Honig, Emily, “Burning Incense, Pledging Sisterhood: Communities of Women Workers in the Shanghai Cotton Mills, 1919-1949”, (1985)

Title : “Burning Incense, Pledging Sisterhood: Communities of Women Workers in the Shanghai Cotton Mills, 1919-1949”,

Author(s) : Honig, Emily

Year : 1985

Type : Journal article

Subject : History

Keywords : social;women;labor;

Journal : Signs

Volume : 10

Number : 4

Start page : 700

End page : 714

Language:Name : English

Support : Print

Abstract : Between 1919 and 1949, sisterhood societies were formed among cotton mill workers in Shanghai. Women in the societies generally sealed their bonds in the Buddhist temples by burning incense together and pledging loyalty. They called each other by kinship terms, gave economic aid where needed, and formed social groups. These sisterhoods, brought about by need and local allegiances, were not indiscriminate allegiances nor were they expressions of working-class or feminist consciousness. Although some women may have used them as revolutionary training, most sisterhoods did not threaten authority and reinforced traditions.