Chapter 66 The Moon of Yesteryear
Upon seeing Xie Ning standing at the alley entrance, the little girl shrank back into the corner, her dark eyes filled with confusion, unease, and shame.
She didn't understand why she was bleeding from her genitals, nor did she understand why her family members didn't care about her but instead cursed her for being unlucky. Both her father and mother believed that the blood flowing from her genitals was an omen of misfortune.
Xie Ning thought a lot at that time. Menstrual shame existed even in the modern world she lived in, let alone in this era. Moreover, the young girl was facing a rather serious lack of understanding because her mother, who was also a woman, thought she was impure.
Perhaps she could set aside two hours each day to read, and use that time to tell those girls that they don't need to feel ashamed of it.
Therefore, Xie Ning opened this late-night elementary school, thinking more about teaching women some basic physiological knowledge. She felt that for women today, this knowledge was far more important than reading and writing. People need to know and accept themselves first in order to better understand the world.
She told the girls that menstruation was not shameful and would not bring bad luck. Then she explained the origin of menstruation from a physiological perspective, what to do during menstruation, and what to pay attention to.
Once they know, they will tell other women, and even more so, they will teach their own children. This is how it spreads knowledge. Even if Xie Ning only does a little bit, it is good if even one girl is no longer like the little girl who was kicked out of her home.
At first, only Aunt Liu, Yun Yuanyuan, and that little girl were listening, but gradually more and more people joined, and now there are more than twenty women, including both old and young, unmarried and childless, and married with children.
Therefore, Xie Ning's knowledge points began to expand gradually, from female physiology to childbirth, the child's gender is based on the father rather than the mother, and since ancient times many people have attributed the inability to have boys to women.
Unbeknownst to her, Xie Ning discovered that her science popularization was awakening the girls' awareness, and then slowly, she unconsciously began to teach them more.
After drinking the warm ginger soup, the girls all smiled contentedly. It was getting cold, so instead of sitting at their desks, they all gathered around Xie Ning, waiting for his lecture over the warm charcoal fire.
Xie Ning glanced at Wu Ya, whose little face was flushed, and slowly began, "Today we'll talk about foot binding, also known as foot wrapping."
"I'd like to ask, why do you think the custom of foot binding came about? Do you really think it's good to break your feet and bind them to create the so-called 'three-inch golden lotuses'?"
Hearing Xie Ning mention breaking his own feet, some people shuddered. "Foot binding is wrong. Many years ago, Mr. Sun issued a decree banning foot binding. Mr. Sun was a very powerful man. If he said foot binding was bad, then it was bad."
But the girl couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong with it.
At this moment, one of the women spoke up, “Only daughters of wealthy families bind their feet. People like us have to work in the fields. If our feet are bound, we can’t walk more than ten steps. How can we work? If we don’t work, we will starve to death.”
Wu Ya raised her hand, pursed her lips, and said, "Foot binding hurts so much. My little sister's feet were covered in blood, and she kept crying because of the pain."
“But,” another girl stammered, “I’ve heard many people say that if you bind your feet, you can marry into a wealthy family and live a good life.”
Yun Ai'ai glanced at the girl and sighed softly, "Foot binding is a bad custom. It not only harms women's bodies, but also makes it difficult for them to walk, hindering their normal participation in social work and social activities. At the same time, women who cannot go far can only stay in their boudoirs, and their spirits will also be affected, becoming dependent, arrogant, lazy, and inferior. This is a spiritual harm to them."
Xie Ning nodded and began to analyze the origins, causes, and harms of foot binding. "...There's a saying that goes, 'What the superiors do, the inferiors follow.' If the superiors like it, the inferiors will rush to imitate it, and with the encouragement of pedantic literati... As you know, once women bind their feet, they are restricted in their work and social interactions, confined to the home, frail and weak, with difficulty walking. This achieves their goal: 'Men are in charge of external affairs, women are in charge of internal affairs, men are strong and women are weak.'"
Because women with bound feet couldn't escape, they were relegated to the bottom of the patriarchal society. This is the oppression and control that patriarchal society exerted on women. This kind of "beauty," which violates nature and health and is built on the foundation of physical abuse, is a truly distorted and perverse form of beauty… Just as Yuan Yuan said, foot binding not only harmed women's bodies but also destroyed their spirits.
A dark-skinned girl looked at Xie Ning with bright eyes and asked, "Are they afraid of us? Is that why they don't dare let us leave the house?"
Xie Ning didn't answer the question directly, but instead said, "There's a pancake on the table. Originally, two men were sharing it, each getting half. But then two women left, and the pancake is now divided into four pieces. If it were you, would you want a big piece or a small piece?"
The root of all problems is self-interest.
The women present all seemed to be deep in thought. Xie Ning took a sip of ginger soup and said to the girl who had just asked the question, "Zhao Di, two new students have arrived today. It's your turn to give them a lesson."
Xie Ning only teaches her class once. If a new girl comes in, she will ask the girl who has already attended the class to give the lecture. If the girl gives the lecture incorrectly, she will then correct her.
Zhao Di blushed, but still mustered her courage to stand up and bow to the two new girls. "If I didn't speak well, please don't laugh at me."
"No, no," the girls waved their hands, signaling Zhao Di to continue.
"Well, I'll tell you now. Every month, women have red blood flowing from their genitals, that's menstruation, you all know that, right?"
Although her face was flushed, Zhao Di insisted on continuing, "Many people think this is unlucky and ominous, but it's not. When we menstruate, it means our bodies are mature and we can have children. Of course, to have children, we still need to do that kind of thing with a man, which is sex. The shame we feel about menstruation is actually because we feel embarrassed about sex and are avoiding it."
But why do we feel embarrassed?
Because a long, long time ago, being able to give birth was a very impressive thing. Back then, it wasn't men who were in charge, but women! The children only knew who their mother was, not who their father was! Those high-ranking officials, even with wives, still had a whole bunch of concubines and mistresses, didn't they? Back then, we women had so many male concubines!
Xie Ning turned his head slightly, suppressing the upward curve of his lips. This girl's story was quite interesting.
The two new girls blushed and stared wide-eyed.
Zhao Di spoke more and more smoothly, "...Later, men's status became higher, and of course they didn't want us to affect their status. They would definitely make our strengths less powerful. Having children is unique to us. We can have children with whomever we want, or not have children with whomever we don't want. Before, we were the ones who took the initiative, but now it has become the men who take the initiative. They can make whoever they want have children."
The teacher said this is called "reproductive initiative"... Zhao Di forgot.
Yun Ai'ai added with a smile, "In feudal patriarchal society, men strengthened their power and deprived women of their rights through various systems, transferring the initiative of reproduction from women to men."
“Yes, yes, yes!” Zhao Di nodded frantically and continued, “Just like the emperor, he can have a child with whichever concubine he wants to favor. The emperor is the one in control... Therefore, menstruation, as the beginning of childbirth, became a taboo and was regarded as ominous and unclean.”
When they got back, Aunt Liu was still laughing, saying, "That girl really knows how to talk."
Xie Ning looked at the moonlight outside the window and nodded gently. A woman can be anyone she wants to be, instead of being a man's "wife".
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