By Vivian Chang
In the traditional discourse of Hakka society, women in every household were synonymous with labour tools: hardworking, thrifty, tenacious, and diligent. The Encyclopedia Britannica emphasizes Hakka women were energetic workers. Foreign historians have described Hakka women as hard working as cattle or like cheese on the top of milk, noting, “Hakka women are very respectful to their husbands.”
The status of women was repeatedly constrained by male traditions in customary Hakka society. From childhood, women were educated to become strong individuals of “four heads and four tails*” involved in housework, agriculture, cooking, sewing, and other domestic duties.
Folk songs also imposed many harsh standards on women, with some songs ridiculing lazy women. The social constraints of the past were based on traditional virtues of loyalty and thrift, shaping the image of Hakka women as diligent and frugal embodiments of Mother Goddess. This cleverly avoided male chauvinism and rationalized the sense of self-strength in farming and studying for Hakka men, allowing them to escape from housework and focus on national affairs.
The Hakka language further reinforces the subordinate status of women. A wife is referred to as “supporting woman (輔娘, buˊ ngiongˇ),” and a daughter-in-law is called “firewood mortar (薪臼, ximˊ kiuˊ),” alluding to labour tools. Feminine expressions such as “knife mother”, “pot mother”, and “spoon mother” also appear in daily language, subtly reflecting the social situation of Hakka women hidden behind their gentle character and the peculiar stereotype of “Hakka women” constructed by traditional impressions.
Traditional impressions also appear frequently in Hakka literary works, such as Pin-moi (平妹) in works of Chung Li-fo (鍾理和), Den-moi (燈妹) in works of Li Chiao (李喬), and Ngiun-moi (銀妹) in the Taiwanese Trilogy (台灣人三部曲) by Chung Chao-cheng (鍾肇政), documenting Taiwanese Hakka women of the last century.
Hakka women take to the streets
Taiwanese Hakka women experienced significant changes during the Japanese era and the relocation of the Nationalist government to Taiwan. In the sociological discussion of the Four Asian Tigers, Hakka women shifted from farming to economic participation, becoming factory workers or entering the service and transportation industries (early conductresses such as the Golden Horse conductress or the Diesel Rail Car conductress*).
The discourse on liberation for women reached its peak in the 1970s and 1980s, leading to significant changes in the status of women. Social movements emerged, advocating for social welfare, rights, labour conditions, and Indigenous rights for women. Following the Give Back My Mother Tongue movement, the Hakka language underwent profound changes. Women began to take to the streets to fight for their rights, breaking away from the constraints of the earlier “four heads and four tails” and actively participating in the neighbouring community and social issues.
In 2000, the ruling party alternation in Taiwan led to the establishment of the first Hakka Affairs Council for the world. This council aims to showcase Hakka strength and visibility through music, art, film, theatre, books, and other mediums, fostering dialogue with Hakka communities worldwide.
Canadian director Jeanette Kong (江明月), a Hakka immigrant from Jamaica, has garnered widespread acclaim in Taiwan for her documentaries exploring roots and identity. Taiwanese theatre director Peng Ya-Ling (彭雅玲) collaborates with Hakka poetesses on the visual project “Voices of Hakka Women (客家女聲),” partnering annually with theater professionals worldwide to create multilingual films for global exhibitions. These initiatives represent a modern dialogue between Hakka women and the global community.
*four heads, four tails (si tou si wei): A group of sayings that emphasize the need for Hakka women to be able to do the housework and raise the children, tend the stove and do the cooking, stitch and sew, and also know how to work the land, shouldering work both inside and outside. – Hakka Affairs Council, Taiwan
*conductresses (車掌小姐): Bus and train attendants, which were prevalent before the 1990s, is now a gradually diminishing profession. The position was limited to women.
TAIWANfest Toronto will present Vivian Chang’s Hope Talk, From Guest to Host: Hakka Migration Around the World, on Saturday (August 24). Chang, a writer and former reporter of Hakka Taiwanese descent, will speak at 4:30 p.m. in the Brigantine Room at Harbourfront Centre. For more information, visit the TAIWANfest Toronto website.
Learn more about diverse communities from the Toronto Spark website. Follow the Toronto Spark on X @TOSparkOfficial.
