History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 200 Lecture
There were three palace maids in total, only the one in the middle was a female official, surnamed Liang, holding the fourth-rank position of "Gongshi Gongren". Wei Bao handed each of them a bag of money and told them his father's official rank, only then did the female official Liang show a smile.

Wei Yao bowed to her parents and brothers Wei Mao to bid them farewell, stepped over the high threshold, and followed the palace maid into the long alley. Soon, she disappeared from everyone's sight.

Wei Bao then gave each of the Imperial Guards on duty at the palace gate a bag of money, allowing them to wait in the shade by the wall.

Speaking of Wei Yao, as she walked through the high walls and long alleys, she could already feel the solemn and oppressive atmosphere of Luoyang Palace. The road ahead only showed its beauty and emptiness to a few people in power. For the vast majority of palace staff and those who occasionally entered the palace, the further they went in, the more they felt like they were turning into food, falling helplessly into the belly of a giant python.

Lady Liang walked in front, followed by two young palace maids.

After turning another bend, the number of busy palace servants increased significantly. Some people bowed to Lady Liang, and Lady Liang would occasionally stop to bow to others as well.

Continuing forward, the palace path was deserted; there were no eunuchs in sight, only palace maids walking close to the palace walls. Wei Yao estimated they were almost at the Xi official residence. Sure enough, the female official Liang spoke coldly: "We're almost there. Remember, young lady, the lecturer for recitation is different from the lecturer for the palace academy. He may not be able to come again. You only need to recite one poem well. Don't say anything unnecessary, don't do anything unnecessary. This is good for yourself, and also good for the palace students of Qixing Academy."

Wei Yao understood. It seemed that all the Confucian scholars who had lectured on poetry at Qixing Academy before her had failed the palace's lecture examination and had offended the powerful figures behind the palace students.

The female official Liang showed her displeasure at Wei Yao's lack of response. The round-faced palace maid, observing the situation, said in a crisp voice, "I heard that the students at Qixing Academy are very capable. They even made the lecturers stutter."

The female official, Liang, smiled dismissively: "Normal."

Within the yellow walls lay the Xi Office. The Xi Office was under the jurisdiction of Changqiu Temple. Although "Xi slave" sounded unpleasant, ordinary criminal slaves were not worthy of being called "Xi slaves." Only those who were literate and knowledgeable were qualified to enter the Xi Office and begin their careers as palace maids from the lowest level, "Xi female slaves."

There were also eunuchs in the Xi official's office; they were young, thin, and weak.

This was the gathering place for palace maids and eunuchs; you could say there was one every three steps and a group every five. To the north, you could see rows of neatly arranged rooms, blocking the view further north. The palace school was built right next to the south wall of the Xi'an government office, a rare quiet place within this walled labor service area.

Outside Qixing Academy, there were two female officials recording records. They exchanged greetings with the female official Liang, indicating that they were both fourth-rank officials.

The female official pointed into the school building. The oldest female official in charge of recording gave her a reproachful look, but kindly instructed Wei Yao: "It's already past 5:30 a.m. Go in and start the lecture. We are here to record the lectures because the registrar is required to do so. All the lecturers who are giving their first lectures must go through this process."

Wei Yao bowed to the female official to express her gratitude. When she entered the school, a distinguished person arrived at the Xi government office. The person who came was the Seventh Prince Yuan Yun and Yuan Shixian, the nephew of the Prince of Rencheng. Following behind the two children were the Zhai Commander Wang Zhongxing and the white-clad guard Ru Hao.

Yuan Shixian always seemed to be half asleep, yawning as he walked. Yuan Yu complained to his friend, "I told you not to come along, but you insisted."

"Who told you to make progress in your studies? My uncle praises you every day and tells me to study with you."

Yuan Heng pulled the other person along quickly: "You'll see why my studies have improved in a little while."

Inside the Qixing Academy, Wei Yao glanced at the palace students. There were sixteen young palace maids in total, the youngest being five or six years old, and the oldest looking no more than ten. Wei Yao unfolded the poem on the desk, which was the poem "Ding Zhi Fang Zhong" from the "Yong Feng" section.

The text only contains the poem and the preface, without any explanation of the preface, commentary, or annotations.

“My surname is Wei, and the poem I will be discussing today is called ‘Ding Zhi Fang Zhong’. Which student can recite this poem?” Wei Yao waited for a moment before continuing, “Since no one can, I will first recite the preface and the verses.”

“The poem ‘Ding Zhi Fang Zhong’ is about Duke Wen of Wei, whose state was destroyed by the Di…” She stopped looking at the paper on her desk and, while reciting the poem with intonation, observed each student. Some of the children had lifeless eyes, some were sad, and some were exceptionally energetic, but in the last type of eyes, there was stubbornness, or rather, hatred.

This poem consists of three chapters, each with seven lines.

To explain this poem, we must first understand what "定" means.
"Ding is the name of a star. Ying Shi Star is the 'Shi Mansion' in the Twenty-Eight Mansions. The shape of Ying Shi Star is large and rectangular, which is used to represent the building..."

A palace student asked, "It symbolizes the construction of a house... Is there any research on this sentence?" Wei Yao looked directly at the other person and said, "There is research. The last two sentences of the 'Zhou Li Dong Guan Kao Gong Ji Lun Ren Zhou Ren' are: 'The tortoise and snake roam in four directions, symbolizing the construction of a house; the bow and the banner are bent, symbolizing the bow.'"

The same student then asked, "The Zhou Li Chun Guan Zong Bo records something about tortoises and snakes. I can't remember, please explain, Master."

"A banner made of tortoise and snake."

Another student said, "I remember that Zheng Xuan wrote a commentary on this sentence."

Without hesitation, Wei Yao gave the answer: "Zheng Xuan's commentary... depictions of tortoises and snakes symbolize their ability to defend against difficulties and avoid harm."

The student pressed on, asking, "What is the explanation of '旐' in the Shuowen Jiezi? Please explain, Master."

Wei Yao: "The tortoise and snake roam in four directions, symbolizing the construction of houses. They are long and leisurely. The character '兆' is a phonetic component. The Rites of Zhou says, 'In the county and the countryside, banners are erected.'"

The two palace maids finally stopped asking questions.

But with such provocation, how could Wei Yao allow the other party to simply not act wildly?
Wei Yao directly asked them, "The Erya also has an explanation for 'Zha'. Which of you two can answer that?"

One of the two palace maids pursed her lips tightly, while the other made no attempt to hide her hatred.

"Can't solve it? Go stand outside."

"Why should I?" the palace maid demanded, her eyes filled with resentment.

"Because I am the teacher, because I am giving a lecture, because you have spoken out of turn without raising your hands or my permission, disrupting the class, and using knowledge outside the scope of poetry to interfere with the other students' listening! What? In your hometown, is this how teachers and students behave?"

"You will not be allowed to insult my hometown!"

“It is you two who are disgracing the Confucian and Taoist traditions! Ladies,” Wei Yao asked the three female officials in charge of recording at the door, “As a lecturer, even if I only lecture here for a moment, I must uphold the duties and authority of a teacher. Do I have the right to expel these two from the school?”

The female official in charge of recording pointed at the two palace students: "Step forward."

Wei Yao looked at the others: "Those who are dissatisfied, those who feel wronged for the two of them, get out now. I only teach humble and polite disciples, not reckless and wicked ones!"

One person raised their hand and asked indignantly, "I'm not trying to defend them, but the lecturer started it by using their words to frame them. The lecturer knew we had suffered a family tragedy, yet he still mentioned the word 'hometown' in front of us, which is why they lost their temper and talked back to you!"

Wei Yao laughed: "What do you mean by that? Your family has suffered misfortune because your county officials are incompetent and you yourselves are cowardly. The fault lies entirely with yourselves. You should fight each other, but instead you all point the finger at me, who has just come to teach. You choose to cherish your lives and live a life of righteousness. After you have eaten your fill, you can't distinguish right from wrong. Is this also the custom of your hometown?"

Changqiu Temple: Manages all affairs of the inner palace; the highest official position is "Daichangqiuqing".

Xi: The original meaning of the character "Xi" is a slave. Zheng Xuan annotated "Xi" as follows: "In ancient times, men and women were confiscated by the county government as slaves. Those who were young and talented were called Xi. Today, the maids of the scribes are called Xi officials."

"Zhai Shuai" is an official title, the head of the guards in the palace where the emperor fasted. Wang Zhongxing was originally a bodyguard of Emperor Xiaowen. When the Prince of Pengcheng relinquished his military power, all of Emperor Xiaowen's bodyguards were handed over to the new emperor, Yuan Ke.

旐 (zhào): An ancient flag decorated with a tortoise and a snake.



(End of this chapter)