Chinese. In Chinese, men and women are equal – or – women and men are equal?

1.Introduction 2. What is Chinese language? 2.1 Standard Chinese language 2.2 Structural properties of Chinese 2.3 The Chinese writing system 3. Aspects of gender in Chinese 3.1 The ‘woman’ signific and its connotations 3.2 Nouns and pronouns 3.3 Gender specification and gender abstraction 3.4 Gendered word order in Chinese 4. Social attitudes reflected in Chinese language 5. Chinese language reform and contemporary gender politics 5.1 Social language reform in a socialist China 5.2 Reproaching sexist language 5.3 China’s socialist methods for achieving reform 5.4 Promoting literacy – a double-edged sword for women 5.5 Language reform and the Script Reform Committee 6. Conclusion Notes References