Author(s)

Yier Chen

Corresponding Author

Yier Chen

ABSTRACT

Breast-binding was a trend that only became popular in the Republican era. This paper will analyses texts on the Natural Breast Movement from three periods, with 1927 as a watershed year, to explore how it liberated women and what impact it had on them. The advanced intellectuals of the May Fourth Movement, represented by Hu Shi and Zhang Jingsheng, raised and criticized the breast-binding. Zhu Jiahua published a proposal that led to the climax of the Natural Breast Movement in 1927. Scholars like Lu Xun reflected on women's free will in the Natural Breast Movement. While men dominated the Natural Breast Movement, women also made brave choices in the body revolution.

KEYWORDS

Breast revolution, Natural breast movement, Republic of China