Правовое положение женщин в истории средневекового Китая

315 Summary Summary In the present monograph a complex study of the legal status of women in the history of China from the 7 th to 13 th century, based on legislative primary sources, is performed for the first time in the his- tory of Russian Sinology. The study demonstrates that on each stage in the course of a lifetime the specific rights, position and status of a woman were not the same. The monograph is based on the results of the author’s doctoral dissertation. The study of the legal status of a woman, her place in the family and social hierarchy is necessary for a more complete understand- ing of the multiple problems of any national culture. However, for a number of reasons the issue of a woman’s position in the history of China, especially in the medieval times, remained peripheral to his- torical science. Firstly, an adequate comprehension of the period’s conditions based on existing sources is a substantial obstacle for this study. Secondly, a considerable impediment was and still remains the dominating stereotype which characterized the position of a woman in medieval China, specifically her complete indignity, endless suffering as a result of oppression from men, her submissive humility and final- ly, lack of proper attention from the society. Thirdly, the researchers underestimated (and some of them continue to do so) the significance of such woman’s roles in China’s cultural traditions as those of a wife, a householder, and a mother. A deliberated approach to this subject started to form in the end of the 20 th century, when numerous scientific trends exploring various aspects of a woman’s position in the history of China began to appear at the