity. First, it highlights how the “woman question” resurfaced during the New Life Movement and explores its historical significance. It examines how women-related agendas were addressed both institutionally and discursively, assessing their achievements and limitations from the perspective of gendered nation-building. Second, it investigates how the ideal image of the female citizen was constructed within the discursive landscape of the New Life Movement. It analyzes how the “family” was reemphasized as a common denominator that guaranteed Chinese women’s national identity, and how this emphasis mediated a redefinition of the relationship between women and the state. The study also reconstructs the features of the “wise mother, good wife” (賢母良妻) ideal as contextualized in the New Life Movement, with a focus on The Women’s New Life Monthly (婦女新生活月刊). Through this inquiry, the study critically examines how mechanisms of regulation targeting women were mobilized through gendered discourse within the broader process of national formation under the Nanjing Nationalist Government. This attempt not only broadens the historical understanding of the New Life Movement but also offers a critical foundation for revealing the specific modalities of gendered nation-making under the Nanjing regime.

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