China has experienced more than two thousand years of feudal society, of which the most deeply influenced by feudal ideas is the majority of women, at home from the father, married from the husband, husband from the son as the typical representative of the ethical guidelines often directly determine that women's life is dependent on other people, they have no way to control their own fate.
Women in feudal society not only have a low social status, but even their family status is not high, which can be seen in "Dream of the Red Chamber", one of the four famous works.
No matter how much Power Wang Xifeng could gain power, she also had to rely on Jia Lian's name to act outside, and although Lady Wang and Lady Xing were both in the main room, Jia Mu could only serve on the side when she ate.
Ping'er is only Jia Lian's housekeeper, and her main job is to serve Wang Xifeng, because she has not given birth to a son and a half daughter, and even the identity of an aunt has not yet been established, and Jia Lian and Wang Xifeng are not qualified to sit and eat together.
Such a situation was very common in the large families of feudal society at that time, but there were also people who were luckier than Ping'er, and a concubine named Lady Li stood at the dinner table for 24 years during the Republic of China, because her son Tan Yanmin was allowed to sit down and eat together because of her son Tan Yanmin's examination and the first.
A lowly concubine
In feudal society, it is very common for powerful men to have three wives and four concubines, but in fact, there can only be one wife in the main room, but the number of concubines is not fixed, as long as there is money in the family, men are willing, they can take concubines at will. From these two different verbs, it can be seen that there is an essential difference between wife and concubine.
If a concubine can give birth to a son and a half-daughter, she can also have hope and dependence, especially in the feudal society that favors sons and daughters, if a concubine can give birth to a son, if a concubine can give birth to a son, she can also rely on her son.
In addition to the difference between wives and concubines, brothers and sisters of the same father will also have the difference between concubines and concubines, and the children of concubines will enjoy better treatment than concubines.
Jia Baoyu in "Dream of the Red Chamber" is the dragon and phoenix of the Jia family, and the Jia Huan who is out of the Jia family is as annoying as a rat crossing the street, putting aside the problem of personal conduct, the difference between the concubines is also the biggest reason, even Jia Huan himself knows that because he is shu out, he is looked down upon, and the shrewd and capable Jia Tanchun is finally recognized as a righteous daughter by princess Nan'an because he is a shu out, and he is married to Haijiang and his relatives.
There are not many chances that concubines can survive, and it is not easy for concubines to get ahead, but it does not mean that it is completely impossible. Tan Yanmin, a famous perfect man in the Republic of China period, was Shu Chu, and her mother, Lady Li, was originally just a housewife, because she gave birth to a son before she was promoted to a concubine, but she was still not qualified to eat together at the table.
Lady Li is the title of Tan Yanmin's mother by later generations, because of her humble status, her name has not been recorded.
Mrs. Li has been a maid in a large family since childhood, when the owner of the house entertained Tan Zhonglin, but Mrs. Li accidentally spilled tea on Tan Zhonglin when serving tea, and was so frightened that she broke the tea set.
Feel free to give people away
It is not a big deal for a large family to break a tea cup, but if it is disrespectful in front of important guests, she will definitely be punished, and Mrs. Li immediately fell to her knees in fright, but the master did not bypass her intentions, she could only hide behind Tan Zhonglin.
Tan Zhonglin saw a weak woman hiding behind him, and he could not help but raise a desire to protect, coupled with Mrs. Li's beautiful eyebrows, Tan Zhonglin asked his master for this lady.
The feudal society's servants are like goods, they can be bought and sold, they can also be given away, and the main family is too late to tie Tan Zhonglin, so they directly gave Lady Li to Tan Zhonglin.
After arriving at the Tan family, Mrs. Li worked hard, afraid of being scolded, and Mother Tan took a fancy to this lady and put her next to her.
Tan Zhonglin often went to his mother's side to ask for peace, and had more contact with Lady Li, and later Tan Zhonglin wanted her to make a concubine for her son, although Tan Zhonglin already had a large number of wives and concubines, but there were not many heirs.
Because Mrs. Li was born as a maid, at first she could only be a housekeeper, and there was no change in her life, but she still had to work and serve the old lady.
Because Lady Li was beautiful and was also quite liked by Tan Zhonglin, she gave birth to a son, Tan Yanmin, who was a typical mother and son in feudal society, because she gave birth to a son, and Lady Li changed from a room maid to a concubine.
The concubine room can only be regarded as half a master, although there is no need to work, but still not qualified to sit at the table to eat, can only stand on the side to serve, just like Aunt Zhao in "Dream of the Red Chamber".
Mrs. Li's station was 24 years, until her son Tan Yanmin keju and the first. Tan Yanmin is the son of Shu Chu, plus his mother has no family status, and he has not been valued much since he was a child, but fortunately Tan Yanmin is very smart and very easy to learn.
In large households, although the children of Shu out are not as well treated as concubines, they still have the right to study, Tan Yanmin is accustomed to his mother's usual status at home, so he is angry and strong, and when he is 13 years old, he won Xiucai.
The last dignity of life
After Tan Yanmin won xiucai, he attracted the attention of his father Tan Zhonglin, who thought that he was a teachable material, so he cared a little more about him and had time to guide him to read.
When Tan Yanmin was 24 years old, he took the last imperial examination held in the Qing Dynasty, and when he was still a senior in high school, Tan Zhonglin was naturally overjoyed, and when he saw Mrs. Li standing next to him, he told her to sit down and eat together, and since then Mrs. Li has the qualifications to sit down and eat at the same table.
Tan Zhonglin embarked on the career path after winning the jinshi, the government of the late Qing Dynasty at that time had exposed many problems, and he advocated reform and innovation in his active thinking and broad vision, but his father was an old-fashioned conservative, Tan Yanmin was different from his father in political opinions, and he was also fundamentally different from his father in life.
Tan Yanmin, who came from a large family, was very opposed to three wives and four concubines, so after he married a wife, there was no concubine, that is, after the death of his wife, there was no continuation or concubine, he witnessed his mother's experience as a concubine since he was a child, and he felt unworthy for his mother, and did not want others to repeat the same mistakes.
Tan Yanmin also did a typical thing that violated feudal etiquette, after the death of his mother Lady Li, according to the other rules of his wife and concubine, he could only go out of the funeral. But Tan Yanmin didn't think so, and he shouted loudly: "Who dares to stop me"!
The young Tan Yanmin did not know how to resist, nor did he have the ability to resist, and now he was already a progressive person, so he wanted to give his mother the last dignity and let her coffin come out of the main entrance.
brief summary:
The oppression of women in ancient society was multifaceted, and it was the most typical in marriage. In the feudal society of blind marriage and dumb marriage, women can only obey the orders of their parents, the words of the matchmaker, the girls of large households can still make a main room, and the families of small households directly sell their daughters to large households as maids and concubines, and there is no family status at all.
If you can have a son, the family status will change slightly, and if you want to get decent, you also need your son to have a job.
Tan Yanmin's mother, as a concubine, stood at the dinner table for 24 years, and only after her son Keju and the first was allowed to sit down to eat together by her husband, Lady Li was finally able to keep the clouds open and see the moon. After Lady Li's death, Tan Yanmin broke all obstacles and let her mother's coffin come out of the main entrance, giving her the greatest glory in this life.