In ancient feudal society, there was a strict hierarchy, and there was a huge difference between master and servant. Slaves are born lowly, and are called by their masters to wield. There is one thing that has always been puzzling: whenever the master and his wife fall asleep, the maid must wait by the bedside, not from a distance. What is the purpose? Isn't it embarrassing? Perhaps there is a past behind it, which is worth asking.
1. The origin and evolution of the ancient slavery system
Dynasties change, the situation changes, and the slavery system follows like a shadow, like a bloodline that has lasted for thousands of years. Tracing back to its origins, the slave system can be traced back to the Xia and Shang periods. Back then, there was a good story in the government and the opposition.
It is said that during the Shang Dynasty, there was a nobleman named Yan who married a talented and virtuous wife. One day, he married a concubine, who was jealous and accused her of having an affair with a servant. Enraged, he imprisoned his wife. When he was traveling, the wind was stormy, and his wife was trapped in the prison cell, almost dying of thirst. Fortunately, there was a virtuous minister who rescued him in time, and he knew that his wife was innocent and flawless, and he escaped death, and he was grateful.
In order to commemorate this opportunity, he set up a system of "servants" at home, stipulating that wives and concubines must be accompanied by attendants when entering and leaving to avoid being framed. From then on, the power to control the slaves was held by the male master, symbolizing the establishment of masculinity. Slaves serve their masters, not only to examine the conduct of wives and concubines, but also to prevent wives and concubines from rebelling.
This system gradually spread from the Shang Dynasty to the Zhou, Qin, and Han dynasties, and continued to later generations. Although the status of slaves changed slightly in different dynasties, on the whole, they were still at the bottom of society. Most of the slaves came from poor backgrounds and suffered all kinds of life. Some were left behind by war and taken into slavery; Some were sold for sin; Some are born in the blood of slaves.
Regardless of the path they came from, the slave was destined to have a bad fate in his life. They are treated as private property and subjected to all kinds of abuse. The master is free to dispose of the lives of his slaves, to buy, sell, beat, and give them away. Even if a slave serves diligently, he cannot escape the fate of being subject to others all his life.
While the slave system was inherited from the Central Plains Dynasty, different forms were also born in other regions. For example, the nomads in the north, despite the strict family and tribal system, also have the phenomenon of slave trading. What's more, the royal families of some countries even encouraged human trafficking to satisfy the nobility's demand for slaves. This is tantamount to legitimizing the criminal act of trafficking in human beings.
In all dynasties, the slave system has been implemented consistently, which makes people sigh. It was not until the Ming and Qing dynasties that the slave system was loosened with the change of social trends......
2. Why do you need to have servants in your private room?
Throughout history, why should there always be servants and servants in the private rooms of husband and wife? In the final analysis, it all stems from the rich connotation of ancient society.
As the saying goes: "There are no more than three generations of rich, and no more than three generations of poor." This proverb expresses the cruel reality of feudal society back then. Due to the strict social hierarchy, there is a world of difference between the status of nobles and commoners, masters and slaves. As the master's side, he is afraid that power will change hands overnight, so he is cautious and cautious everywhere.
Among them, the most important thing is the private room. The private room is not only about the reputation of the portal, but also the foundation of the noble bloodline. Once there is a mistake, it will be ridiculed at best, and the incense will be cut off. Therefore, we have to take strict precautions.
And the social environment of that year contributed to the breeding of this desire to prevent problems before they happen. Scholars are often meritocracy, fledgling, and are quite popular on weekdays. However, once it is on the desk of the noble, those selfish desires hidden in the heart will burst out. Although some have endured hardships for many years and are role models everywhere, they do not know that after they get power, they act arrogantly and arrogantly, and they also do many evils in their families, and they often whip their wives and concubines.
The nobles are like this, and the people below are even more unimaginable. There is often a little thing in the family, and it will be so troublesome, and the wives and concubines will turn against each other. If you allow such a family ugliness to be publicized, not to mention the damage to your reputation, I am afraid that you will be severely punished by the master.
It is precisely because of this that the nobles will be on the verge of the abyss, and pay special attention to the behavior and words of their wives and concubines, for fear of being slandered. The best solution is to send slaves to guard the private room at all times, monitor the wives and concubines, and cut off future troubles.
Such an act will naturally arouse some criticism. Some people often ask: Since you are so jealous, why not simply choose a good wife and concubine? Wouldn't it be the best of both worlds?
However, the idea of the ancients was: even if they chose the good wives and concubines of the world, it was difficult to ensure that they would always be innocent and noble. As long as there is power in the hand, the opportunity to be seduced by arrogance and lasciviousness will always exist. It is better to personally monitor and guard to prevent future troubles.
This is undoubtedly a great insult to the personality of the wife and concubine, but in the social environment of the time, it was regarded as the most effective means. In addition, the nobles have a layer of concern, that is, they are afraid that their wives and concubines will be slandered and framed and they do not know it.
Our generation and present should appreciate the social status quo of the past. Once the wife and concubine are framed and the fish in the pond are harmed, the family will suffer. Therefore, we had to take precautions, although the approach was biased, but at that time, I was forced to be helpless.
From this layer of analysis, we can see that the social environment of that year was the main cause of slaves waiting for the couple's private room. On the surface, although the masters are prisoners and dictators, in the final analysis, they are only to defend the gate valve family and never let their reputation be damaged. In this way, we can also get a glimpse of how deeply the aristocracy attaches importance to the family.
3. A different life and a different fate
Passing by in a hurry, often only see the strictness of the master and servant class, but few people pay attention to the slaves with different backgrounds, isn't it also their own cause and effect?
How easy is it to say? Let's listen to an old story about the lack of clouds, and talk about the past and present lives of those who are prisoners of sin and those who are poor.
Since ancient times, there has been an increase in punishment if there is forgiveness. When the emperor celebrates with the whole country, he often pardons a group of prisoners as a sign of benevolence. However, most of these people are in prison for rebellion, fleeing, murder, and robbing homes. Even their families were reduced to slavery.
Among them, there is a village named Wei Shengzhi. Wei Sheng was diligent and studious, and he was bent on getting ahead by relying on the imperial examination. Who knew that once he went astray, got involved in a big case, and was imprisoned. It wasn't until a few years later that the emperor pardoned him and released him, and the family became slaves.
At the time of tossing and turning, fortunately in misfortune, the Wei family was taken in by Taishou and accepted as domestic slaves. There was no virtuous eunuch in the family, so Wei Sheng was specially assigned to the master's bedroom to serve and live. Although she is just a maid, she has turned over and is not worried about the end of her life.
During the same period, Ye Yunlong, a poor scholar, also had a different experience. Ye Sheng has been brilliant since he was a child, and his family is poor and unable to study, so he once wept. Fortunately, he was gifted and intelligent, and was appreciated by the nobles, so he was accepted as a domestic servant. Because Ye Sheng was only eight years old, the master specially provided him to the young lady to wait, and he cherished it very much.
Ye Sheng's fate opened up a glimmer of life. It was from that time that he gradually became obsessed with the only daughter of his master's graceful manners. Every time I look at myself, I lose my mind.
Unexpectedly, fate is always unpredictable. One day, the young lady was bathing and changing clothes, and accidentally slipped, Ye Sheng hurriedly supported her when she saw this, but she was seen from the side, pointing out that she was lucky. Since then, the head of the family has been furious, and he has been questioned several times, and finally sold Ye Shengfa to another country.
They are both slaves, but their fates are different after all. Compared with Wei Sheng's stay in the main house, Ye Yunlong's experience was even more bumpy. Don't you know that Ye Sheng's background is prominent? If you are in another family, you may be able to step on the identity of the maid in the house and rise step by step.
In fact, in ancient times, there were many children from poor families who defected to wealthy families to become maids in the house, and finally took the lead and turned over as concubines of the master's family.
Famous ones include Gan Yanshou of the Han Dynasty and Wang Xifeng of the Ming Dynasty. Some of them were born in poor families, and some were born in scholarly families, but in the end, they all embarked on the road of no return from slaves and maids to talents.
Gan Yanshou was born poor, but fortunately he was able to read a wide range of books because of the rare books collected by others, and was finally accepted as a slave by the crown prince Li Xian. Because of his outstanding talent, he was favored and even became the little teacher of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. His son Yannian later became a high position, with a group of wives and concubines. And Wang Xifeng was recognized as a maid in the house since he was a child, and eventually became the favorite concubine of Emperor Jiajing.
It follows that even among the slaves, there were different hierarchies. Throughout the ages, the maid can be said to be the most favored and high-powered. However, this also shows that they are more difficult. If you want to become a powerful person, you must first go through the difficult time of being a slave......
Fourth, the tragic fate of being overridden by violence and power
Slaves, though of humble status, are not something that everyone can take from them. However, in the social environment of the time, they were often ruthlessly abused and abused.
There was once an official, in order to ensure the chastity of his wife, he beat all the concubines to serious injuries, and their flesh and blood were blurred. And between the government and the opposition, there are endless scandals of masters beating and scolding their servants.
Every time I think back to the tragic situation of being controlled by chains and being whipped hard, it is really shocking. The mistreatment of some slaves was even more appalling.
Back then, there was a Tong'an Taishou Pan Shaorong, although he was honest and kind, he loved his concubine and became ill, and he was jealous. Just because he doubted the chastity of the concubine once, he beat her to death. It's embarrassing afterwards, but there's nothing to be done. After all, the power of the master is so monstrous, and the fate of the slave is so pathetic.
In addition to direct violence, there are also masters who kill slaves. Those masterless slaves have been reduced to the fate of being bought and resold at will.
One year, when there was a great drought and famine, a noble family had no food to eat, and they sold all their slaves. What's more, some lords even sold their unborn concubines to dealers, just to get by.
It is indeed terrifying to see these tragic scenes. However, in that era when power was supreme and no one could help, the slaves had to endure everything in silence. Perhaps, they have long been accustomed to it, right?
Not only the main family, but even the imperial court cannot escape the blame. At that time, there was a minister who was assigned to the frontier because he made a mistake, but because he was accused of being a benefactor, the court could not bear to behead him, so he directly confiscated all his family members to the army. Such practices are tantamount to treating civilians as animals!
As we have already seen, some slaves were reduced to slavery because of their crimes. The most tragic thing is that these people were originally ordinary people, but because of a momentary misstep, they were reduced to the level of slaves. What sin can they have? However, it was so ill-fated.
There are even some slaves who are destined to be humble and suffer all their lives from the day they are born. These people are often born in a long-term slave lineage, rooted in the world, and destined to die a lifetime.
Since childhood, they have to serve the master's family, work hard, and live worse than slaves. The slightest negligence can cause even young children to endure merciless whipping and beatings. There is even a terrible encounter of the master's family forcibly selling slave children to Qinglou as prostitutes, regardless of their young age.
Such crazy acts, thousands of years later, seem outrageous. At the time, however, it was a very common scene. As a result, many poor people had to confine their young children at home, so as not to be taken into slavery by the nobles.
Alas, alas, in the end, such actions could not stop the greedy eyes of the traffickers and the powerful. There are still many children who have been deceived by traffickers and become slaves. Since then, these children have never seen the light of day again, and they have lived a life even more miserable than that of slaves......
5. There is a distinction between master and servant, and there is a clear distinction between reward and punishment
Although the slaves were of humble status and were abused and mad, the master's family was not all tortured. In some enlightened and powerful families, the status of a servant was courteous and valued.
Taking the family of the Tang Dynasty minister Pei Du as an example, Pei Gong had great respect for his family and servants. Every year during the winter solstice, Pei Gong will wear a simple court dress, bow to every slave in the family humbly and politely, and sincerely serve them personally.
This act of humility touched the slaves deeply, and they served more diligently, complementing each other. The reason why Pei Gong is like this is to uphold the concept of "born in sorrow and die in peace". He knows very well that a person's fate depends entirely on the harmony of the master and servant in the family.
On the other hand, why would the good end of the main family humiliate his identity so much? In fact, Pei Gong knew very well that if the servants deviated from morality, I am afraid that the foundation of the family would be crumbling and everything would be difficult to achieve.
Therefore, he will deliberately appease him, hoping to win the loyalty of his slaves, and the Pei family will finally be prosperous for generations. It can be seen that the master's family respects the servants, and it is not all hypocritical entertainment.
In addition to Pei Gong, there are many other masters who also value their own servants. Not only do they bestow generous summons, but they never personally whip them on for corporal punishment.
In the Han Dynasty, there was the famous Jingzhao Yin Weijia family, and the slaves in the family were all rich and wealthy. The Wei family believed that excessive oppression of slaves would inevitably crush the foundation of the family, so they would rather give up their wealth than pay more attention to the living conditions of domestic slaves.
Not only that, the Wei family also built a "subordinate servant shrine" as a place of worship for the servants, and they must be respectfully sacrificed every festival, as if they were treating their own clansmen. It can be seen that there were indeed many masters who regarded their servants as their own.
Conversely, the servants were not all in fear of the master's rewards and punishments. Some slaves have developed the vice of arrogance and lasciviousness because the master's family has treated them too well.
As the saying goes, "if you don't fight, you can't get a weapon", some masters have to severely punish this situation. For example, in the Tang Dynasty, there was a high-ranking official Zhu Wendu, who had a maid ring in his family, who was extravagant and was exposed to having an affair.
Zhu Wendu was furious, and immediately whipped this girl. It is only for punishment, and there is no suspicion of abuse. Although it may seem harsh, it is also the only way to maintain the family rules.
In addition, there are also some masters who attach great importance to the talents and origins of their slaves. Generally speaking, the master's family will try to avoid arranging slaves from scholarly families to do menial work like hard work. They are more inclined to train these literate slaves so that they can become high-ranking servants such as stewards in the future.
On the other hand, if they are slaves of humble origin, dull and ignorant, the master will naturally send them to the heavy work of farming, hunting, and farming. Sometimes he even had to act as the lowest-level slave in the house.
It can be seen that although the society had a strict hierarchy of slaves, there were also high and low. Even lowly servants who are regarded as cattle are gifted with great talents, and the Lord will pay attention to nurturing them so that they can be found useful in the future.
As for those inferior servants with mediocre qualifications and ignorance, they cannot be taken for granted. This is a microcosm of the master-servant system of those days. Even if it is cruel, it has its internal logic and clear hierarchical division......