In ancient times, there were four beautiful women, and there were also four talented women. Refers to Cai Wenji, Li Qingzhao, Shangguan Wan'er, Zhuo Wenjun and Ban Zhao, respectively. Seeing this will make you very puzzled, why are there "five people" in the "Big Four"?
Among them, this Ban Zhao has been controversial in the history of literature. As China's first female historian, the first talented woman at that time, Ban Zhao wrote a book that made Chinese women misunderstand the 2000 year, which is really staggering, which is why her evaluation has always been controversial.
Ban Zhao, born around 45 AD, she grew up reading poetry and books, born of water spirit and intelligence, everyone loves her very much. Her brother and father were not small, they were famous historians at that time, older brother Bangu, father Ban Biao.
At the age of 14, Ban Zhao married a fellow villager, Cao Shishu. Uncle Cao Shi is lively and outgoing, Ban Zhao is gentle and intelligent, and the husband and wife talk about the past and the present, which is really an enviable couple. However, the world is unpredictable, her husband died early, Ban Zhao did not remarry, she obeyed the rules of women, and showed good integrity. For a time, the neighbors in the township asked their daughters to learn women's taoism from her.
Ban Zhao's brother Ban Gu was implicated and died in prison because he had offended the courtiers, and Ban Gu had not yet completed the Book of Han. Fortunately, ban zhao participated in the writing of the "Book of Han" with her brother, so she continued to write the "Book of Han".
Ban Zhao's talent shocked the government and the public, and the Han and emperors Liu Zhao and the empress dowager at that time both appreciated her very much, and Empress Deng even allowed Ban Zhao to participate in political affairs, often asking for her opinion, treating Ban Zhao as a teacher, calling Ban Zhao "everyone" (gū). It can be seen that ban zhao's status was high at that time.
In the twelfth year (100) of the Han And Emperor Yongyuan, Ban Zhao's brother Ban Chao lived in a remote place for a long time, and Ban Chao, who was in his 70s, missed his homeland very much and wrote to request to return to China. At first, the emperor did not allow it, at this time Ban Zhao immediately wrote to the emperor.
"When my brother Ban Chao first came out of the plug, he was determined to sacrifice his life for the country, and Ban Chao worked hard in a foreign country with his own strength, and more than 30 years have passed. Now Ban Chao is 70 years old, frail and sick, and wants to do his best to repay the country but is unable to do so. The ancients 15 joined the army and returned to their hometowns 60, while Ban Chao has been fully engaged in the side of the guard and has not rested. Therefore, I risked my life to ask His Majesty to let Ban Chao return to China and die on his homeland. ”
After reading the recital, He Di was very moved and immediately asked Ban Chao to return to his hometown. When Ban Zhao, who was more than 70 years old, died, Empress Deng even wore plain clothes to mourn her, and specially sent emissaries to supervise Ban Zhao's funeral.
As a woman, it was admirable to have such a high status and talent at that time. At this time, there were women in the family who had reached the age of marriage, and Ban Zhao hoped that they would abide by the women's way and honor the elders in the in-laws' house. So in his spare time, he wrote a book - the "Female Commandment" that poisoned the ancient women of our country in 2000.
In the "Female Commandment", it is proposed that women should have the "three subordinate ways" and "the four virtues", which is what we call "three from four virtues" today. It also emphasizes the idea of male superiority over female inferiority, believing that women should consider themselves to be humble from their own minds, and that women should work hard at home, do housework, and serve their husbands.
Today we say that "a woman without talent is virtuous" also comes from Ban Zhao's concept, as long as a woman stays at home, she does not need to be talented. This sentence was actually said by Ban Zhao, the "first talented woman" at that time, which was surprising.
As soon as this book came out, the first person to object was Ban Zhao's husband's sister Cao Fengsheng. She is also a very talented woman, and she was shocked to see her sister-in-law write such a book, and it is not difficult to see from here that Cao Fengsheng is a woman with advanced ideas.
At that time, women used this book as a benchmark to restrict their own behavior, and the book "The Female Commandment" greatly imprisoned women's free thoughts and influenced Chinese history for more than 2,000 years. Even to this day, there are still people who use the "three from four virtues" to demand wives, which is a tragedy.