Women are versatile, money and marriage are free. Why were people in the Song Dynasty so "slave girls"?

In the ancient feudal society of China, there was a long-standing phenomenon of son preference. Women often become subservient to men, bound by the three cardinal guides and the five permanent members, and have no chance of self-realization. However, the Song Dynasty and the previous generation were different times. In Song Dynasty, most ordinary families liked to have daughters. If they had boys, they would be abandoned by their parents. This obviously does not conform to the traditional concept of fertility. What made girls so popular in the Song Dynasty? Fundamentally speaking, the dominant position occupied by any group with a specific identity must conform to the productivity level at that time. The Song Dynasty was the heyday of the economic and cultural development of ancient feudal society in China. How did the economic and cultural development in Song Dynasty affect women's dominant position in society?

Daughter is the "treasure in the palm" of the Song Dynasty.

In Liao Zhongying's Miscellany of Stars, it is recorded: "Every girl regards it as a treasure if the middle and lower class families do not regenerate men." It can be seen that families in the Song Dynasty preferred their daughters. The status of women in Song Dynasty was comparable to that in Tang Dynasty. Part of the reason is that the economy was developed and the ideological atmosphere was open and inclusive during the Tang and Song Dynasties. The lofty status of women in Song Dynasty was reflected in all aspects of economy, politics and daily life.

In Song Dynasty, women enjoyed the same inheritance rights as men and played an irreplaceable role in the entertainment industry and textile handicraft industry. Politically, there were as many as five Empress Dowager Cixi in the Song Dynasty. In the Song Dynasty, when a woman got married, the dowry was very rich, and the expensive wedding atmosphere even affected her daughter's position in her husband's family after marriage, which also formed a trend of comparison. In order to ensure that the daughter can live a decent life in her husband's family, all families began to save dowry from the moment her daughter was born, just to give her a big happy event when she got married and to make her face shine. Moreover, women in the Song Dynasty were not discriminated against when they remarried. Su Shi and Fan Zhongyan were famous senior literati in Song Dynasty. Both of them were honest officials, but they were worried about their daughters' marriage.

The emblem in Qingpingle is based on Princess Fukang. As the eldest daughter of Song Renzong, she was smart and alert since childhood, loved her parents, and was deeply loved by Song Renzong. As the first princess in the Song Dynasty who had a ceremony of conferring titles, she was named Princess Yan at the age of 20, and was loved by thousands. Before the princess got married, Song Renzong spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to build a mansion for her. After the princess got married, she was given thousands of dollars every month, which made her well treated. In the play, Huirou is at odds with her husband's family and locks the palace door at night. At that time, the rules of the court in opening and closing the palace doors were very strict, and no one could violate them. However, Song Renzong still ignored the opposition of Sima Guang and other ministers and opened the palace door. Song Renzong's love for Hui Rou and the status of women in Song Dynasty can be seen.

Why are Song people so "female slaves"? Open-minded atmosphere, many employment opportunities.

1, the enlightened atmosphere of the times

In the Song Dynasty, agriculture, handicrafts and commerce all made outstanding achievements. Women gradually leave their families and participate in handicrafts such as textiles. The prosperity of commerce in Song Dynasty was far ahead of the previous generation, and developed metropolises such as Hangzhou and Kaifeng appeared. Compared with the previous generation, the policy of emphasizing agriculture and restraining commerce in Song Dynasty was greatly adjusted. In Song Dynasty, the imperial court adopted a policy of encouraging business and gave preferential treatment to foreign businessmen. In order to facilitate the life and residence of foreign businessmen, the then Song court set up "Fanfang" in Quanzhou and Guangzhou. The enlightened policy made the foreign trade of the Song Dynasty grow continuously, and the Song Dynasty became a big trading country. The development of economy has directly brought about the openness of thought and the prosperity of culture.

In the early days of the dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin and Song Taizu released soldiers with a glass of wine and exercised civilian rule in the imperial court. After years of national division, there is an urgent need for strong political protection, and the whole society has formed an atmosphere of emphasizing literature and restraining force. China culture reached its peak in the Song Dynasty. Scientifically, gunpowder began to be used in war at this time, and human beings entered the era of hot weapons from the era of cold weapons. In the west, the use of gunpowder helped the knight class break the monopoly position of the feudal dynasty; In terms of literature, the art of ci reached its peak in the Song Dynasty, and famous ci poets such as Li Qingzhao and Zhu appeared.

The open atmosphere of the times has improved the tolerance of the times for women. The Song Dynasty abandoned the idea that women are virtuous without talent, and women from all walks of life had access to literature and art education. The Song Dynasty also granted women the freedom of marriage and the right to inherit property. The custom of female foot-binding in Song Dynasty was not universal.

Married women in song dynasty

2. Developed entertainment industry

The direct reason why families loved having daughters in Song Dynasty was closely related to the developed entertainment industry at that time. The rich life of the people in Song Dynasty, full of warmth and lust, promoted the rapid development of the entertainment industry. From poetry and songs to instrumental calligraphy to martial arts, the vast entertainment market needs a large number of versatile women to meet the market demand. Song people pursued entertainment as well as modern people. In addition to traditional entertainment, the Song Dynasty also developed novel entertainment activities such as cuju, sumo wrestling, cricket fighting and puppet show. At that time, dignitaries and wealthy businessmen often kept private entertainment groups at home, including singing geisha, dancing maiko, actors in drama, acrobatic troupe and so on.

With the prosperity of the city, the citizen class in the Song Dynasty has been growing, and the entertainment life of the citizens has promoted the entertainment industry to be more professional. There are many entertainment and business places in Hangzhou and Kaifeng, which are called "tile houses". A big tile house contains dozens of goulan, and a goulan can accommodate thousands of people. The commercial advertisements in Goulan are dazzling, which has become a place where countless artists make a living. Entertainment activities are varied, such as singing and dancing, juggling, storytelling, zaju, animal training, sumo wrestling and so on. There are also many ordinary people selling food and antiques in Vacherie, and there are also many booths for fortune telling, naming and divination, which are very lively. During the Southern Song Dynasty, the cultural and entertainment industry in Lin 'an was more developed, from the city center to the rural suburbs, all over the washe, and entertainment became a common practice. In such a professional entertainment place, the demand for geisha and maiko is in short supply, which gives women in Song Dynasty great employment opportunities and high status.

3. Lack of outstanding talents

In the Song Dynasty, geisha trained as artists were different from prostitutes in the traditional impression. Many of them are artists and don't sell themselves out. Not only will you not be despised, but if you have both ability and political integrity, you will not only be respected by everyone, but also get a lot of money. It is said that a talented official prostitute can be worth thousands of dollars. They not only made achievements in art, but also received years of education. They also need years of edification to reach the level of singing on stage and find a foothold for themselves in the fierce entertainment market.

Washe artist

The development of entertainment industry became the pillar of national economy in Song Dynasty. In order to maintain this important economy, some bosses in Washe pay great attention to the choice of entertainment talents. If they find talented girls, they will be trained in music and dance, and they will be fostered into popular actresses, which will not only get high salaries, but also add fame to Washe. Therefore, as long as the people in Song Dynasty have daughters, they are willing to send them to Vacherie to train them to learn singing and dancing, which not only saves family expenses, but also finds a good home for their daughters. If one day their fame gradually rises, they will immediately fly to the branches and become a phoenix.

The status of actors is somewhat like that of stars now, and they are sought after by countless people. There are many heroic legends among them. Li Shishi, a famous prostitute in Song Dynasty, was adopted by the procuress because of her talent and beauty. 13-year-old Li Shishi became popular as soon as she debuted. At the age of fifteen, she has become a famous singing and dancing prostitute in Beijing. She is too talented to play with others. The poet Qin Guan praised her for "it is better to be a teacher than to see all the flowers in Yingchuan". Even the then emperor Song Huizong was attracted by her talent and beauty. In order to meet her, a tunnel was built between the palace and the brothel. Later, Li Shishi fell in love with Liangshan hero Yan Qing. Liangshan was acclaimed by the imperial court and sent to pacify Fang La. In this war, Liangshan suffered heavy losses, and Yan Qing, the prodigal son, accompanied Li Shishi to survive, and he did not touch each other.

Liang Hongyu was a famous heroine who resisted gold in Song Dynasty. When she was a child, she practiced martial arts with her military commanders and brothers. In the second year of Xuanhe in Song Huizong, Liang Hongyu's grandfather and father were defeated and died in the rebellion against Fang La, so she became a prostitute. Although imprisoned, her erudition and strength kept her from following the trend of prostitutes. In order to repay Han Shizhong for saving his life, the story that she beat off the nomads from the gongs and drums is still passed down to later generations. Most famous prostitutes in history are famous for their talents and customs, and Liang Hongyu is the first military prostitute in history.

Song Huizong secretly meets Li Shishi.

The rise of female culture shows that the Song Dynasty is different from other women.

In the Song Dynasty, women in ordinary families could gain higher social status and life by engaging in art. Under the rich cultural atmosphere at that time, the literati class, as the highest cultural level in the Song Dynasty, paid special attention to women's cultural literacy and children's education, so the literati and their wives began to pursue knowledge and talents. There are many female writers in Song Dynasty, among which the four greatest female writers in Song Dynasty are the most prominent, including Li Qingzhao, Zhu, Zhang. The women of the scholar-bureaucrat class in Song Dynasty had high cultural attainments, and the literary works they created profoundly reflected women's desire to get rid of stereotypes and feudal ethics, which had an indelible impact on women's culture in later generations.

Li Qingzhao, a poet, was born in a scholarly family and was influenced by literature and art since childhood. From the shy girlish feelings and novel world in her early works to her death in the Northern Song Dynasty, her husband died on the way south and was cheated of his money. We can see that her later works are lamenting her life experience and feeling the impermanence of life. Her works are beautiful in language and rich in emotion, reflecting not only life but also history.

Women in Song Dynasty showed their unwillingness to tame feudal ethics in their literary works. They oppose three obedience and four virtues and pursue the compatibility of wisdom in marriage. Even at the cost of life. Zhu, a poetess in Song Dynasty, wrote women's yearning for freedom of marriage in a rare way. "Records of Song Poetry" records: "Shu Zhen, a wandering layman, was born in Qiantang. Living in Taocun, I am a poet. If you marry a citizen's wife, you must not be ambitious. " Her parents mistakenly promised a loveless marriage, which made her regret for life. In the unhappy days after marriage, she left some works, such as "Broken Heart Poetry", which was very sad to read.

Women's Chongwen in Song Dynasty

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The economic and cultural development of the Song Dynasty reached its peak in the ancient feudal society of China, in which the custom of family loving children in the Song Dynasty was closely related to the developed productive forces in the Song Dynasty. In that era when the entertainment industry was developed, women gained a lot of employment opportunities and high social status through art, and famous prostitutes also became the object of public pursuit, leaving an indelible color in the ancient civilization of China. Song Dynasty, as a dynasty that worshiped literature and learning, became a hotbed for the development of women's literature. A large number of scholars and women left outstanding works. The Song Dynasty not only influenced the later generations with splendid culture, but also countless intelligent, chaste and talented women promoted the rise of women and the equality of human beings.