The primitive society before the establishment of the Xia-Shang-Zhou Dynasty was a matriarchal society, and the status of women at that time was higher than that of men. Women raise and have children at home, while men act as a breadwinner hunting nature.
From the stone civilization to the era of cold weapons, the dominance of men gradually increased. Tribes have a growing sense of their own status as active. Contradictions and wars began to arise between tribes, and feminist and patriarchal status began to alternate with each other. From the beginning of the Xia era, the patriarchal status was established. And, from this time on, women began to become the private property of men.
So, how humble has the status of women in history been?
And let me tell a few historical stories.
King Chu Kao Lie had no heirs, and Li Yuan, a guest of the Zhao Kingdom, sent his sister Li Yan to the Chunshen Junfu, and after conception, he was sent to the palace to be dedicated to King Kao Lie, and came a "surrogate birth".
There was no IVF in those days, so King Cauldron must have been given a green hat. Li Yan had no name in the Chu royal palace, and her status was equivalent to that of an obscene reproductive tool for those in power. Although she successively gave birth to two sons of King Chuyou of Chuyou, and was promoted to empress dowager after king Kaolie's death, her situation was still involuntary.
After king Chu Ai was killed, Li Yan was killed by her adopted son. "Concubines are not long, and they are concubines of the King of Chu with the weight of the king, and Wang Xin is a concubine." If a concubine depends on heaven and has a man, it is the son of the king who is also the king. This sentence was said by Li Yan to Chun Shenjun, and from here we can see how low the status of women in the pre-Qin period was, and they had a very clear understanding of the positioning of their fertility machines.
Also a woman who was a fertility tool for the powerful, Wei Zhao's mother was not so lucky. As the mother of a historian, she is not even qualified to leave a name in the annals of history, which makes people sigh.
The famous Northern Wei general Wei Zijian, not greedy for money but lustful, had dozens of concubines in his family, and his son Wei Zhao was born to one of the concubines. The name Wei Shuo may be unfamiliar to everyone, but when it comes to the most "obscene" "History of Wei" in the Twenty-Five Histories, this historical material is definitely more well-known than Wei Shuo, the author.
It can be said that Wei's literary style is the lightest of all the historical officials, and originally in the era when he lived, such a literary style was not welcome, and the Northern Qi emperor Gao Yang liked this tone, and praised: "Good straight writing, I will not be a Wei Taiwu historical official in the end." "In the historical materials of the same period, we simply cannot find a text about Wei's mother, and even the record of Wei's death as a birth mother's old-age pension is not mentioned. I think Wei Hui is no different from the ancient Shu shu shu zi.
They always stood up in front of the public, for fear that others would know that their mother was a reproductive tool raised by the powerful in the family. As a historian, I didn't even have the courage to make a biography for my mother, which was definitely the sadness of the times.
The "Qi Dongye Language" also records such a file that Chen Lianggui and Pan Yiweng, a famous scholar of the Southern Song Dynasty, were half-brothers. Yes, you read that right, the brothers born in a feudal patriarchal society were half-siblings rather than half-siblings. The biological mother of the two brothers was earlier a concubine raised by Chen Lianggui's father in the family.
Their fathers were both important courtiers in the court and had a good relationship. Pan Yiweng's father, who has no children under his knees, is very envious of the scene of the Chen family's children and grandchildren wrapped around his knees. Seeing that his friend had been married for a long time and had no children, Father Chen "generously" lent the concubine who was the best at procreation in the family to Father Pan. Not long after this woman was sent to Pan Province, she gave birth to Pan's father.
At that time, women were often private goods that patriarchs could not share, so the practices of Father Pan and Father Chen were discussed and condemned by the people of the time. This condemnation is not because the concubines are not regarded as unworthy, but only because the two have violated traditional etiquette. Decades later, both Pan Yiweng and Chen Lianggui grew into dignitaries, and their mother became the common mother of the two families, respected and filial piety from their two sons.
Anecdotal rumors spread throughout this passage, saying: "Pan Yiweng and Chen Lianggui are both filial and obedient sages. ”
When I first read this story, I couldn't help but feel unfair to this nameless woman. It was unfortunate to be pushed around like a slave by the magnates, and after giving birth to two celebrities, it was still impossible to "mother and son", and in the historical data, there was no qualification to leave a name, and it was only called "Weng Mu" perfunctory.
If you think about it, even if such a woman leaves a name, it is mostly "so-and-so". Is she a concubine of Father Pan or a concubine of Father Chen? Should I call her Pan or Chen? Most of these problems are even headaches for historians, so they simply replace them with "Weng Mu" or "Liang Gui Mother".
In fact, there are some elements in this story that are extremely frightening.
Since ancient times, China has practiced filial piety, and filial piety to the mother is a natural thing. Pan Yiweng and Chen Lianggui are the sons of nameless concubines, what is strange about their filial piety to their mother, why should it be rumored as a good story? Couldn't it be that people at that time were generally unfilial? Obviously, this is not the case, but most sons will not be filial to their mothers.
When we read historical materials, we often see that many celebrities' mothers are unknown. Most of these women's fates are traceable, they are all at the mercy of others, living in the pit of fire. No matter what these women experienced before they were born, they were not even qualified to be recorded in the historical records. The ritual law in a patriarchal society does not include these women as machines of sexual catharsis or fertility.
Until the end of the Qing Dynasty, foreign powers were eyeing the Qing government, foreign ideas began to pour in, and the idea of democracy gradually sprouted at this moment, and the status of women at this time was unprecedentedly improved. Today, this kind of ugliness has left us, and women will never experience the tragic life of the heroine in the above story again.
Resources:
"The Evolution of Matrilineal Society to Patriarchal Society", "The Status of Women in Ancient China"]