Ban Zhao is a well-known outstanding woman in Chinese history, she has been familiar with Confucian classics and history books since she was a child, and when she grew up, she mastered a wealth of knowledge of astronomy, history, geography and other knowledge, and was one of the four talented women in ancient times.
Her erudition and exemplary words and deeds were praised by the world, and three of the most enjoyable things in her life were the continuation of the Book of Han, the teaching of concubines, and the writing of the Female Commandment.
Ban Gu, the character Meng Jian, 9 years old can compose, a little older, read a lot of books, nine streams of hundreds of words are endless, but unexpectedly just when he was about to complete the "Book of Han", but because of the involvement of Dou Xianyi's case, he died in prison, leaving the unfinished "Book of Han". Ban Zhao thought bitterly and took over the unfinished work of his deceased brother and continued to move forward.
Fortunately, Ban Zhao participated in the writing of the whole book when Ban Gu was alive, and later received the permission of the Han and Emperors to go to the Dongguan Library to refer to the classics, so it was easy to write.
After the completion of the Book of Han, it received a very high evaluation, and the world rushed to recite it, and although Ban Zhao participated in writing it, she was very humble and still bore her brother's name.
Isn't such a talented woman worthy of women's learning and admiration?
At the age of 70, Ban Zhao wrote the "Female Commandment", which includes seven articles: "Humble", "Husband and Wife", "Respect for Caution", "Women's Behavior", "Concentration", "Qu Cong" and "Uncle Sister". This was a private textbook used to teach the daughters of the Ban family, but the Beijing family rushed to copy it, and soon after it became popular all over the country.
In the article "Humble and Weak," Ban Zhao quotes from the "Book of Poetry and Xiao Ya": "The birth of a male is known as Lang Zhang, and the birth of a daughter is known as a nonghua." It is believed that women are born with inferior status than men, and must "go to bed late and work early, and do not worry about the night; Executives and things, do not resign from drama and easy", in order to fulfill their duties.
In the "Husband and Wife" section, it is believed that the husband is greater than the heavens and must serve respectfully, "If the woman is not virtuous, she will have no husband, and if the woman is not a husband, the righteousness will fall, and if she wants to maintain the righteousness, she must make the woman understand the righteousness." ”
In the "Respect for Caution", it is advocated that "men value strength and weakness, and women value weakness, and whether the husband is right or wrong, the woman should unconditionally obey her husband."
In the "Concentration" section, it is emphasized that "the husband has the righteousness to remarry, and the woman has no two suitable texts", and the husband should "concentrate on the right color, no obscene voice in the ear, and no squinting".
The "Female Commandment" is the most thorough in suppressing women's thoughts, because it is preached by women themselves, and the impact is very large, and it can be said that Ban Zhao's "Female Commandment" has influenced Chinese women in 2000. It encourages women to be humble in everything and to be more patient in everything, which greatly imprisons women's thinking and freedom.
The "Female Commandment" was appreciated by the supreme ruler and respected by the students of Ban Zhao at that time, so it was widely disseminated and had a far-reaching impact. But her theory of advocating male power suppresses women's minds and excludes women from the big stage of society, which is not worthy of admiration.