History can't bear to look at the complete collection

Chapter 125 Alternative Historical Materials 1
The style of "late marriage and late childbearing" in the Song Dynasty

The Song Dynasty was a very interesting dynasty, emphasizing literature and military affairs. Song Zhenzong wrote in a poem: "A rich family does not need to sell good land, there are thousands of millet in the book; there is no need to erect sorghum to build a house, the book has a golden house; don't hate to marry a wife." There is no good matchmaker, there is Yan Ruyu in the book; don't hate to have no one to accompany you when you go out, there are many horses and horses in the book; if a man wants to fulfill his life ambition, he reads the Six Classics diligently at the window."

It boils down to the fact that in their Great Song Dynasty, the most promising career was neither real estate nor bank opening, but cultural people who studied.Song Zhenzong also had a reason for saying this.The previous Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms were turbulent. The emperor changed every day like a woman changing clothes. It was not until the mutiny of Zhao Kuangyin and Chen Qiao that this kind of life was over.

But it was also because of this that the subsequent emperors of the Song Dynasty were very disgusted with military officials. In their view, people who practice martial arts have powerful lethality. If they are not careful, they will overthrow the throne, but literati are different. With no power to restrain the chicken, apart from being able to take advantage of the tongue, it is relatively easy to control.

Therefore, although the Song Dynasty was founded by military generals, it emphasized civility over military affairs. The old Zhao family used a large number of civil servants, and in order to appease these civil servants, they even adopted a policy of high salaries and honesty at all costs, raising the salaries of officials to any dynasty. unattainable realm.

Not only is the monthly salary generous, but also benefits are given during the holidays, and there are additional bonuses on special days. Not only that, but if officials make mistakes, they can be avoided. As amazing as its wage system.

Without a strict supervision and punishment system, even if officials in the Song Dynasty were involved in corruption and bribery, they could take advantage of the loopholes in the law and escape punishment after committing a crime. Transferring is even more convenient.Therefore, when the political achievements in one place were stained, the officials were transferred to another place, and the number of officials at that time was very large. Often, two or three people held an official position at the same time, and it was common for them to cover each other and collude with each other. have happened.

The life of an official is so comfortable and happy, men all over the world naturally yearn for it, so reading has become a big craze in the Song Dynasty. Whether it is a farmer plowing the fields or a teahouse clerk, everyone is hanging on the beam, studying hard, and is determined to pass the exam. Fame is even worse than the current craze for testing.

There is an old saying: "Get a family first, then start a career." These men with great ideals naturally want to become famous and then marry a wife and have children. Therefore, they would rather be single and endure the loneliness of studying hard in a poor window than give up their goals.But it is a pity that no matter how many official positions there are in the Song Dynasty, it is limited. After all, there are only a few people who can cross the single-plank bridge of the scientific examination. Many people fail the first year and will take the next year.

This goes on and on again and again, those who pass the exam are considered lucky, those who fail the exam are indulging in it, resulting in many middle-aged men who have never married, and all of them have become leftover men.It is understandable that a man would not die until he reached the Yellow River, and that he would not marry if he did not pass the exam, but women at that time did not marry unless they were officials.

Men are afraid of getting into the wrong line of work, and women are afraid of marrying the wrong man. In order to be safe and secure for the rest of their lives, women must choose their husbands and husbands. Since being an official is so popular, they naturally want to be an official. Mrs.As a result, the Song Dynasty formed a unique interesting event.

Every day when the list is announced, wealthy and powerful families will dispatch "son-in-law cars" one after another to go to the place where the list is published to choose a son-in-law by taking a fast ride. Those who didn't grab it didn't give up, and waited for the next year to make persistent efforts, so, after waiting, a group of leftover women waited out.

Sima Guang, who was an official in the court at that time, said when talking about the marriage age of men and women: "Men are no more than [-], women are no more than [-] ears, and it is a waste of time to exceed this."

According to this standard, there were many over-aged men and women in the Song Dynasty. In addition to the shortage of official positions, the supply was in short supply, and another reason was the high cost of marriage at that time.The commodity economy in the Song Dynasty was increasingly developed, and the whole society gradually formed an unhealthy atmosphere of comparing luxury. Many people even borrowed money to hold wedding banquets in order to maintain the scene.

During the Chunxi period, Huang Zuozhong, an imperial student, became the son-in-law of King Ruyang, and spent 500 million taels of silver for a wedding banquet, just to make enough for the scene.Also Song Shenzong's younger brother Yang Wang Zhao Hao has several daughters, because the cost is very high each time, and in the end it is really cash-strapped, so he had to ask his emperor's brother to borrow money to carry out the wedding.

The imperial examination system and the psychology of worshiping wealth created a group of leftover men and women in the Song Dynasty. Without the strong call of the court, they voluntarily married late and had children, and devoted themselves to studying hard for their own careers. The activities of social stability can be called a great historical spectacle.

(End of this chapter)