Chapter 537 A Dream of Youth 69
In the still of the night, autumn leaves fall from the trees, drifting in the wind and creating ripples on the calm lake. Even the crescent moon in the lake seems to dance, until golden fragments fall and a small wooden boat passes by, and the group once again sets foot in Xinghua Village.
The news of Xie Wangzhi becoming a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) had been circulating for several days. Everyone from the Xie family and other families who heard the news drove their oxcarts over to join in the excitement and build relationships. Those who were not familiar with him would send him a formal invitation to a banquet.
The two children, Xie Ning and Xie Qi, received a lot of red envelopes as they went along to offer their greetings, their faces stiff with smiles.
Xie Qi thought he could go out and play with his friends, but he never expected that his friends who had played with him before were all older and busy with their work, so they didn't have time to play.
Moreover, the gap in their social status is widening, and when they hang out together again, the feeling is no longer the same.
Just as he was feeling melancholy, he was taken to the ancestral hall to worship his ancestors. Afterwards, the clan elders personally opened a page of the genealogy to record Xie Wangzhi's deeds.
Even though Xie Wangzhi has not yet achieved anything great, it is certainly a great joy that Xinghua Village, which has not produced a single Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) for decades or even centuries, has now produced a second-class Jinshi!
This means that the Xie family has been able to prosper through poetry and literature!
Xie Ning was held by Xie Yun as they stood at the main entrance watching the ceremony inside.
Here, women are not allowed to enter the ancestral hall, even though the ancestral hall was built after Xie Wangzhi became an official. Whether as Xie Wangzhi's daughter, wife, or mother, no woman is allowed to enter.
This is in accordance with etiquette and law.
There are also genealogies, but women cannot be included in them. Even in family genealogies, women are only recorded as appendages to their fathers, husbands, or sons, and only their surnames are recorded, not their given names, such as "surname so-and-so".
In the family genealogy, each male member has a separate entry, while female members are only listed under their father's name, without a name or surname, and only their number and the families they married into are recorded.
A woman's name is recorded in her husband's family genealogy only after she gets married, with her surname noted but her given name not recorded.
Xie Ning's gaze swept over all the women standing outside. Their faces showed excitement and curiosity, but none of them displayed the envy and slight jealousy that the other men showed when they looked at Xie Wangzhi.
That's because they knew from the beginning that no matter how much they achieved, even if they were no less capable than men, as long as they were born as women, they would never be included in the family genealogy or recorded in the family tree.
This is a kind of "habitual acceptance" and "numbness" formed under the long-term oppression of a patriarchal society.
The world is divided into Yin and Yang, with men and women each making up half. Looking back along the long river of history, almost all the names are men. Does this mean that women have never contributed to the progress of society?
No, it's just that it's men who write history.
Despite the bright sunshine, the deafening sounds of gongs and drums, and the crackling of firecrackers outside, Xie Ning felt a chill.
As the banquet ended, Grandmother Xie hugged Xie Ning with some surprise, "Bao'er, why didn't you go and play with Liu Ya and the others?"
It's rare to have people of the same age around, so Grandma Xie wanted Xie Ning to play more. He spends all day reading and is almost turning into a little old man.
"I want to hear my grandmother tell stories."
The soft, sweet sound melted Grandma Xie's heart.
"What story does Bao'er want to hear?" Grandma Xie racked her brains for stories she had heard that weren't scary.
"I want to hear the story of Grandma selling steamed buns. Why did Grandma want to sell steamed buns?"
Speaking of this, Grandma Xie became very animated. She had been setting up a stall all along, not only moving her small family to the town, but also successfully raising a scholar who had passed the imperial examination!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
