Final answer:
Mongol women in the period c. 500–1500 were relatively egalitarian, active in riding, warfare, and property management, while Chinese women, despite a brief elevation during the Tang dynasty, experienced restrictive social norms and gendered labor roles that limited their agency compared to men.
Step-by-step explanation:
The roles of women in Chinese and Mongol society were distinct and characterized by varying degrees of freedom and responsibilities during the period c. 500–1500. In Mongolian culture, women held considerable equality in terms of social status, with responsibilities that included horseback riding, combat skills such as archery, and managing property. The archaeological evidence from societies such as the Xiongnu, Xianbei, and Turkic peoples corroborates the involvement of women in traditionally male tasks such as riding and warfare.
Conversely, in Chinese society, particularly during the Tang dynasty, women experienced a brief period of elevated status, as reflected by the prominence of figures like Empress Wu and the flourishing of cultures that respected women poets and courtesans. However, there was still a clear demarcation of gender roles, restrictive sumptuary laws, and legal considerations that treated women as property. Despite a matrilineal Neolithic past, by the Han period, labor was distinctly gendered with men dominating in military and agriculture, while women were confined to textiles and household work, with occasional participation in farming when husbands were away on service.
While Mongol women wielded significant agency in daily life and were celebrated for their skills similar to men, Chinese women found themselves in a more constrained societal position with prescribed roles.