Chinese women have a fine tradition and cultural character of gentleness and generosity, hard-working, thrifty family management, and deep understanding of righteousness, which is inextricably linked to the traditional women's education from generation to generation. From the mother of the nation to the commoner woman, there is a tradition in this regard. In particular, most of the founding empresses in Chinese history are more intelligent, so why is this?
1. Ancient Women's Education
1. Slim and family
"Self-cultivation, family unity, governance of the country, and peace in the world" is an important idea propagated by ancient Chinese society. Qi Jia is an important link in achieving the ultimate goal and is indispensable. Women play an important role in the family, so it is necessary to educate and indoctrinate women in order to play their role in the family.
Unlike men, women in ancient China could not enter schools to receive education, but it is not very true to think that there was a lack of women's education in ancient China, or that the characteristics of ancient women's education were not prominent. In ancient China, in order to realize the grand vision of "peace in the world", it was first necessary to "Qi family", and the idea of home-country isomorphism was serious. The ancient Chinese society was a patriarchal society, in which the family clan was the top priority, so ethics was supreme and emphasis was on "male superiority and female inferiority".
Women are in an subordinate position and can only hope for men, and they are more constrained and demanding. The judging criteria for "a good girl" follow the ideas of "three from four virtues", "no talent is virtue", "loss of discipline is great", etc. Before a woman gets married, she does things for her parents and brothers in the family, and after she gets married, she does things for her aunt and husband. The godson of the husband and the filial piety first are almost the whole of their lives.
2. The righteousness of the family and the country
Since the Song Dynasty, Han orthodoxy has always been in a state of decline under the intimidation of ethnic minorities, the Ming Generation first had the Northern Yuan Mongols, then the Later Jin Jurchen, the change of Tumubao once almost overthrew the country, and in the Confucian ethical system, Huayi and Concubine also belonged to the concentric circle system of the Three Principles of "Kings, Sons, And Wives", so since the Song Dynasty, male scholars have always had a tendency to weaken, and the argument of women saving the country has gradually emerged, and the new expectation of "the great righteousness of the family country" in the female view has a rich soil for generation when the Ming Dynasty came.
Under the ethical concept of "home-country isomorphism", the extension of "inside and outside" in "internal and external differences" is expanded and extended, so that the country is regarded as home, and although women participating in social activities are "outside the home", "outside the home" is still "domestic", and women are still "idle within the country".
However, with the expansion of the extension of "internal and external differences", the corresponding female moral requirements have also expanded, so the female moral requirements of "women in internal leisure who are loyal to their husbands" have been sublimated into a new type of expectation that "women participating in social activities should always know the righteousness of the family and the country, and be loyal to the king and serve the country". Only under such expectations can women not disrupt the traditional social normative order, or even better maintain the social ethical order, and set an example for men.
2. The empress dowager system shows the empress dowager
1. Definition of a queen concubine
Concubines generally refer to the emperor's wives and concubines, mothers, is a noble class with a special status and status in ancient Chinese society, of which the empress, empress, noble concubines, concubines, etc., the status is particularly noble, relying on imperial power to enjoy all the rich and noble favors, and to a certain extent has a major impact on politics.
The empress dowagers had a special blood relationship with the emperor, were the emperor's family dependents, and their status was noble, and at the same time, they were also the emperor's slaves, obeying the emperor's orders, not daring to disobey the emperor's will, and the rise and fall of honor and disgrace was tied to the emperor alone. The original meaning of the word "hou" was king, and there was no substantive distinction between king and queen, and both were a title for monarchs.
Before the Western Zhou Dynasty, the xia and shang dynasties' supreme rulers, the xia and shang kings, were once revered as "hou". After the Western Zhou Dynasty, the monarch was called "King", the monarch's wife was called "Hou", and the monarchic meaning of "Hou" disappeared from then on, specifically referring to the spouse of the Son of Heaven. In 221 BC, after the qin state destroyed the Six Kingdoms, the Qin king Yingzheng established the Qin Dynasty, began to use the emperor's honorific title, and called himself the first emperor, and the queen also rose to the empress.
After the Qin Dynasty, the emperor and the queen were both honored, and the emperor and the queen represented the supreme status of men and women in feudal society, and the emperor and empress became the supreme ruler of the feudal dynasty and the honorific title of his wife. Qin Shi Huang's harem had a large number of concubines, the Han Dynasty Qin system, the harem had a certain number of concubines, after which the number of imperial concubines was large, and the names of concubines were constantly improved.
2. Concubine system
The harem system is an important part of the feudal autocratic system, originated in the Western Zhou Dynasty, has been inherited and continuously improved through the dynasties, and the number of concubines in the harem of the monarchs of previous dynasties is large.
The female official system was an integral part of the feudal autocracy, and there were a certain number of female officials in the harem who were served by women, and female officials were responsible for managing and serving the harem concubines and palace women. The long-term existence and continuation of the feudal autocratic system determined that the concubines in the center of power could not stay out of politics, and the concubines repeatedly appeared in politics, which was consistent with the history of the feudal dynasty. On the one hand, the monarch vigorously strengthened the centralization of power, excluded the concubines from the political power, formulated a system, and took measures to strictly prohibit the concubines from interfering in politics.
On the other hand, due to the emperor's authorization of the concubines to participate in the politics of the dynasty, the political qualities of the concubines themselves, the young age of the emperor, the emperor's childlessness, etc., the concubines were either passive or active, more or less continuously involved in politics, and inevitably had an impact on politics, and these influences were either large or small, positive or negative.
The empress dowager either indirectly interfered in the government or directly. Indirect interference in imperial politics refers to the fact that the empress dowager influences the central decision-making through various ways to the emperor, and then affects politics. Direct interference in the government of the dynasty means that the empress dowager directly holds the power of the imperial government, that is, the empress dowager listens to the government or obeys the government, and the order of the empress dowager replaces the emperor's order, and the emperor becomes a puppet. In ancient Chinese history, the empress dowager continued to appear in the court to listen to the government.
From Empress Xuan of the Qin State in the Warring States period to Empress Dowager Cixi in the late Qing Dynasty, there were more than twenty concubines who listened to the government in the Linchao Dynasty, and the Government of the Linchao Dynasty was even institutionalized and rationalized. The ruling female rulers were noble and had a profound impact on politics.
The empress dowager's interference in politics was regarded by the rulers as a "female scourge", which was an unequal oppression and discrimination against women's political status and rights. Whether male rulers are in power or female rulers are in power, they are essentially exercising absolutist imperial power, including many faint male monarchs and outstanding female politicians. The intervention of the empress dowager is a supplement and strengthening of the feudal imperial power, which is conducive to the inheritance of the imperial throne and the stability of the political system.
Although in history there are many concubines who lack political ability and dictatorship and chaos in government, which have brought great negative influences to politics, there are also many concubines with political talents who have made great contributions to the country, and their political merits should be affirmed.
Third, the wise benefit from good education
1. Empress Bigfoot, Empress Xu, Empress Xiaozhuang
Some of the concubines in the Ming and Qing dynasties have a good education, have certain political talents, are concerned about the state affairs and the people's livelihood, and can often put forward some unique views on major affairs of the government, which in turn has a greater or lesser impact on the development of the political situation.
Empress Ma often gave her own opinions on the government of the dynasty, and Taizu accepted her opinions with satisfaction and sincerity. Empress Ma's own political qualities and talents were an important reason why she was able to interfere in the politics of the dynasty. When Empress Xu of Ming Chengzu was young, she had a quiet temperament and a love of reading, and was known as a female student.
Emperor Mingmuzong's Concubine Li Guifei was strict by nature, politically discerning, and capable of making decisions. She was familiar with the history of reading, and she could absorb the lessons of the past of the court in history during the Longqing period, and she not only cared about national politics, but also carefully cultivated the crown prince Zhu Yijun. Zhu Yijun was raised by Li's loving mother since birth, a mother with unique insight and strict teachings.
At the beginning of her son's understanding, she personally disciplined him to study hard, write and recite, encourage him to be exhilarating, and tried her best to snatch him out of the century-old corruption of the Zhu Ming royal family, and to urge him not to repeat the mistakes of other fallen emperors.
Empress Xiaozhuang was a well-read, intelligent and astute, deeply influenced by Manchu and Mongolian culture, with high political talent, and was an outstanding female politician. Empress Xiaozhuang was not only familiar with government affairs, but was very familiar with it. "After three dynasties (Mandate of Heaven, Tiancong, and Chongde) and nearly 20 years of harem life in the three dynasties, Xiaozhuang witnessed major state events since the end of the Mandate of Heaven and the power struggle that occurred within the highest ruling layer of the Later Jin Dynasty, which was of great benefit to her to increase her insight and analytical ability.
Because of this special environment, Xiaozhuang has been interested in politics since she was a teenager and cares about state affairs. In the succession crisis after the death of Emperor Taiji, she advocated the succession of her son Fu Lin, and then adopted a decisive strategy, exerting her ingenuity and personal political skills, taking advantage of the fierce contradictions between Dorgon and Hauge and the strong support of the two yellow flag ministers, and finally made her only son Fu Lin ascend to the throne.
After that, Empress Xiaozhuang carefully cultivated and taught the young Shunzhi Emperor and the Kangxi Emperor to grow into great emperors. She used her political position and influence to indirectly control the overall political situation and made great contributions to the political development of the early years of the Qing Dynasty.
2. Both inside and outside
The idea of gender attribution of "male outside and female inside" is an important concept in ancient China, which is deeply rooted and still has an impact today. However, from the beginning of the feudal dynasty to the Tang and Song dynasties, women were not trapped in the boudoir and were not allowed to contact foreign affairs. In real life, they are allowed to participate in political activities, propose the use of soldiers, manage family affairs, and receive foreign guests.
Of course, all of the above are rights that are enjoyed on the basis of the fulfillment of the duties of the woman. One of the "Three Mothers of the Zhou Chamber", "Tai Jiang", "Zhen Shun Leads, Jing Is Faulty." If the king conspires to migrate, he will marry The Ginger." She was chaste and gentle, teaching her son without the slightest fault. In addition, he also provides help to the husband in the field of state affairs. The Confucian values of benevolence, righteousness, etiquette, wisdom, and faith in the Han Dynasty also penetrated deeply into the female group.
Among the mothers, there are those who understand the great righteousness, and "Chu Zi Fa Mu" reprimands her son for being arrogant and selfish and does not know how to use soldiers; "Wei Mang's loving mother", as a stepmother, treats her husband's ex-wife's son with generosity and compassion, and sincerely inspires the family to be harmonious. "Jingshi Festival Girl", "Wei Jie Nursing Mother", "Zhou Lord's Loyal Concubine", and "Zhu Ya Eryi" are all tall female figures who emphasize great righteousness, great festival, bravery, and are not afraid of sacrifice.
epilogue:
Ancient women's education has its own unique features, and at the same time reflects some trends in the education and life of ancient women in China, which is worth analyzing by future generations. The ideas of hard work, bravery and love advocated are the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation and should continue to be inherited.
Ancient empresses and even commoner women had their own talents and psychological characteristics. They are more than emotional but irrational, delicate, gentle and generous, and have a unique advantage over men in raising offspring, maintaining family harmony and handling neighborhood relations. Women in traditional societies are imprisoned and discouraged, oppressed and tormented.
bibliography:
The Legend of the Ancient Lady
"Female Fan"
Supplement to the Biography of the Daughters of Lie