Pregnant in October, she gave birth. One day in the eleventh year of Qing Daoguang, in haiyang county in the south of the Jiaodong Peninsula (now fengcheng subdistrict of Haiyang city), a woman with the surname Gao was about to be in the basin.
At that time, probably like many costume dramas, Gao's husband Sun Hong first invited a midwife, and then stood anxiously outside the house waiting. After a while, there was a burst of baby cries in the house, and the midwife immediately pushed the door out and said hello to Sun Hong.
After reading the description above, I don't seem to feel anything special. But if you know the specific content of the "good news", I believe most friends will sigh - it turns out that Gao's fetus has given birth to three sons.
(▲The big archway of Haiyang Fengcheng)
According to today's market logic, giving birth to three sons in one child means that three sets of buildings will be prepared in the future, which may not be "too good" news for ordinary parents. However, in ancient times, when the level of productivity was relatively backward and the expectations of life were relatively low, the concept of having more children and more blessings was the mainstream. Therefore, when Sun Hong learned this news, he should be very happy.
It is not only Sun Hong's family who are happy about this, but also the official government of Haiyang County. You know, at that time, a child with multiple children and a hundred years of longevity were regarded as auspicious things, and they needed to be recorded and reported. For the local government, Xiangrui appeared in his jurisdiction, and he also felt that there was light on his face. As a result, the fact that Sun Hong's wife Gao Shi gave birth to three sons in one child was quickly written into official documents and reported layer by layer.
The people are the foundation of the country. In order to encourage the breeding of people, the Ming and Qing dynasties set up many incentive policies for "multiple births", and a large number of examples can be found in historical materials. For example, during the Ming Hongwu period, when Leopard Tao's wife Zhou Shi gave birth to three men, the imperial court ordered that 12,000 yuan be given to the nursing mother to raise him.
In the Qing Dynasty, the rewards for "multiple births" and "long-lived old people" belonged to the authority of the Ministry of Rites. The situation reported by the local government was reviewed by the Ministry of Etiquette and then asked the emperor for approval. Among them, for families that "give birth to three sons in one child", it is usually rewarded with five stones of rice and ten pieces of cloth. Over time, the matter became a precedent, and the emperor generally only gave the following instructions on the fold: "Got it." (It is recorded in the Qianlong Emperor's "Eighty-Year-Old Longevity Ceremony")
In this example of Haiyang County during the Daoguang years, Sun Hong's family was later rewarded with "five stones of rice and ten horses of cloth", which is clearly recorded in the Guangxu edition of the Haiyang County Chronicle.
Strictly speaking, this award was awarded by the Ministry of Rites on behalf of the imperial court, and should be allocated by the central finance. But in practice, perhaps to avoid trouble, it is usually to take the way of "sitting on the ground". That is, the center does not directly allocate in-kind rewards, but converts them into silver and is included in the fiscal revenue of the state and county to which it belongs.
According to the price at that time, these "five stones of rice and ten pieces of cloth" were finally converted into "ten pieces of silver" and distributed to Sun Hong's family by Haiyang County.
Considering the income level of the Daoguang year (the Mingmian Fenglu of Qipinzhi County is only a few dozen taels a year), the reward of these ten silver is not less.
From the eleventh year of Daoguang (1831) to the present, the past 190 years are not too long. And the place where Sun Hong's family lives is relatively clear, that is, Haiyang County (Fengcheng). Coupled with the fact that it is a "triplet son" this kind of thing is relatively sensational, perhaps the local folk will have a corresponding story to pass down, I don't know if Fengcheng's friends have heard of it.
It is worth mentioning that this matter is not only recorded in the "Haiyang County Chronicle", but also mentioned in the "Draft History of the Qing Dynasty". The latter said: "(Daoguang)
Eleven years seven
In January, Laiyang County's Minsun Hong's wife gave birth to three sons. ”
Compared with the two, the time and the name of the protagonist are the same, but the location is different. Considering that the Guangxu edition of the Haiyang County Chronicle is written in the front and is more detailed (involving financial expenditures, it should be relatively rigorous), this is most likely a mistake in the Qing History Draft.
(Author: Ear Left Moon)