Heroines: Opening Dialogue with Wu Zetian

Chapter 14 The Eternal Sinner?Or a heroine?

Su Qingyue waved lightly, and Ban Zhao returned to the east view again.

"Miss Su, thank you for taking me to see my father and brother, Tai Shigong, and the rise and fall of the big man!"

"Master Cao! Next, I have another question I want to ask you."

"But it doesn't matter."

Su Qingyue nodded and said.

"In addition to the "Hanshu" that has been passed down through the ages, you have another work called "The Commandments of Women"!"

""The Commandments for Women" includes seven chapters: humbleness, couples, respect and caution, women's conduct, concentration, song cong, and uncles and sisters."

"It is said in humbleness that women are born with a lower status than men, so they are called Nongwa, and they must bear the humiliation and always show fear."

"The couple said that women should regard their husbands as heaven, serve them wholeheartedly, and let their husbands show their majesty."

"Jing Shenli said that a woman must remain gentle and obey her husband unconditionally, even if the husband is at fault, she must not quarrel with her husband!"

"It is said in the women's trade that a woman must wash and cook for her husband's house."

"Concentrate on saying that a husband can remarry, but a woman cannot remarry. She is not allowed to dress up and go out for a stroll."

"Qu Cong said that a woman should submit to her parents-in-law, even if her mother-in-law beats and scolds you, you can't refute it."

"My uncle said that a woman should respect her brother-in-law and sister-in-law, even if she is angry, she should not say anything."

"Dare to ask Master Cao, am I right?"

Ban Zhao nodded and said, "Yes, this book was written by me."

"Do you know that this book has been poisoned for thousands of years, and how many Chinese women have been harmed?"

"Poisoned for thousands of years?"

Su Qingyue gently waved her hand, and the picture flowed.

……

In a house, a man was beating a woman in the room.

"Do you understand the three obediences and four virtues? If you marry me, you have to listen to me. Your husband is your god, you know?"

……

A woman was put into a pig cage and dragged onto a bamboo raft.

"This girl doesn't obey women's morals, she dares to remarry, she must sink into a pig cage!"

"Drown her! Drown her!"

……

A senior official beat gongs and drums, and sent a plaque engraved with "Chaste and Martyr" to a woman's home.

"Congratulations to Madam who has been a widow for 60 years. The imperial court specially rewards a memorial archway and a plaque!"

The woman burst into tears and kowtowed to thank her.

"Thank you for the court's great kindness. The husband of the civilian woman has passed away before she got married. She has been a widow alone for 60 years. Finally, her merits and virtues have been fulfilled!"

……

A woman held a little girl and was binding her feet, with tears dripping down her face.

"Mom! Mom! I don't want to bind my feet, please, don't do it, it hurts me!"

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid! You'll get used to it soon..."

After the feet were bound, the woman drove the little girl out of the room with a whip in her hand, and chased after her with the whip. The little girl could only keep running in the yard in pain.

After a while, the white cloth on the feet turned bright red.

……

Ban Zhao looked at these pictures with complicated expressions.

"Why do women in later generations bind their feet?"

"Since the publication of "The Commandments for Women", it has been highly sought after, and the status of women in the world has plummeted. Later, with the rise of Song Dynasties, there was a trend of women's footbinding, which lasted for nearly 1000 years before it was abolished!"

"If so, wouldn't I have become a sinner through the ages?"

"To the women of later generations, you are indeed a sinner, but I want to say that all of this is not just your fault! You must have your own reasons for writing this book. In my heart, you are still a heroine!"

As soon as these words came out, the live broadcast room instantly boiled.

……

"What? It turns out that Ban Zhao wrote the commandments for women? This is really poisonous for thousands of years!"

"I heard that women in later generations were oppressed by feudalism from here! This is really bad!"

"The woman who wrote this kind of book is not worthy of being a heroine! She is a sinner through the ages!"

"That's right. Even though I am the teacher of the harem concubine, I teach other women not to study. It's too bad!"

"Watching this show, I was so angry that I was shaking all over, and my whole body was sweating with cold hands and feet on a hot day!"

"This host, you are still human, how can this kind of woman be called a heroine!"

"The book "Women's Commandments" was used by men, and the feudal system cannot be changed with just one book."

"That's right, evaluating historical figures cannot be separated from the times. Ban Zhao has lived in a feudal system since he was a child, so how could his thoughts transcend the times?"

"I don't think you should be so harsh on women. Ban Zhao just wrote the book according to her own ideas. She didn't make the laws of feudal society. Why do you keep chasing after her?"

……

Su Qingyue looked at Ban Zhao, and said solemnly: "Senior Ban Zhao! I have stopped time and space, and no one will hear the conversation between you and me. This time, I hope you can tell that you wrote "The Commandments of Women". The real reason!"

Ban Zhao was silent for a long time, then nodded.

"When it comes to the change of strength and weakness from the beginning to the end, Ming Jian is on the alert!"

"During the period of compiling history under the decree, the old man looked at the history of the Han Dynasty. From the founding of the country to the present, the chaos in the harem has caused too much harm to the court!"

"During the period of Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty, Empress Lu took control of the government, wantonly killing concubines and meritorious officials. The dynasty was restructured, and foreign relatives monopolized power. In the end, all members of the Lu clan were slaughtered."

"During the time of Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty, Zhao Feiyan and Zhao Hede, the favorite concubines of the harem, fornicated in the harem and killed the royal heirs. In the end, both sisters committed suicide."

"During the period of Emperor Ai of the Han Dynasty, the Empress Xiaoyuan took control of the government, restructured the imperial court, and her relatives monopolized power. In the end, Wang Mang usurped the Han, and the great Han perished!"

"In the fourth year of Yongyuan, Your Majesty got rid of the relative Dou's family, and my elder brother Ban Gu was implicated and killed because of this!"

"Everyone thinks that I study history according to the order, and that I am the teacher of concubines, but how do they know that I am walking on thin ice, and my heart is trembling with fear!"

"A companion is like a tiger. Who can we rely on for the life of my family? I was already fifty-four when I wrote "The Commandments of Women". How could there be a daughter in my boudoir who needs to be taught? Here, I just write a book according to the order."

"It's a pity that the women of later generations are implicated by this book. I really feel ashamed!"

……

National Institute of Historical Research.

"The brains of this show are too big, but judging from the script, there is no problem. As Ban Zhao said, she is 54 years old. There is really no need to suddenly write a book on a whim to teach her daughter."

"Emperor Hanhe only lived to be 27 years old, but this emperor was very capable. Yongyuan Zhilong was the prosperity of the Eastern Han Dynasty created by him! The power of Dou's relatives used to be his confidant, so he asked Ban Zhao to write a book to teach the harem Concubine is very reasonable."

"It turns out that this book has political intentions. It seems to be about husband and wife, but it actually refers to the emperor, concubine and queen mother!"

"Although it is just a program script, it is indeed a good idea! It is very helpful for our historical research!"

　A lot of comments, favorites.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)