Gender, Rural Governance, and Clan Networks: Rethinking a High-Profile Case in Contemporary China

Wang, Lei

Gender, Rural Governance, and Clan Networks: Rethinking a High-Profile Case in Contemporary China

James Alexander Gordon on 7th November 2025

Author Information

Lei Wang, Hof University, Germany

Abstract

This article has attempted to examine the incident of the chained woman that took place in Dongji Village, China, in 2022 through the lens of traditional culture. The chained woman's living place was not locked, and villagers were generally aware of her situation—but why was she not rescued? Why did the local Douyin blogger who found her use her story as social media fodder rather than recognise it as a crime of gender violence? From the perspective of traditional Confucianism and clan culture, this paper has revealed the connection between gender violence against women in contemporary rural China and the traditional culture of local clans. It argues that, in some grassroots villages in China today, the existence of clans is not only a collective identity system that maintains the patriarchal social order but also a social network that implicitly supports gender oppression. This network reinforces mutual support and patronage among men of the same surname, creates an exclusive structure in the distribution of power and benefits, and shapes local villagers' consciousness and conception of women, placing women in a position of instrumentality and dependence.