Chapter 735 A Dream of Youth 267
When everyone saw Xie Ning coming, they stood up to greet him.
"Lord Xie, we've been waiting for you for so long."
The round-faced little girl in red jumped off the swing and ran to Xie Ning's side, hugging her tightly. "Ah Ning!"
"How rude! This is Lord Xie," a woman nearby reprimanded softly.
Xie Ning caught the lively little girl, smiled and shook her head, "Mrs. Zhao, it's alright."
"Hmm, let me guess, this is a precious pearl!"
The little girl giggled, "I knew Aning would recognize me."
Madam Zhao glared at He Baozhu, then pulled Xie Ning to her side and introduced her to all the women present.
Most of them were members of the He family. Xie Ning also saw Madam He, whom Xie Qi had met on the ship.
"It's just in time that Aning is here. She's very knowledgeable, so let her give us some pointers on these articles." The speaker was Helan Xue, who was married nearby and often went back to her parents' home to play with her sisters.
"What articles?" Xie Ning asked curiously as she took the stack of papers He Lanxue handed her. The handwriting was elegant, and the papers included not only poems but also short stories.
He Zhipei owns a bookstore, which receives submissions of articles from time to time. The bookstore owner selects the well-written ones for publication.
After reading many stories about talented men and beautiful women, He Zhipei had the idea of writing his own story.
After all, none of the novels available on the market suited her taste, and since she was talented in writing, why not write them herself?
When her husband found out about this, he ridiculed her mercilessly. He Zhipei didn't take the insult to heart and directly said that she couldn't accept her husband having a mistress outside, so she pressured her husband to divorce her.
He eats her food and drinks her drinks, uses her money to support his concubines, and yet he still doesn't appease her. He should leave her as soon as possible.
The He family of Yuzhou is not to be trifled with. Even though her father is now semi-retired, he has many students, and her brothers hold high-ranking official positions.
If her family isn't stopping her from getting a divorce, who can stop her?
The child could not possibly be given to the man. She had been childless for many years and was thirty when she finally gave birth after ten months of pregnancy. Why should the child be left to the man's family?
When it came to divorcing and taking the child back to her parents' home, He Zhipei was decisive and didn't hesitate at all.
Before returning home, she had discussed publishing a book with her sisters, but unexpectedly, Xie Ning came to visit.
"May I be so bold as to call you Ah Ning?"
"Of course."
He Zhipei had heard of Xie Ning, after all, she was the only female official in the court who could attend court, unlike the female officials in the harem.
“Since A-Ning is so talented, why don’t you publish a book with us? I will compile a book called ‘The Record of Soaring Clouds’, which will contain some of the poems and anecdotes written by us women. It will certainly be no worse than those written by men.”
Xie Ning was quite surprised. Her fingertips touched the slightly yellowed paper, and her heart was filled with emotion.
Admittedly, feudal society oppressed women, but even in the silent darkness, there were still faint lights shining, and these lights would still exist even without her.
They are not always in a state of oppression and silence. Xie Ning feels that as she has come into deeper contact with this society, she has also gained a more profound understanding of the complexity of women's situation.
Throughout history, the river that belongs exclusively to women is not dark, gloomy, or filled with blood and tears. However, many people have such a stereotype, making it difficult to see those specific, living women who exist in history.
This made Xie Ning reflect on her previous beliefs, which seemed to suggest that polygamy, the imperial harem, foot binding, chastity arches, and the Three Obediences and Four Virtues constituted the distorted and deformed life of feudal women in the East.
Some articles on women's history describe almost entirely suffering and feudal women as symbols of ignorance and apathy, a form of anti-civilization. Xie Ning recalled some critical articles she had read during the Republican era, especially those written by Western scholars.
At the time, she only felt uncomfortable, but after truly experiencing and coming into contact with such a society and various female figures existing in feudal society, she found that when studying women, those authors were all high and mighty.
Whether intentional or unintentional, they are criticizing the mainstream historical writing mode under patriarchal consciousness. Some even take a radical stance in viewing mainstream history, setting history against women, which undoubtedly stifles the emergence and value of women.
As Xie Ning watched the women discussing how to publish their poems, she also recalled the women she had come into contact with.
Their words and actions do not completely conform to the provisions of law and etiquette. They live in a narrow space, but they are still able to use their personal abilities to gain social recognition and participate in the construction of history. In this process, they are also constructing their own subjective consciousness—feminist consciousness.
It turns out that sometimes she also falls into the trap of conceptual judgment.
Xie Ning looked up and met He Zhipei's gaze, smiled slightly, and accepted the invitation, "Alright, but I'd like to write an additional book. I wonder if Mrs. He would be willing to publish it for me?"
She has done a lot of practice, mostly making changes through actions, but she has always hesitated to use books for intellectual enlightenment and change because Xie Ning always felt that she did not understand them deeply enough.
She cannot come up with ideas that are too avant-garde. Her statements and thoughts that she wants to use to help women awaken or deepen their self-awareness need to be rooted in local culture and conform to the mainstream of society.
Changes can only be made little by little, because this is a patriarchal society, and a slight misstep could easily lead to a backlash.
Based on what she has seen and heard today, perhaps she could be bolder and encourage others to express their opinions instead of speaking out alone.
They emitted a faint light, and she made their light shine even brighter.
Then there's the matter of later generations. The oppression of women in feudal society is undeniable, but sometimes later generations can try to understand their lives by placing themselves in the same social and cultural context.
Suffering and happiness are not mutually exclusive; when faced with profound darkness, we should not ignore those glimmers of light.
Viewing history through a priori lens often leads to falling into the trap of conceptual judgments.
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