CCWAD – Chapter 37

Chapter 37

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Ten Thousand Phenomena Renew

Epigraph:

“When the first women’s school opened in Bianliang, thousands of women knelt filling the long streets. Old scholars lamented with grief, but in the sound of their earnest reading, I heard the footsteps of a new era.”

—

The new dynasty had just been established, and everything was in need of rebuilding. Yan Qing sat upright in Chuigong Hall, facing a mountain of memorials that seemed endless. Over a month had passed since she subdued Zhong Shidao, yet unrest still simmered beneath the surface of the court and the country. Every morning at court, the officials clad in purple and crimson robes performed the grand ceremony of three kowtows and nine bows with utmost respect, but their eyes always held a hint of scrutiny and hesitation.

On this morning’s court session, the Minister of Rites, Wang Wenzheng, stepped forward and reported: “Your Majesty, prefectures and counties across the land have submitted petitions inquiring about the imperial examinations. According to the old system, the spring examinations should be prepared for next year. If arrangements are not made in advance, I fear it will delay the future of scholars throughout the realm.”

Yan Qing put down her vermilion brush and looked at the assembled officials: “What are your thoughts, my esteemed ministers?”

An elder minister with white hair trembled as he stepped forward. He was a veteran of three dynasties and the Grand Tutor, Zhao Mingcheng: “Your Majesty, the imperial examinations are a matter of great importance to the nation and should be held as scheduled. However… the selection of the chief examiners requires careful consideration. According to the old precedent, the Minister of Rites and the Hanlin Academicians should jointly preside, but now…”

Before he could finish, Li Shishi suddenly spoke: “Your Majesty, I believe the imperial examination system should also be reformed.”

The hall erupted in an uproar. Although Li Shishi had been enfeoffed as Grand Tutor and was privy to court affairs, her direct proposal to reform the imperial examinations still shocked the assembled officials.

Zhang Zai, the libationer of the Imperial Academy, immediately objected: “Grand Tutor Li, your words are mistaken! The imperial examination system has been in place for hundreds of years, continuing from the Sui and Tang dynasties and leading to the present. It is the fundamental law for selecting talent for the nation. How can it be changed so casually?”

Li Shishi, unhurried, produced a scroll: “This is a report I recently compiled on the state of education across the land. According to my findings, eight or nine out of ten scholars in the realm come from official families. Even if poor scholars possess great talent, it is difficult for them to rise. The official schools in various regions are mostly controlled by local powerful families, and impoverished children cannot even afford books, let alone hire renowned teachers for guidance.”

She paused, surveyed the officials, and her voice rang clear: “Not to mention women, who do not even have the opportunity to study. I ask all of you, if your sisters or daughters wished to study and understand principles, would you also dismiss them with the words ‘a woman’s lack of talent is her virtue’?”

These words were like pouring cold water into a boiling pot; the court immediately exploded.

“Absurd! How can women be ranked with men?”

“When a hen crows at dawn, the household is ruined! This is the teaching of the sages!”

“Preposterous! Truly preposterous!”

Yan Qing listened quietly to the arguments, her fingers gently tapping the armrest of the dragon throne. Only when the noise subsided did she slowly speak: “Have you finished?”

Her voice was not loud, but it instantly silenced the entire court. Everyone held their breath, awaiting the new sovereign’s reaction.

“I ask you,” she stood up and walked down the steps of the imperial dais, the hem of her dragon robe rustling, “if your mothers, wives, and daughters wished to study and understand principles, would you also dismiss them with these words?”

Zhao Mingcheng stiffened his neck and stammered: “Your Majesty, ancestral laws cannot be violated! Since the sage Confucius established teachings, there has been a distinction between men and women, each keeping to their place. If women are allowed to study and take the examinations, will it not disrupt the natural order and ethics?”

“Ancestral laws?” Yan Qing sneered, her gaze like lightning. “Which ancestral law stipulates that women cannot study? Which ancestral law dictates that the poor cannot produce nobles? The Book of Rites states: ‘When the Great Way prevails, the world is shared by all.’ Since the world is shared by all, why can’t the opportunity to study be shared by all?”

She walked to the center of the hall, her gaze sweeping over each person: “From today onwards, the restrictions of family background in the imperial examinations are abolished. Talent, regardless of origin, will be chosen. Furthermore, a women’s examination will be established, allowing women to participate in the imperial examinations. Official schools will be set up in various regions, allowing poor children to enroll for free. In the capital, the Imperial Academy will be established, admitting students based on merit.”

A deathly silence fell upon the court. These reforms were too astonishing; even the most enlightened ministers found them difficult to accept at once. Several elder ministers exchanged glances, wanting to offer counsel, but they swallowed their words under Yan Qing’s sharp gaze.

After the court session, Yan Qing and Li Shishi strolled in the Imperial Garden. The autumn was deep, and chrysanthemums bloomed everywhere, their fragrance wafting through the air.

“Today’s actions will likely cause much criticism,” Li Shishi said softly, casually brushing aside a chrysanthemum branch blocking their path.

Yan Qing plucked a withered leaf and gently twirled it between her fingers: “Someone has to start. I remember when I was young, there was a girl next door who was extremely intelligent and could memorize anything she read. But because she was a woman, she couldn’t even write her own name. Later, her father sold her to a sixty-year-old man as a concubine, and she died of melancholy within a year.”

Li Shishi fell silent for a moment, a flicker of pain in her eyes: “Such tragedies will no longer happen.”

The implementation of the new policies met with greater resistance than imagined. The next day at court, one-third of the ministers claimed illness and did not attend. Scholars from various regions jointly submitted petitions in protest, their words fierce. Even in the marketplaces, all sorts of rumors circulated, saying the new sovereign intended for “hens to crow at dawn” and “to invert yin and yang.”

But this could not halt the march of reform. Yan Qing personally supervised the matter, ordering the Ministry of Revenue to allocate special funds and the Ministry of Works to select sites for building schools. A month later, Bianliang’s first women’s school officially opened. The site was chosen from the former residence of Cai Jing. This luxurious mansion, spanning a hundred mu, was converted into a school; pavilions and towers became classrooms, and gardens and waterscapes served as places for students to rest.

The scene on the opening day was moving. From the school gate to the street corner, women seeking education knelt in a vast expanse. From noble daughters to poor commoners, and even a few old women with white hair, everyone’s eyes shone with the light of longing. Some were accompanied by their fathers or brothers, others came alone, but without exception, their faces bore the piety of pilgrims.

“Your Majesty,” the headmistress of the school reported excitedly, “over three thousand people have registered, ranging in age from six to forty. Among them are also a few… courtesans.”

Yan Qing personally visited the school and looked at the women seated at the desks, her heart filled with emotion. Some of these women had rough fingers, clearly accustomed to years of labor; others were reserved in their demeanor, indicating humble origins. But their eyes were all equally bright, filled with a thirst for knowledge.

“Teach them well,” she said to the headmistress, “every woman who graduates from here has the potential to change this world.”

However, at this very moment, a group of old scholars gathered outside the school, weeping bitterly. Dressed in scholar’s robes and wearing square hats, they all beat their chests and stomped their feet:

“The rites are broken, the music is ruined! The rites are broken, the music is ruined!”

“Women studying, what is proper? What is proper!”

“Wicked women bring disaster upon the nation! Wicked women bring disaster upon the nation!”

The guards moved to disperse them, but Yan Qing stopped them. She walked to the old scholars and calmly asked: “Why do you oppose women studying?”

A white-haired old scholar trembled and said: “Your Majesty, please understand. Women should value chastity and quietude; their duty is to assist their husbands and raise their children. If they study and understand principles, will it not disrupt the natural order and ethics? This old minister fears that in the future, women will not be content in their homes, and this world… this world will fall into great chaos!”

“Natural order and ethics?” Yan Qing retorted, “If women studying will disrupt the natural order and ethics, why won’t men studying? Sage Confucius said, ‘Where there is education for all, there is no distinction.’ Did he ever say to teach only men and not women?”

The old scholar was momentarily speechless, his face flushed. At this moment, the clear sound of reading drifted from within the school. The clear voices of those women, as if possessing a certain magic, quieted everyone present.

“Guan, guan, cry the ospreys, on the islet in the river…”

“A fair and virtuous lady, for our prince a good mate…”

“Long are the duckweed, east and west they are plucked…”

“A fair and virtuous lady, awake and asleep he seeks her…”

Listening to these lines of poetry, recited for a thousand years, Yan Qing smiled slightly: “Listen, does this sound of reading seem like it will disrupt the natural order and ethics?”

The old scholars looked at each other, finally speechless. Some shook their heads and sighed, some wept silently, but others seemed to have a sudden realization, staring blankly in the direction of the school.

That night, Yan Qing was in her sleeping quarters, reviewing memorials, with Li Shishi by her side grinding ink. The candlelight flickered, casting their shadows on the wall.

“The matter of the school today has spread throughout the capital,” Li Shishi said softly. “Many ministers are observing in secret. I heard that some noble families have already begun hiring tutors to educate their daughters.”

Yan Qing continued to sketch on the memorial without looking up: “Let them observe. When these women achieve their learning, they will naturally understand.”

She put down her vermilion brush and walked to the window. The moonlight was like water, filling the courtyard. The lights of Bianliang in the distance twinkled, mirroring the stars in the sky.

“Shishi, what do you think future generations will say about what we have done today, a hundred years from now?”

Li Shishi walked to her side and draped a robe over her shoulders: “Perhaps they will say we are rebellious, perhaps they will say we are pioneers. But one thing is certain—”

She took Yan Qing’s hand, her gaze firm: “They will certainly remember that it was in this era that women were first able to walk into schools with dignity, and for the first time, could strive for fame and fortune through their own talents. Centuries from now, when women can serve in court alongside men and govern the realm, they will certainly remember that all of this began today, began with Your Majesty.”

Outside the window, the night deepened, and the dew grew heavy. But within this palace, a new era was quietly dawning. The sounds of reading emanating from the women’s schools were like seeds, taking root and sprouting on this ancient land. One day, they would blossom into brilliant flowers and bear abundant fruit.

—

(End of Chapter Thirty-Seven)