Common sense doesn't apply.
This place never fails to amaze.
Take names, for example. Names are something that others often say more often than you do. Yao Jing had a name, but it wasn't used often. The maids and nannies called her "Second Girl," her brothers called her "Second Sister," and the elders (her mother was the only one at home, and Yao Jing had never met her second uncle) mostly called her "Second Girl" or occasionally "Little Girl."
This name, which is said to have beautiful meanings and expectations, was decided upon by Standard's father after a long time of thought. However, it is no longer used now, leaving Yao Jing with no impression of the name. If you ask her what her name is, you will probably get a roll of your eyes - she hasn't remembered it yet.
Being called "Second Girl," "Second Girl," made Yao Jing feel like she was a bit of a fool. Yao Jing shuddered and vowed not to be a pushover! She began to strive to sit upright when sitting and stand straight when standing, cultivating a strong aura from a young age.
Another example is the concubines. The typical father of this family has three concubines, named Zhang, Li, and Wang. Concubine Zhang is my eldest sister's biological mother. Concubine Li once gave birth to a boy, but unfortunately, he died of illness around the same time as my mother's third son. The high infant mortality rate was a common phenomenon in China at that time. Yao Jing had thought that there would be at least one person like Jia Huan's mother, but unexpectedly, they were all very well-behaved. Even Concubine Zhang, who had a daughter, and Concubine Li, who had a son, were not gossipy people. Concubine Wang was slightly younger and more lively. She was talkative in front of my mother and had a bit of a picky streak, but she was never unreasonable—at least Yao Jing had never seen or heard anyone gossiping about her. Of course, it could also be because she was still young and hadn't been exposed to it yet?
Yao Jing was embarrassed by this. Her knowledge of Qing Dynasty time travel was still in its infancy, and she only remembered bits and pieces. But the girls in the Penguin group all said that any time travel meant fighting. At home, it was family fighting. In the palace, it was palace fighting. If you didn't enter the palace and got married, it would continue with family fighting. In short, women were born to make things difficult for each other. Now, what was this?!
Another example is "sister." Yao Jing, after all, isn't a lolita anymore. She understands the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children. It doesn't disappear just because you don't care. When I was little, I was envious of the saying "a newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger," and I secretly memorized it to encourage myself. Only after I grew up did I realize that "not fearing" doesn't mean "being able to defeat a calf." A tiger doesn't care if the calf is afraid of it; it just eats! When you're imagining things, you can imagine yourself as a shrewd tortoise, coming thousands of miles to pay tribute, just like the Qing Dynasty. But when things get to the point, treaties are still signed in Nanjing and Beijing, ceding territory and paying indemnities.
Should she act cute and show she understands none of this, then continue to build a good relationship with her older sister with an innocent, pouty face to soften her heart, or should she be cautious and not touch her innermost feelings? Yao Jing couldn't decide. Her pride was clearly on display, and she always wanted to be the best. Had she heard the gossip? No wonder she tried so hard to show off when her father returned. What was the right thing for her to do? Well begun is half done, and the beginning is crucial. Although she was sensitive about the word "half-sister," she was still her older sister, and no one wanted a bad relationship, right?
Yao Jing's face was filled with worry, as she pondered how to get along with her older sister in the future. The older sister continued to work hard at learning to read, seemingly oblivious to the issue. The next time they met, she greeted her with the same "Hello, little sister." Then she went about her business, paying her respects, eating, or answering her mother's questions. Yao Jing was simply too ignorant. This was how it was in that era. There was a distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children, a fact everyone accepted. Besides, this older sister was only a kindergartener; what was she supposed to do now?
Yao Jing was dismayed to find that all her common sense had been practically overturned in this square courtyard. The Qing Puyuan (Qing Dynasty clothing educationists) hadn't told her that dressing too early would result in a shaving, that she needed to be bilingual or even trilingual, or that once given a name, she'd rarely hear it called and might even forget it. Cao Gong hadn't explained what to do if the maids and nannies were honest and attentive in caring for her, and there weren't any illegitimate siblings who would come to complain about her.
Common sense is useless, so I have to learn on the spot. "Marxism needs to be localized, and everything needs to be analyzed specifically," Yao Jing comforted herself.
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Days passed, and during the first period of rapid growth, Yao Jing grew rapidly. Gradually, she was able to run and jump, and her range of movement in the courtyard gradually expanded. With this, she learned more and more news. For example, her mother didn't just sit at home and watch which maid was lazy or which cook was greedy; she would also ask people to find out what was going on outside.
There was another uncle in the family, whom I hadn't met yet. Ever since Standard's father came back, the two brothers had been talking about something, and they had started sending people to spread rumors from the outside world. One time, after the uncle sent someone to deliver the news, the maids couldn't help but gossip. They said that the second master was already a third-class guard and was about to get married, but he ended up being a member of the Three Feudatories. The Three Feudatories didn't normally affect the life and death of people in the capital, but with the empress in mourning, his father and brother were both sent to fight in the military, so there was no elder to arrange a marriage for him, and so he remained single to this day.
It's unclear whether the news from her second uncle was good. Although the imperial army was gradually gaining the upper hand, many of the government troops had also lost their lives. Wars these days weren't just about using small soldiers as cannon fodder, as one might imagine. Several high-ranking officers had also died in battle or on the march. Yao Jing remembered which officials they were at the time, but then forgot them again. She only remembered that her current grandfather had miraculously remained safe.
Yao Jing absorbs common sense like a girl born and raised in the Qing Dynasty. Many of the children's toys of the era were still seen when she was little, but by the time she grew up, they had been replaced by Transformers and Barbie. Seeing these handmade toys again now feels familiar. Teaching with real objects, like speaking Manchu to an apple, is much more vivid and memorable than just saying "apple apple apple."
Yao Jing tried to calm herself, trying not to think about her cousin Yao Ni, the way she'd cracked an apple with a chubby "Ah-woo" and said, "Sister, it's no use remembering it like that. You should be like me, biting an apple and making 'Ah-woo' sounds, just like 'apple.'" That little girl was sitting on her sofa, chewing on her apple—she was only five years old at the time, her chubby face looking just like an apple.
At that moment, La Mei arrived with a message: "The barber has been called today. Madam, please bring the second young lady along for a haircut." It was May, and the nationwide 100-day hair-growth campaign, launched in remembrance of the passing of the second Mrs. Kang, had come to an end. The fine layer of hair that had just grown on Yao Jing's head was about to be gone in the blink of an eye.
Because of their hairstyle, barbers were relatively common in the Qing Dynasty. When Yao Jing was learning Chinese idioms in elementary school, she memorized the saying "One end of the barber's pole is hot." The annotation below it was "One end of the barber's pole is used for tools, and the other end is used for hot water and stoves."
In comparison, the nine-year compulsory education is more reliable. At least what the textbooks say has come true, while what the Qingpu officials say is still far from enough.
Yao Jing was carried by the nanny and bowed. After being placed on the Luohan couch where her mother sat, she also greeted her mother and said hello to her sister. Her sister smiled and asked back. Yao Jing thought for a moment and asked, "Where are my brothers?" The eldest sister sat aside, glanced at her, and said nothing. Her mother said, "They went to school early this morning."
...I'm wondering if they don't shave their heads together? Also, are female barbers popular these days?
Of course not. The two had already had their hair shaved by a male barber long ago. It was simply because they were girls and their family was relatively well-off that they used the skilled servants. The family also had all the necessary barbering tools, practically just for the two sisters. Yao Jing didn't see a carrying pole, but she did see a basin of hot water, a comb, a rake, a razor, and other items laid out.
I shaved my sister first. I wrapped a large handkerchief around her neck, added some hot water, and used soap to clean her wet hair. Then I warmed her head with a hot towel before shaving. I carefully shaved the hair around her head, leaving the center section. I dried it, braided it into a thin braid, and tied it with a red string.
Yao Jing did the same thing, but her hair was still too short to braid much, so she simply tied it up symbolically with a red string. Having her head shaved made Yao Jing resent the very word "beheaded" even more. Looking at her sister's freshly shaved scalp, and then seeing her mother and the maids with full hair, she longed even more to grow her hair faster, so that it could at least cover her scalp.
After the haircut, I was praised for my good behavior and for not crying. Mother rewarded my eldest sister with a plate of sachima. Yao Jing, still young, didn't dare give her anything so hard, so she got a bowl of yogurt instead. Something was better than nothing.
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After the shaving, the home remained peaceful. The maids were still working hard to teach Yao Jing how to speak. They had previously taught her simple greetings in addition to vocabulary, but now they were working on long sentences. As they taught, they praised her, saying, "Younger sister is learning really fast! She's learning faster than the older one did." Mother was delighted to hear this, and the days passed peacefully until June.
In mid-June, things got a bit dicey at home. Standard Dad, who had been in office for maybe two months, was transferred from Shandong to Zhili. Since he was in the rear, he had to ask for permission to go through the capital again. Well, it was Beijing, and of course the place to go to the palace for New Year's celebrations was the capital. He didn't stay long, arriving home that afternoon, taking a quick look before leaving. Mother was relieved this time, saying, "Zhili is closer than Shandong."
Fu Dali and Qingde, having not seen their father at school, had come home from school to greet him and ask how he was doing. They were both a little unhappy when they heard that their father had arrived but hadn't seen him. Yao Jing and her eldest sister did see their father, but they noticed that he looked darker, thinner, and a little tired, but his complexion was still good. His father had no time to comfort his daughters. He simply said hello and then discussed business matters with their mother: how things were going at home, how the old man back south was doing, and so on. The maids politely led the two girls out.
Yao Jing fell asleep as soon as she returned to her room. Children always need more sleep.
When I woke up, Standard Dad had already left, and Fu Dali and the others had also returned.
Life returned to normal, and my mother felt more at ease. Yao Jing's current "homework" was still mainly learning to speak, but she was gradually adding Manchu to the mix.
The more I learn, the more baffling I become. The Manchus have concocted a tangled mess of Chinese and Manchu. For example, "Ama" means "father," which is perfectly natural in a Manchu context. But they've forced a Manchu word into Chinese, like some white-collar workers at foreign companies long ago saying, "Ann, bring me the papers." It sounds strange. While Yao Jing also says "tank," that's for simplicity, better than "a tracked armored fighting vehicle fully armored, with a rotating turret and equipped with cannons, machine guns, and other weapons." But what's the point of this current mess?
I shook my head and stopped thinking. Thinking too much would make my brain muddy. Hegel said that everything that exists is reasonable, right?
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