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Text: Yanyan
Edited by Yeon-yeon
Preface
The status of women in the ancient Qin Dynasty is often imagined as passivity and restraint in feudal society, however, history is often not as simple as it seems.
We have the impression that the Qin Dynasty was a patriarchal society in which women were inferior, and the rulers exercised highly centralized rule over their subjects. In such a hierarchical era, are women really at the mercy of others like commodities? Don't they have their own lives and pursuits?
In fact, archaeological discoveries and documents record that in the Qin Dynasty more than 2,000 years ago, the status and rights enjoyed by women were much higher than we imagined.
1. Freedom of marriage, divorce is not guilty
Qin law demanded equality between men and women in chastity
In the Qin Dynasty, etiquette and religion were not yet fully formalized, and men and women enjoyed relatively equal rights in marriage. Qin law clearly stipulates that both men and women will be punished for messing with flowers and grass outside.
It is written in the "Wei Hu Law" that people who go to live in the countryside will be punished by the law if they molest women from good families. It can be seen that Qin Law's requirements for men and women to observe chastity are equal.
However, compared with men, Qin Lu's requirements for female chastity are still looser. Judging from the unearthed Qin Jian's "Book of Days", the situation of "marrying a wife, and having children before the wife" was quite common, and it was not uncommon for unmarried pregnancies to occur at that time.
This shows that the Qin people have a tolerant attitude towards women's premarital sex, and women who have lost their husbands will not be rejected by society.
This enlightened view of marriage is inseparable from the social background of the time. During the Warring States Period, the princes competed for hegemony, wars were frequent, and the population suffered heavy losses. In order to encourage childbearing, the Qin State took the lead in implementing a series of preferential policies, such as "marrying 100 female households" and "exempting children from forced labor".
In the case of vigorously advocating childbearing at the national level, the concept of marriage and childbearing among the people will naturally be liberalized. This laid the groundwork for the freedom of marriage for women in the Qin Dynasty.
The practice of remarriage among women is prevalent
It is precisely because the Qin Dynasty did not require women to start from the beginning, so the phenomenon of widows remarrying is very common. It was recorded in the history books that there was a young lady in Waihuang County who was extraordinarily beautiful, but married a man who was like a slave. The young lady was quite dissatisfied with the marriage, so she left her husband and went to her father's best friend.
A friend persuaded her: "If you really want to marry a husband who is satisfactory, it is better to marry Zhang Er." So the woman married Zhang Er. It is not uncommon for women to take the initiative to divorce their husbands and seek happiness like this.
The reason for this is that the Qin Dynasty advocated the rule of law and attached importance to personal value and freedom, which to a certain extent affected the change of the concept of marriage and love among the people.
In addition, the Qin Dynasty implemented the military merit system, and many ordinary people rose to the upper class by virtue of their military exploits, and the concept of family was broken, and marriage was no longer limited to the right person. Therefore, those women who are not satisfied with their first marriage have the space to remarry, and it is logical to propose divorce.
The husband is also responsible for domestic violence against the wife
The Qin Dynasty not only allowed women to remarry, but also severely punished domestic violence. According to Qin Jian's "Legal Questions and Answers", "The wife is fierce, the husband beats her, and her ears are broken. When resistant. This means that if a husband abuses his wife and breaks her ears or limbs, he will be punished as a brawl and sentenced to a prison sentence.
It can be seen that in Qin Lu's view, there is no difference between abusing his wife and picking quarrels and provoking trouble. This fully shows that men in the Qin Dynasty did not have the privilege of domestic violence at will.
The promulgation of this law demonstrated the wisdom of the Qin Dynasty legislators. They are well aware that the family is the foundation of society and that women are the pillars of the family. Tolerating domestic violence is tantamount to destroying the foundations of society.
Therefore, the Qin Dynasty used the power of the state to intervene in marital disputes, and included bad acts such as wife abuse and wife beating into the scope of criminal law adjustment. By severely punishing the perpetrators, the Qin Dynasty not only protected the personal rights and interests of women, but also laid the foundation for the rule of law to build a harmonious family.
Second, the family status is extraordinary
In agriculture and textiles, women are the pillars
In the Qin Dynasty, the family was the basic component of society. A person's contribution to the family often determines his or her status in the family. The vast number of lower-class women not only have to raise silkworms and weave silkworms, but also go to the fields to cultivate, and they are the mainstay of the family economy.
In a society where men are generally conscripted into the army or forced labor, the domestic farm work falls largely on women.
According to the "Historical Records", when Liu Bang was the pavilion chief, he asked for leave to go home to farm. At that time, Lu Pheasant "lived in the field with his two sons", that is, he took his two sons to weed in the field.
As the wife of a petty official, Lu Pheasant still has to work in the fields, let alone women from ordinary families. However, in addition to farming, women also have a compulsory subject – weaving. This is an innate skill that almost every woman is born with.
In the thirty-second year of Qin Shi Huang, it was mentioned on the stone carving, "Men enjoy their domains, and women cultivate their careers." "When Shang Ying changed the law, it was clearly stipulated that those who weave more cloth and a variety of grains can be exempted from hard labor, otherwise they will be reduced to slavery. It can be seen that the importance of textile to women in the Qin Dynasty.
This division of labor within the family reflects the basic national conditions of the Qin Dynasty society. At that time, the society was based on agriculture, and agriculture was naturally more important than everything else. In addition, wars are frequent, and most of the young and middle-aged people are transferred to serve, so the burden of farming naturally falls on the shoulders of women.
In order to encourage textile production, the Qin Dynasty formulated a series of incentives and punishments. Driven by interests, women in the Qin Dynasty became a veritable "half of the sky" and supported half of the family.
Versatile, but also a doctor
In addition to farming and weaving, women in the Qin Dynasty were able to support their families with their skills. The words "women as doctors" and "women as witches" are mentioned in the "Book of Days" indicate that medicine and witchcraft were the means for women to earn a living at that time. However, it is not easy to become a doctor, and you need to pass five levels and kill six generals.
Qin Jian's "Sealed Diagnosis Style" recorded that if you want to be an official doctor, you must understand medical skills and pass the assessment. If the level is not enough, the patient can only be shown some common diseases, and if he cannot be treated, he will be punished; If they are found to have improperly treated them, they will be fined and confined at the least, and dismissed from their posts and investigated.
The requirements for doctors are so strict, which shows how much attention the Qin Dynasty attached to the medical cause. Those women who become doctors with real skills, their social status can be imagined.
Women could become healers, which was not uncommon in the Qin Dynasty. There is such a record in the "Book of Medicine": "Yongzhou women are doctors, treat diseases for King Wu, diagnose pulse and discuss diseases, all of which are meticulous." It can be seen that as early as the Western Zhou Dynasty, there have been quite accomplished female doctors.
In the Eastern Han Dynasty, famous female doctors such as Yao Ji and Yin Fang appeared successively. They either wrote books and talked about it, or practiced medicine to help the world, and they all left a strong mark in the history of medicine.
As the master of ancient medicine, the status of women in the Qin Dynasty was unprecedentedly elevated, and naturally there were more opportunities to get involved in the field of medicine.
After marriage, the daughter-in-law is the largest
In later generations, women who marry into their husbands' families have almost no say in the property. But in the Qin Dynasty, the situation was very different. According to the Qin law, the daughter-in-law had absolute ownership of the dowry she carried, such as clothes, jewelry, slaves, etc. If the husband's family confiscates it, it must be returned to the daughter-in-law.
What's more, women in the Qin Dynasty also had a strong desire to control the property of the entire family. According to historical records, the Qin people "took the broom and spoke immediately". It is said that the mother-in-law borrowed a broom from her daughter-in-law, and the daughter-in-law had to count the mother-in-law, which shows the power of the daughter-in-law to manage the family's property.
This method of distribution of family property has both its historical origins and the Qin Dynasty's promotion of the nuclear family. After the Shang Dynasty changed the law, the Qin State implemented the policy of "the rich and the strong will give points", and encouraged adult children to stand on their own.
In a situation where most of the family property is owned by the newlyweds, it is not surprising that the daughter-in-law controls the family's belongings. In addition, the Qin people advocated military merit, fought all year round, and it was rare for husband and wife to reunite, and the affairs of the family naturally fell on their wives, and over time, their control over the family property increased day by day.
In the Ming and Qing dynasties, if a widow had no heirs, the right to legally inherit her husband's estate was lost, and everything was at the mercy of the clansmen. On the other hand, in the Qin Dynasty, after the death of Ruofu, his wife had no children, and all the belongings belonged to the widow. It can be seen that Qin Law has surpassed the legitimate rights and interests of women in terms of protecting their legitimate rights and interests.
Third, versatile, women do not let the eyebrows
Serving in conscription and being a soldier, women are not ambiguous
The Qin Dynasty was an era of advocating military exploits. From the dignitaries to the common people, they could not escape the clouds of war. According to historical records, the total population of the Qin State at that time was about 10 million, and 16% of them had to serve in the military, regardless of gender, old and young.
If calculated according to this ratio, there were 1.6 million strong men and strong women in the country at that time! If you include the defense of the capital division and the county, I am afraid that the number of people joining the army will double. In such a large army, female soldiers undoubtedly occupy a considerable proportion.
In addition to going to war, women in the Qin Dynasty also had to serve as conscripts. According to the "Historical Records", when the Qin generals Ren Huan and Wei He conquered Lingnan, they wrote a request: "Send 30,000 husbandless women from the interior to serve as clothing supplies for the soldiers." Qin Shi Huang finally approved 15,000 people.
It can be seen that sewing military uniforms for front-line soldiers was also an important task for women at that time. The reason why women in the Qin Dynasty had to bear such heavy conscription was of course related to the frequent military service and labor shortage at that time, but more importantly, it was due to the unique national conditions of the Qin Dynasty.
After the Shang Dynasty changed the law, the Qin State established the national policy of the supremacy of military merit. In the case of weakened patriarchal kinship, military merit became the criterion for judging social status.
Regardless of gender, old and young, those who can fight and serve are good citizens. In this atmosphere where all the people are soldiers, it is naturally difficult for women to stay out of the situation.
The grain and grass are heavy, and the women and children are all soldiers
In the Qin Dynasty, there were not a few women engaged in logistics and transportation. In the "Historical Records", it is written, "There are more than 100,000 people who lose and the old and weak women." "It's about Xiang Yu besieging Zhanghan's 400,000 troops in Julu, and annihilating the old, weak, women and children and other military personnel.
If the logistics transportation only relies on men, I am afraid that such a huge amount of materials will not be dispatched. It was with the participation of women that the supply work of the Qin army was continued.
However, war never treats women kindly. Shi Zai: "The Qin general Wang Li captured Jinyang and killed all the old and weak women. There are many more such accounts. Almost every time a battle is fought, most of the women and children are killed or wounded. If it weren't for their training, it would have been difficult for women in the Qin Dynasty to take on such a difficult military task.
The reason for this is that the Qin Dynasty was an out-and-out military empire, and the national policy was to attack from all sides to exterminate the Six Kingdoms. In such a militaristic society, it is not surprising that the elderly, weak, women and children are all soldiers.
As the "Book of Shang Jun" said: "The country is established by force, and the country is safe when the army is strong." "In the eyes of the general, there really is no place for women and children on the battlefield.
They either serve the army, or they become a thorn in the side and a thorn in the flesh of the army. Sadly, whether they die in battle or are taken prisoner, they do not receive the respect they deserve.
epilogue
The fact that women in the Qin Dynasty were able to have a place in the military, politics and family fields had a lot to do with the prevalence of Legalism at that time and the importance of the role of people.
However, we should not be overly optimistic about the overall status of women in the Qin Dynasty. In an era when it was common to advocate violence and kill kings and seize the throne, women in the Qin Dynasty lived a freer life than women in later generations.
But in any case, the Qin Dynasty set a precedent for later generations of women to participate in social life, which is worth remembering and admiring.