The Song Dynasty was the most economically powerful empire among the ancient Chinese feudal dynasties. In this powerful empire, the status of women has also been improved unprecedentedly.
As we all know, the feudal dynasty was an era where men were respected, so the status of women was particularly low. According to the record in the "Book of Rites", "Men do not speak about what is inside, and women do not speak about what is outside; what is inside is not revealed, and what is outside is not spoken.
”, which means that in ancient times, men and women had a clear division of family labor.
For women who are unable to work outside the home and have no financial income, they have no say in the family and can only live dependent on men. Therefore, the idea that men are superior to women has always existed in ancient China.
In ancient times, the rules for divorce were that if a woman violated the seven regulations of married life, the man could file for "harmony and divorce." It is recorded in "The Book of Rites of Great Dai" that "a woman has seven choices: if she does not obey her parents, she will have no choice but to leave."
Get rid of children, get rid of promiscuity, get rid of jealousy, get rid of evil illnesses, get rid of talkativeness, get rid of theft." From here we can also find that this is a social rule to protect the interests of men, but in the Song Dynasty, women had the autonomy to file for divorce.
According to the laws of the Song Dynasty, as long as a man and a woman accept the letter of engagement from both parties, the marriage begins. However, if the man does not marry the woman within 3 years, the woman can freely choose her marriage partner again. In addition to this article, in
During the Song Shenzong period (the fifth emperor of the Song Dynasty), if the husband did not return for a long time, the wife could apply to the government for divorce, and then she could choose another husband.
This is recorded in the "Qingming Collection of Ming Gong Shu Ban": "If a husband goes out for three years and does not return, his wife may remarry." In addition, the protection of women in the Song Dynasty also improved a lot. The traditional Chinese ethical concept is "
"Marry and obey your husband", but in the Song Dynasty, if she suffered personal harm from her husband's family during the marriage, the wife could file for divorce.
"Qingyuan Article Legal Affairs" stipulates that "if the wife is raped by a relative who lives with her husband, even if the rape fails, she can request a divorce." It can be seen that the Song Dynasty has formulated a series of mature laws to protect women's corresponding rights after marriage.
Women in ancient times did not have the right to inherit, but women born in the Song Dynasty could inherit a certain amount of family property. The description in "Household Marriage Gate·Nv Chengfen" is as follows: "If there is an unmarried daughter at home, all property will be used to inherit it."
"Give her a quarter of the property", which means that women who are not married have the right to inherit, but for those women who are married, do they not have part of their father's property?
In fact, for married women in the Song Dynasty, they can also inherit. "Song Xingtong" writes that "if there is a married woman, three points will be given to one." Therefore, regardless of whether the woman is married or not, it can be inherited in the Song Dynasty.
Inherited property. In addition, the Song Dynasty did not favor sons over daughters in law. For example, "if parents are dead, children will divide the property, and if a woman combines to get a son,";
And "In the law: the wealth earned by the wife's family is not divided. Also in the law: the wife's property is owned by her husband." Therefore, under the protection of the detailed legal provisions of the Song Dynasty, women's economic status was greatly protected.
Because women can not only own family property, but also own joint property. Since the social economy of the Song Dynasty was at a highly developed level, women's social status has also undergone great changes. And we know that foot binding was a habit in ancient China.
, this is a physical harm to women, but in the Song Dynasty women could "not have their feet bound or their ears pierced." Therefore, in the male-dominated society of ancient China, the status of women in the Song Dynasty was already extremely high.
During the Song Dynasty, the early sprouts of capitalism had already appeared, and the economy developed very rapidly, so more professions were derived. Some scholars have shown through research that the entertainment industry was very developed in the Song Dynasty, so if a woman was beautiful enough,
If you do, you can enter the "showbiz". Of course, the showbiz that the author is talking about here is not the showbiz we have today, but one similar to kabuki. In the circle of literati at that time, many
People will choose to keep a private entertainment troupe in their homes for daily entertainment. Among other things, the great poet Wen Tianxiang kept a karaoke team in his home. In addition to private karaoke teams, Hangzhou in the Southern Song Dynasty
There are dozens of large-scale entertainment venues in the city. Women with talents can earn more money here to support their families. They usually have no problem earning more than 1,000 a day. Therefore, for many people, living
A daughter is equivalent to a money tree, which can improve the life of the family to a certain extent. Therefore, this also led to the formation of a culture of favoring girls over boys in the Song Dynasty.
Regardless of the Northern Song Dynasty or the Southern Song Dynasty, the entire social atmosphere favored daughters. A daughter was regarded as the apple of her eye when she was born. If she gave birth to a son, she would be very unhappy, and even the baby boy would be at risk of being abandoned. Give birth to a daughter and raise her well, and you will be good in the future.
You can make a good living. It is said that even the "lowest" cook at that time had a graceful and luxurious aura that could not be compared with that of ordinary people.
"Jiang Xing Za Lu" records such a story:
In the Song Dynasty, there was a prefect who retired from old age and returned to his hometown. He remembered that he had had dinner at an official residence in Kyoto. The cook's spoon that day was very delicious and left a deep impression on him that he would never forget. So he also
I want to hire a cook and continue to enjoy the unforgettable delicious food.
After many requests, the prefect finally got his wish and found a cook in the capital. She was about twenty years old, could read and do calculations, and was quite pretty.
Art, can write and do math."
Then the prefect asked the cook to come quickly, but the cook wrote a letter to the prefect first, asking the prefect to send one or four warm sedans to take her into the house.
The prefect did not dare to neglect, and hurriedly sent a sedan to greet the cook. When the cook was brought into the house, people found that she was indeed different from ordinary women.
But retreat."
The prefect was very happy, so he asked the cook to show off her skills the next day. The cook brought her own set of platinum kitchen utensils, "knives and anvils, and miscellaneous tools, dazzling."
The dishes are fragrant and delicate, fresh and crispy, and every time they are served, they are all eaten up. All the guests in the house praise them and say they are delicious.
Of course, the prefect's face was also very bright. Just as he was thinking about his future fortune, the cook came to him and said, "Today is a cooking test. You are very satisfied with it, but according to the rules, you have to give me a reward." After that, she took out the food.
When he showed the list to the prefect, he was a little dumbfounded. The silk could be as much as a hundred pieces, and the money could be as much as three or two hundred thousand. This was completely beyond his financial scope. He could only sigh in his heart: "I can't afford such food, such a cook."
Don’t dare to use it!”
Within two months, the prefect found a reason to "send the cook back in kind".
The income of a cook is already so high. No wonder the middle and lower families in Lin'an want to have a daughter and raise her well.
As we all know, the Song Dynasty was an era when the entertainment industry was highly developed. Various entertainment venues and entertainment dramas appeared in people's lives. Not only dignitaries, but also ordinary people could go to Goulan Washer to watch performances. In the Song Dynasty,
The entertainment items are not limited to playing piano and dancing, storytelling, and acrobatics are also very popular performances.
The most important thing is that most of these performers are women. Therefore, everyone in the Song Dynasty hoped to have a daughter, not only to marry into the royal family or a wealthy family, and gain the opportunity to change their destiny, but also to obtain enviable employment opportunities.
You can also get the chance to change your destiny. Even if marrying a rich man doesn't work, you can work hard and get a high-paying job.
In the Song Dynasty, most of the enviable jobs were held by women. Because of this, the entire society formed a social atmosphere that favored women over men.
Here is a more striking example, that is, the mother of the current emperor Song Renzong created Liu E, who listened to politics behind the curtain. Liu E was originally an orphan from Sichuan, her parents died, and she followed the silversmith Gong Mei to Bianjing.
She made a living by performing arts on drums. Later, by chance, she was appreciated by Zhao Heng and brought back. From then on, she completed a counterattack in life. She staged a story from a singing girl living in the capital to the empress dowager who ruled the world, which played a role in the political situation of the Northern Song Dynasty.
A gorgeous and grand song "Qing Ping Le".
At this time, Lu Hao had returned to the room to see his wife who had just given birth, Lu Yao's sister-in-law, Mrs. Xu. Lu Yao stood outside the door and thought about it carefully, and then he understood why Lu Xu
Xu would be so happy to give birth to a daughter. However, behind this happiness is a very cruel truth. On the one hand, the preference for girls over boys in the Song Dynasty was mainly due to the booming development of the business and entertainment industries, which required a large number of women, so
The demand for women is huge. And the more important reason is that girls can be sent to learn to sing and dance, which can add a lot of income to the family in the future. Although it sounds a bit cruel, it is the fact. In the Song Dynasty, there were
There were a large number of female entertainers, and even the ruler's palace had a large number of singers and dancers. They were all very famous. It can be seen from these female entertainers that the pursuit of women at that time was much higher than that of men.
Therefore, giving birth to a girl has many benefits. It can help a family get rid of poverty and even become rich and famous. Therefore, people in the Song Dynasty were obsessed with giving birth to a girl. But they didn’t know that Lu Yao’s father, Lu Xu, would
I wouldn't have thought about it now.
Lu Yao did not choose to go back to his room to sleep for a while, but chose to go to the main hall to enjoy the breeze. At this time, the sky was not completely bright, and the breeze was blowing, and it was still relatively cold. However, Lu Yao still refused Tang Xi.
He was advised to go back to his room and insisted on sitting in the main hall for a while.
Just now, everything happened too fast, leaving no time for Lu Yao to think.
The thing that shocked Lu Yao the most was that Lu Hao chose to resign instead of doing business. Later, he would help Lu Yao manage the bank, and he would also have to do business himself.
Lu Hao just said that all of this was the result of discussions with his father, Lu Xu. Then there is a question. Is it Lu Hao himself who is willing to resign and not engage in business, or is it Lu Xu who has given instructions to him?
What was the final decision the two of them made together after telling Lu Hao the stakes?
Naturally, Lu Yao couldn't tell anything from Lu Hao's expression. After all, he had just given birth to a daughter, and his joy was beyond words. Naturally, he would not show any attitude towards this matter.
Thinking about it carefully, although Lu Hao's official position in the DPRK is not very big, it is inferior to second-generation officials of the same generation like Han Wenyuan and Cao You. Lu Yao had also heard Lu Xu's comments on the situation in the DPRK before.
Some political officials asked Lu Hao for his suggestions, but in the end they could not get satisfactory results. Lu Hao came out of the study dejected. It is obvious that Lu Xu very much hopes that his son can be successful in the court and have a prosperous career. But from the facts
Judging from the above, Lu Yao rarely saw Lu Hao express any insightful opinions on politics. Lu Yao had also asked Lu Hao for his advice on the issues between Song and Xia before, but at that time Lu Hao naively believed that
Neither side wanted to go to war. After all, going to war would consume their own national strength, and negotiation was the best option. He felt that the Song Dynasty was prosperous, and the other side should just take advantage of the opportunity of independence to demonstrate with the Song Dynasty and ask for some money at most.
Therefore, it can be solved through peace talks. Lu Yao did not question what Lu Hao said at that time. After all, he was his eldest brother, but his shortcomings in politics and diplomacy have been exposed. This kind of politics
People who have an insensitive sense of smell, and the advice they give are not very technical. It is difficult for such people to gain a foothold in the court, and at most they will end up working in vain.
Maybe Lu Xu also discovered that Lu Hao is essentially such a mediocre person. In addition, Lu Hao seemed to enjoy taking care of the bank recently. After all, Xu did not know when
He knows how to produce, so most of the time the bank manager is Lu Hao. It seems that he really likes to take care of the bank business. Maybe, Lu Hao himself feels that compared to walking on thin ice in the court, he has to read every time before speaking.
Looking at his father's expression, or thinking about the reactions of all the forces after he spoke, he was really tired. It would be better to resign and retire, do business and live comfortably.
What's more, now that Mr. Xu has given birth to a child for him, it is also a good choice to spend more time with his child and wife at home. Everyone has his own ambitions, and no one can deny Lu Hao's idea.
Of course, Lu Yao also knew that it was true that Lu Hao had the idea of resigning, but on the other hand, he was indeed paving the way for Lu Yao. A family can only have one successor. This has been a rule since ancient times. Lu Hao
Xu made this decision because he thought that after Lu Yao entered the court, Lu Yao would be reused in the future according to his abilities. If Lu Hao was also an official in the court, it would easily cause discord between brothers or be influenced by others.
When the instigation comes, conflicts will arise. In addition, if both sons are officials in the court, the pressure on Lu Xu will also be great. Rather than doing this, it is better to follow Lu Hao's wishes and let him resign.
When the time comes, Lu Xu will be able to devote 100% of his energy to assisting Lu Yao, and the Lu family's business will be left to Lu Hao to take care of it. Isn't it the best of both worlds?
Thinking of this, Lu Yao couldn't help but sigh. Fortunately, his eldest brother Lu Hao is not a person with very high standards of desires and needs. Otherwise, the drama of fratricide would have happened again. No matter what, Lu Hao will resign.
Yes, this matter has been decided, and Lu Yao chose to accept it. Moreover, depending on Lu Xu's intention, he did not intend to tell Lu Yao what happened. Lu Yao only needed to know this fact.
This is fine. Lu Yao thought that when his eldest brother Lu Hao becomes a business tycoon in Bianliang City one day, he will simply hand over all his properties to his eldest brother to take care of it. By then, the two brothers will be
Senior officials, one being a big businessman and the richest man himself, can only live a comfortable life.
After thinking about this, Lu Yao once again thought of the niece he had just seen, Lu Qiaoqiao.
Thinking of his niece, Lu Yao couldn't help but feel sentimental.
This is a different feeling than before, unlike the helpless and sad emotions entangled between Han Yunyu and Cao Han. Lu Yao now feels more sentimental.
In fact, this kind of emotion has always existed in Lu Yao since he traveled through time. However, it has always been accumulated and has never exploded. Speaking of this, Lu Yao was somewhat grateful to Han Yunyu. The previous one should be considered a rare occasion for him.
The emotions in your heart can be released.
The main reason is that Lu Yao can't find anyone to talk to about his current feelings. He can't bring someone over to tell him that he is not the real Lu Yao, but that he jumped out of some mountain.
Tangxi, who was standing by Lu Yao's side, saw that Lu Yao didn't look right, so he said, "Sir, what's wrong with you? Are you catching a cold?"
Lu Yao turned his head and looked at Tangxi, and said with a smile: "Tangxi, do you believe in parallel time and space?"
"What is parallel time and space?"
Lu Yao smiled helplessly, wondering why he was telling him such high-end words, so he changed his explanation and said: "It's nothing. Do you believe this statement from the past life?"
The word "past life" was used a lot in ancient times. Tangxi was a little confused. Lu Yao motioned for him to sit next to him. Tangxi sat down as ordered and then said: "I believe it, but I think it's better to do the things right now."
More importantly, after all, I don’t have time to think about so many things every day.”
"That's right." Lu Yao thought to himself. Sometimes he envied Tangxi's life. He got up early and worked hard. He didn't think about anything else. He ate well, slept well, and lived a fulfilling life every day.
Lu Yao sometimes thinks about what he would be like now if he had not traveled through time. What happened to his parents and sister? Will he find a girlfriend? If he has a child, will he?
Is she as cute as Lu Qiaoqiao?
And what kind of life will I live now?
"Young master, don't think too much. The most important thing now is to prepare for the martial arts competition."
Tangxi's words brought Lu Yao back to his senses. Yes, Tangxi was right. Now that we are here, it is most correct to live in the moment and do everything well at hand. Sit like this
Feeling sad here can only cause mental exhaustion. However, in his heart, Lu Yao still hopes that his parents and sister in modern times will be in good health.
"You're right." Lu Yao stood up from his seat, stretched, and his expression returned to his usual look. "Speaking of which, Zhang Mou has been there for a few days. In terms of days, isn't it like this?
Will be back in a few days."
Tang Xi nodded and said: "If nothing else happens, I should be back in the next two days. Master, I will go find Su Shi and Su Zhe soon and make an appointment with them to watch the release of the results in two days."
"Well, I wonder where the list will be released this time?" Lu Yao didn't know much about the place and method of releasing the list.
Tang Xi said: "I should know this matter, but I should have gone back to my room to rest now. Why not ask him again during breakfast."
Lu Yao nodded, and then felt that he had a headache. It seemed that it was caused by the sudden awakening and the wind blowing here just now. So, Lu Yao also decided to go back to the room to rest for a while.
However, it didn't take long for the sky to get bright, and Lu Yao didn't rest long. He knew that today was a happy day for the Lu family. After all, Lu Xuxin had a granddaughter. Therefore, Lu Yao appeared in the restaurant on time in the morning, following Lu Yao.
Xu, Yan and Lu Hao ate together. As for her sister-in-law, Xu, there was a special person making something similar to a confinement meal for her.
"Dad, in two days it will be the day when the imperial examination results will be released. Do you know where the emperor has chosen to announce the results this time?" Lu Yao asked.
Lu Xu looked at Lu Yao and said: "This time is really different from before. The emperor chose to post a notice on the wall at the junction of the inner city and the outer city."
Lu Yao nodded. He was not surprised by Zhao Zhen's choice. After all, the new Cuju competition is so popular now. There are not necessarily more people staying in inns in the inner city than in the outer city, so he chose one at the junction.
Posting notices on city walls is also a very reasonable choice.
"Being able to advance from the general examination to the palace examination is already more than half successful. In the past, there were not many people who were eliminated from the palace examination. It was just a matter of ranking." Lu Hao said at the side.
Lu Yao said with a smile: "I don't care about the ranking, as long as I can successfully pass the imperial examination and become an official in the court."
"You don't care, but others definitely do." Lu Xu said, "Don't forget that Han Yonghe is engaged to be married to our family, but if you really don't perform well in the imperial examination, you won't regret the marriage.
possible."
Lu Yao said in her heart that it was too late for me to be happy that they were going to break up the marriage. If not for his own image, Lu Yao would have rejected Han Yunyu's marriage a second time.
"Don't worry, dad, I know what's going on." Lu Yao still had plenty of confidence in the imperial examination.