Chapter 275: Paper Selection
Qiao Mengmeng lay weakly on the table, staring blankly at the teacher who was talking in front of her. The word "hesitation" seemed to be written on her face.
A friend next to her pushed her and asked, "What's wrong with you? Haven't you decided what to write for your paper yet?"
Qiao Mengmeng sighed and said, "Actually, I had already made up my mind, but my advisor advised me to reconsider it."
My friend asked curiously, "What exactly are you planning to write? Your tutor is actually trying to dissuade you."
Qiao Mengmeng didn't know what she was thinking about, but she suddenly perked up and said, "That's it."
Her friend came over to take a look at the words she had written in her notebook, her expression indescribable. "Qiao Mengmeng, are you serious? If this is the topic, it will be really difficult to pass."
Qiao Mengmeng said, "Why are you so sad? I can find countless arguments to prove my point."
My friend said helplessly, "I admit, Su Fengzhang is a famous figure in history, and he's inspired a large number of historians. Everyone loves to dig up the things he did when he was alive. But Qiao Mengmeng, he lived thousands of years ago and was a scholar who passed the imperial examination. Do you really think he could be a feminist?"
That’s right, Qiao Mengmeng’s topic is “On Feminist Fighter Su Fengzhang.”
Qiao Mengmeng was furious. "Why can't he? Look at what he's done in his life. Besides improving the administration and economy of the Great Zhou, he's put most of his energy into improving the status of women."
"Although the concept of women's rights didn't exist in the Great Zhou at that time, Su Fengzhang's actions in his later years—allowing women to study, allowing women to enter the court, recognizing women's inheritance rights, and improving women's social status—each of these proves that he was a feminist."
The friend sighed and retorted, "I admit everything you said, but you have to admit one thing, that is, Su Fengzhang actually discriminated against women in his early years."
"In Su Fengzhang's memoirs, written by a descendant of the Su family, it is clearly written that Su Fengzhang was bullied by a vicious woman in the village, who accused her of being a woman's woman. He was contemptuous of the vicious woman in the village and even told the children in the village not to listen to the woman's words."
The descendants of the Su family wrote this book based on Su Lanzhang's oral narration. Their original purpose was to restore a real, flesh-and-blood Su Fengzhang. Who knew that some of the words in the book would later become evidence for the enemy to attack and annihilate Su Fengzhang.
Qiao Mengmeng became even angrier after hearing this and cursed, "These were all said by Su Lanzhang. I don't even know if they are true or not."
"Besides, even if it's true, think about Su Fengzhang's situation at the time. He lost his father and elder brother, and he was still a child. He was an orphan and a widow, and he was bullied by a shrew in the village."
"In that situation, Su Fengzhang spoke without thinking in order to suppress the shrew's arrogance. What's wrong with that? Can't he make mistakes? He later spent his whole life correcting his mistakes. Isn't that enough?"
Seeing that she was getting more and more excited, her friend quickly admitted defeat: "Hey, don't get so excited, I didn't say he discriminated against women."
"Mengmeng, I actually think the same as you. If Su Fengzhang really discriminated against women and hated women, how could he have put so much effort into improving women's status?"
"When he was at the height of his power, there was no need to do this. I agree with you on this point, but historians now generally believe that Su Fengzhang elevated the status of women in order to curry favor with Empress Yuntian and Empress Dowager Fang and to form an alliance with them. I think your thesis will likely be sent back for rewriting."
Qiao Mengmeng became even angrier when she heard this: "Bah! Back then, Su Fengzhang still had to be afraid of Queen Yuntian and Queen Mother Fang."
"Let's talk about Empress Dowager Yun first. Everyone knows that Empress Dowager Yun and Su Fengzhang are close friends and have always been very supportive of his political views. Moreover, Su Huihui married into the Yun family, so the Yun and Su families are a natural alliance."
"Su Fengzhang received so much criticism for supporting the entry of female officials into the court. As a man, and a man of high power, what other reason did he have to do this besides his respect for women and feminism?"
"Speaking of Empress Dowager Fang, the history books clearly state that she had been a widow for many years and was attracted to Su Qing. She proposed to him, but Su Qing refused. The Empress Dowager was heartbroken, so she entered the court as a court lady, refusing love for her entire life."
"Empress Dowager Fang is Su Fengzhang's admirer. She even disregarded her dignity for Su Fengzhang. Why would Su Fengzhang need to please her?"
Her friend coughed, reminding her to pay attention to the surroundings.
Qiao Mengmeng, however, was immersed in her own world and said angrily, "Let's talk about this Queen Mother Fang..."
"What happened to Empress Dowager Fang?" a voice suddenly asked.
Qiao Mengmeng answered subconsciously: "Empress Fang loves Su Fengzhang to death, but she can't get him...ah!"
"Qiao Mengmeng!" a stern voice called out. A teacher wearing gold-rimmed glasses stood before them, his expression serious. "Which history book are you reading? Take it out and let me see it."
The classmates around her burst into laughter. Qiao Mengmeng wanted to hide herself under the table and said hesitantly, "Teacher, I'm sorry."
The teacher didn't let her go: "Which book? Tell me."
Qiao Mengmeng gritted her teeth and replied, "The Secret History of the Great Zhou Dynasty."
As soon as he finished speaking, the teacher sneered, "You don't read good history books, you don't read the Xuanwu Ceremony, and instead spend every day reading these meaningless unofficial histories. Can there be any truth in those unofficial histories?"
Qiao Mengmeng said unconvincedly, "Even in history books, doesn't it say that Su Fengzhang often entered the harem and had close relationships with the two empress dowagers? Maybe it's just like what the unofficial history says, that Empress Dowager Fang was in love with Su Fengzhang and deliberately allowed him into the palace."
The teacher nearly fainted from anger and cursed, "Su Fengzhang frequently enters and leaves the harem because he has no choice but to do so as a regent. Firstly, he has to go into the palace to handle government affairs, and secondly, he has to teach Emperor Wen."
At this time, a boy in the front laughed and said, "Teacher, this is not right. Does Emperor Wen need to be taught? Isn't he famous for eating, drinking, sleeping and playing, and other than that, he doesn't do anything important."
It has to be said that it is rare to find an emperor in history who did not treat himself badly like Emperor Wen. This emperor only did one thing in his life, which was eating, drinking and having fun, but his reputation in history is surprisingly good.
This was of course due to the political system of the Zhou Dynasty at that time. Even if the emperor did not attend court for three years, the system could continue to function. The emperor was like a mascot, and although Emperor Wen loved to play, it was not out of the ordinary.
Seeing the room full of students starting to discuss the topic, the teacher glanced at the topic on the table, walked back to the podium, and said loudly, "Since some students are not listening, let's discuss today whether this most famous politician, military strategist, and economist in history is a feminist."
After hearing this, Qiao Mengmeng couldn't help but shout, "Of course, Su Fengzhang has single-handedly saved thousands of women. When women abroad didn't even have inheritance rights, the concept of gender equality had already begun to rise in Zhongzhou."
Someone immediately retorted, "That's not true. It was Empress Dowager Yun who initiated the idea of allowing women to serve as officials. She was the initiator and advocate of the women's rights movement in the Great Zhou that lasted for hundreds of years."
"Without Su Fengzhang's support and acquiescence, how could female officials and female education be promoted in the Great Zhou at that time?"
"Isn't it said that Su Fengzhang had an affair with the two Empress Dowagers? That's why he agreed to Empress Dowager Yun's policy of female officials."
"You're talking nonsense! Queen Mother Yun is almost thirty years older than Su Fengzhang. How could they possibly be having an affair?"
"Then Queen Mother Fang is definitely a possibility. They are from the same hometown, both from Hushan County. They may have grown up together and experienced adventures together on the ship. If Queen Mother Fang hadn't entered the harem for revenge, they might have been together."
"Su Fengzhang never married for the sake of Empress Dowager Fang. This is the best proof."
Qiao Mengmeng's face flushed with anger, and she jumped up to retort, "You're talking nonsense! This is all nonsense! You've probably watched too many stupid time-travel TV dramas!"
The person who just spoke said confidently: "That's what the popular drama 'The Legend of Da Zhou Linlang' said last year."
"'The Legend of Linlang of the Great Zhou Dynasty' was banned for tampering with history, and only you, a bunch of brainless fans, would believe it."
At this time, the teacher interrupted and said, "Teacher, let me be fair. The claim that Su Fengzhang and Fang Linlang were childhood sweethearts is definitely false. Because in the memoirs written by Empress Dowager Fang herself, there is a sentence that she lived in Hushan County as a child, but she never met Su Qing. It can be seen that they were indeed not destined to be together in this life."
"It's easy to see from this that they didn't have much of a relationship when they were young. Later, when Fang Linlang entered the palace as a concubine, it was even more unlikely that she would have had any relationship with the civil servants of the previous dynasty. Instead, it was many years later, during Emperor Wen's reign, that the two gradually became familiar with each other."
Qiao Mengmeng felt satisfied and nodded, saying, "Teacher is right. You should all read more books and stop being brainwashed by TV dramas."
When she thought about last year's "The Legend of Da Zhou Linlang" which tampered with history and turned her patriotic idol into a lovelorn supporting actor, the disgusting lines made Qiao Mengmeng want to smash the TV.
Another student asked, "Teacher, do you think Su Fengzhang is a feminist?"
The teacher smiled and said, "First of all, everyone should understand that the theory of feminism first appeared in France and was not introduced to China until later."
"So whether he was or not, it certainly wasn't called that at the time."
"Secondly, Su Fengzhang himself was born into a traditional scholar-official family. Judging from his resume, his father was a scholar, his eldest brother was also a scholar, and his younger brother was also a scholar. The family was undoubtedly deeply influenced by Confucian culture."
"This is also the strangest thing, because in the early days of female officials entering the court, the most opposed were the old-school literati in the court. Su Fengzhang herself should belong to this category."
"But everyone saw that Su Fengzhang not only didn't object, but also strongly supported it. He even fell out with his close friends over it and even asked his own sister to leave her home, leaving her husband and children behind to work."
"As an aside, the achievements of Su Huihui, a female official of her generation, were actually no less than those of Li Ziyan. However, historians prefer Li Ziyan because she was more conflicted. To become a female official, she remained unmarried, broke with the Li family, and dedicated her life to fighting for power for women."
"On this point, Su Huihui, Su Fengzhang's biological sister, actually didn't do it so thoroughly. She got married, had children, and I heard she has a very good relationship with Yun Hui."
"After Su Fengzhang retired and returned home, Su Huihui also left the court soon after. In my opinion, it's not so much that Su Huihui has awakened, but rather that she became a female official partly to help her brother."
"Li Ziyan is different. She is more high-profile and aggressive than Su Huihui. It can be said that she was the leader of the first women's rights movement in Chinese history."
"Let's get back to the point. Historians are baffled as to why Su Fengzhang supported the entry of female officials into the court. Some say he did so to maintain a good relationship with Empress Dowager Yun, but given the current state of the Great Zhou, this argument isn't very solid."
"Some people also say that Su Fengzhang himself has a sense of human rights, and that human rights also include women's rights. However, this idea is so advanced that, although there is a lot of evidence to support it, it has always been controversial."
"The main objection to Su Fengzhang's feminism stems from his early words, which have already been mentioned. Another point is that Su Fengzhang never married. In ancient times, this was unthinkable for a man of such high status and good health."
"Teacher, how do you know he's healthy? Maybe he's just impotent?"
"Shut up now! Su Fengzhang is almost fifty years old and can still fight the God of War He Jun to a draw. How can he be in poor health? The history books all say that Su Fengzhang has a youthful appearance and white hair, and he has a good way of maintaining health."
"Then he must be gay. Isn't it said that he and Prince Cheng had an affair and later retired together?"
The teacher chuckled and continued, "We won't discuss Su Fengzhang's sexual orientation today, but there are many emperors and ministers in Zhongzhou's history who were homosexual, and none of them would delay marrying and having children. Therefore, there is a school of thought that believes Su Fengzhang is actually a hidden misogynist."
"Of course, the teacher privately disagrees with this argument. From Su Fengzhang's records, it's clear that he got along very well with his sister, Su Huihui, and both of his mothers. He even had a personal relationship with He Jun's wife, Princess Hejing, and his relationships with the two Empress Dowagers weren't bad either. Misogyny certainly wouldn't be able to achieve this."
At this time, someone shouted, "I know, Su Fengzhang is actually a woman. He disguised himself as a man to serve in the court, so he had to remain single. Prince Cheng fell in love with him, so he retired with him and returned to his hometown to live in seclusion in the mountains."
The teacher coughed and reminded again: "Students, don't trust unofficial history, and even less so television dramas and novels. The Great Zhou imperial examinations were strictly inspected to prevent cheating. It's absolutely impossible for a woman to disguise herself as a man."
After he finished speaking, he looked at Qiao Mengmeng with a smile. "Su Fengzhang was a very complex person. He had both humanity and divinity. Although historians now generally believe that Su Fengzhang supported female officials for various reasons and was not a feminist himself, I am very optimistic about this topic. Qiao Mengmeng, if you really want to write about it, I am willing to be your mentor."
When Qiao Mengmeng heard this, she felt like the whole world brightened up, and the usually rigid and serious teacher became cute.
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The author has something to say: It’s the finale, there will be a special episode tomorrow, and then it will be completely over~~
Let's collect the following articles first, of the same type:
→→→Still following the imperial examination route, if you don’t study, you will die [Imperial Examination]
→→→The updated Danmei-Human Little Wrench-Strong Sweet Story Preference
Mobile phone party click on the author's column, click on "If you don't read, you will die" [Imperial Examination]/Preference-click to collect~~~ Love you
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