section_path: Culture and society/Position of women
section_name: Position of women
paragraph_text: Position of women
  
  Concepts of women's social rights and social status during the Tang era were notably liberal-minded for the period. However, this was largely reserved for urban women of elite status, as men and women in the rural countryside labored hard in their different set of tasks; with wives and daughters responsible for more domestic tasks of weaving textiles and rearing of silk worms, while men tended to farming in the fields. There were many women in the Tang era who gained access to religious authority by taking vows as Taoist priestesses.
  
  In Chang'an, ordinary courtesans inhabited the North Hamlet. They were generally knowledgable in the rules of drinking games, and received particular training in table manners. While renowned for their politeness, courtesans were reputed to dominate conversations among elite men, and as being unafraid to openly criticize the rudeness of prominent male guests, including for talking too much, too loudly, or for boasting of their accomplishments. Courtesans were sometimes beaten by their procuring madames.
  
  Gējìs, or professional singing courtesans, were culturally prominent, and joined talent agencies called Jiaofang. The emperor selected particularly talented women from the outer jiaofang to form the spring court, who were supplemented by courtesans from other troupes. During the Tang Dynasty, singing courtesans who were also talented in the poetry. In addition to singing, some courtesans composed their own songs, and even popularized a new form of lyrical verse that incorporated quotations of famous historical figures.
  
  It was fashionable for women to have full figures; men enjoyed the presence of assertive, active women. The foreign horse-riding sport of polo from Persia became a wildly popular trend among the Chinese elite, and women often played the sport (as glazed earthenware figurines from the time period portray). The preferred hairstyle for women was to bunch their hair up like "an elaborate edifice above the forehead", while affluent ladies wore extravagant head ornaments, combs, pearl necklaces, face powders, and perfumes. A 671 law attempted to force women to wear hats with veils again in order to promote decency, but these laws were ignored as some women started wearing caps and even no hats at all, as well as men's riding clothes and boots, and tight-sleeved bodices.
  
  There were some prominent court women after the era of Empress Wu, such as Yang Guifei (719–756), who had Emperor Xuanzong appoint many of her relatives and cronies to important ministerial and martial positions.