Let the Common People See and Feel: Stone Arches, Power Negotiation, and the Chastity Cult in Huizhou in High-Qing China (c. 1680-1830)

Yulian Wu, CEAS Postdoctoral Fellow, Chinese History and Assistant Professor, History, University of South Carolina 

The rise of the “chastity cult”, where a widow maintained their sexual loyalty to her deceased husband, in High-Qing China (c. 1680-1830) has received scholarly attention from a wide audience. However, few scholars have studied chastity arches, the important state-granted monumental object that represented and promoted the chastity cult. How was a chastity arch built? What material was used to construct the arch? What influence did the chastity arches have on local society? To answer these questions, this study takes the perspective of material culture, studying the physical characteristics and the cultural implications of the arches. By combining evidence from written text, legends, and the materiality of chastity arches themselves, this research examines how chastity stone arches in Huizhou served as the foundation upon which different groups at all levels of the social hierarchy built multiple meanings of the “chastity cult” in 18th century China. The present research offers new insight into material culture and gender relations, showing how the objects gave material form to the ideology of gender and hierarchy in High-Qing China.