History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 5 Horse Archery Competition

After class, Wei Yao was surprised to find her father coming to pick her up; both father and daughter beamed with joy. After greeting Master Duan, Wei Yin helped his daughter carry her schoolbag and asked with concern, "Are you cold?"

The air was cool at this time of year, and the school buildings had all their doors and windows open to let in light.

Wei Yao answered truthfully, "It's cold, but I can endure it."

"Don't persist in things you shouldn't persist in. Come on, let's go buy gloves."

Wei Yao's mother, Zhao Zhi, was skilled in martial arts but not in traditional women's clothing, which was common among Xianbei women.

"Hmm. Father, what brings you here to pick me up?"

"I suddenly remembered how you helped me carry my books today, and the more I thought about it, the more I missed you. So I asked Master Xue to teach the afternoon class for me, haha."

Behind him, Qu Rong gazed enviously at Master Wei's back, and couldn't help but replace Wei Yao with him. If Master Wei were his father, how wonderful it would be! Then he would be the student in the classroom who could understand everything and write with ease.

What a pity! He was destined to be neither the best nor the worst.

At the market, Wei Yao picked out a pair of chestnut-colored fingerless wool gloves, but Wei Yin said disdainfully, "Pink ones are much prettier. Give these to your mother."

“Hehe, I chose this for my mother first.” After saying that, Wei Yao tried on the pink gloves and took off the grass bead bracelet. “My father will keep it for me. It’s not comfortable to write while wearing it.”

She smiled, but her heart was filled with curiosity: Had Master Duan been so engrossed in his lecture that he forgot to tell all the students to watch the horse-riding and archery competition tomorrow?

When the father and daughter returned to Chiyang Lane, many neighbors gathered around a bronze mirror polisher. The laughter that had been filling the street suddenly became noticeably more reserved when they saw Wei Yin and his daughter.

The attitude of ordinary Xianbei people towards scholars has gradually shifted from contempt to respect, a change that has become particularly evident in the last two years.

After entering the house, Wei Yin did not forget his daughter's grass bead bracelet and handed it to his wife for safekeeping.

Wei Yao presented the gloves and a box of floral jewels to her mother like precious treasures: "Father picked out both the gloves and the jewels. There's a mirror sharpener at the alley entrance; do you want our bronze mirror sharpened?"

“It’s finished. Actually, I met this craftsman elsewhere and invited him to Chiyang Lane today.” Zhao Zhi was already delighted when her husband returned at noon, and after receiving the gloves and jewelry box, she felt even sweeter than if she had eaten honey.

but……

"My husband, I didn't know you were home, so I didn't prepare enough for lunch."

The father and daughter laughed, and Wei Yin stretched out his other hand, which was behind his back, carrying braised meat from the lamb restaurant in Dongsifang.

Wei Yin had a rare moment of leisure, spending his time either watching his daughter write notes inside the house or cutting golden paper in the yard.

The market sold both pre-cut and uncut, square pieces of flower petals. Wei Yin wanted half of each. He cut them to resemble orchids, then gently placed them on his wife's forehead, praising, "You are more beautiful than any flower."

Zhao Zhi, afraid her daughter would overhear, gently nudged her: "Stop talking nonsense..."

Wei Yin, who was only strong enough to kill a chicken, collapsed.

Wei Yao leaned out the window and laughed until her stomach hurt.

The residences, markets, temples, and gardens that ordinary people could visit in Pingcheng were mostly located in the outer city, which was even further outside the city walls. The "Youmei" garden, where Wei Mao held his archery and horsemanship competition, was also located in the east of the outer city walls, not far from Chiyang Lane.

The next day, Wei Yao hurriedly finished her breakfast and went out. She hadn't gone far when she encountered the students of Wei Academy. They were all full of energy, quite different from how they looked when they went to study.

The differences in family background were immediately apparent at this moment; some rode in oxcarts, some rode horses, and some were accompanied by a dozen servants.

The racecourse is located in the southeast corner of the garden, bordered to the south by the seven-story pagoda of Yongning Temple, and to the north, one can see the five-story pagoda of Huangjiu Temple. When Wei Yao arrived, all the good spots outside the railings were already taken.

She headed towards the direction of the "Lieutenant" flag.

I saw Wei Mao.

He was exceptionally energetic today, his hair was tightly tied up, and a tortoiseshell hairpin was inlaid with a pearl the size of a fingertip. His attire consisted of black pleated trousers and tiger-patterned boots, with a light chestnut silk belt binding the trousers, and a decorative leather belt around his waist.

He also saw Wei Yao and ordered his servant to go over to her. He led Wei Yao to a seat under the shed, where fruits and rice cakes were laid out on the table. She picked up a cup of water and drank it. It was warm and sweet, obviously with honey in it.

When Wei Yao looked into the distance again, she saw that Wei Mao was already choosing horses.

The first event in the equestrian archery competition was horse taming, which required subduing wild foals that had never been ridden before and making them circle the arena three times. All the horses had only reins, no stirrups or saddles.

The crowd's voices rose like a tidal wave as the imperial family's sons arrived. There was Xi Jiao, Changsun Wuzhuo, Zhou Tai... Any member of the imperial family or a son of a meritorious official could swagger around the city and no one dared to provoke them. When they gathered here to compete in the most primitive horsemanship and archery skills of the Xianbei people, how could the spectators not be excited!
At this moment, a young woman took the lead and shouted: "The pearl of the Daxi tribe, Xi Jiao!"

The crowd echoed: "Xi Jiao! Xi Jiao! Xi Jiao..."

With each shout louder than the last, Wei Zhen from the first room of the Book of Songs cried out: "The Qilin of the Wei clan, Wei Mao!"

"Wei Mao! Wei Mao! Wei Mao..."

Influenced by the shouts around her, Wei Yao smiled and looked at Wei Mao. However, the man's expression changed from a happy one to displeasure as he stared directly at her.

Wei Yao knew that this guy was annoyed that she was only eating and drinking, so she quickly raised her arms and pretended to roar. Only then did the other party rub his fists and make the final preparations before the competition.

The competition began with the sound of the animal horn.

The art of horse training naturally begins with the ability to mount a horse. The most skilled are those who can leap off the horse while holding the reins, while the next best are those who can follow the horse's lead and ride it with the right momentum.

The best way for Wei Yao to force herself not to look at Xi Jiao was to keep her eyes glued to Wei Mao. He had chosen a spirited steed; it would rear up and paw at the slightest approach, its mane stubbornly straight and bristling like long needles!

"Ah!" she couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. She never expected that Wei Mao would lift himself up so easily, as if his entire body were weightless, and flip directly onto the horse's back! His speed and the agility of his movements were too fast for the spectators to keep up with!
The cheers also resounded from another direction.

She didn't try to figure out who the person was; she only focused on Wei Mao.

Once mounted, the challenge lies in taming the horse. A brave rider can directly control the direction and gallop at full speed, never clinging to the horse's neck—something modern youths can't do.

The steed spun around and bounced wildly in place. When it lost its balance and fell to the ground, Wei Yao tensed up so much that she clenched her fists and opened her mouth halfway.

Only when Wei Mao nimbly dodged and wasn't crushed, and as the steed rose up, she once again powerfully rode on its back, did she finally exhale the breath she had been holding back.

This time, she couldn't help but call out along with those around her: "Wei Mao, Wei Mao, Wei Mao..."

"Zhou Tai, Zhou Tai, Zhou Tai..."

"Xi Jiao, Xi Jiao, Xi Jiao!"

Inside the arena, the competition was fierce, and outside, neither side was willing to concede to the other. The voices of support grew louder and louder. Wei Maocai began to gallop around the arena on his horse, while Wei Yao's voice had become hoarse from shouting.

Xi Jiao was the first to finish three laps.

Wei Mao followed closely behind, about two horse lengths behind his opponent.

The third person is Zhou Tai.

The fourth person is a young woman, Lu Baozhen.

The fifth person was Changsun Wuzhuo.

The sixth person is Mu Dai.

The seventh person is Hu Yi'ao.

The eighth person is He Rong.

The others are not qualified to enter the second round of the competition.

Of these eight people, four were sons of the imperial family and four were sons of meritorious officials, making them evenly matched!

Wei Mao led his spirited steed to the shed for a short rest. Both man and horse were covered in dirt and mud. He sat down on the spot, opposite Wei Yao, and rinsed his mouth with two cups of water to get rid of the earthy smell.

At this moment, Wei Yao took out her used cup from under the table. Seeing Wei Mao frowning and staring at her cup, she explained, "You didn't take the wrong one. I put the one I drank from under the table when I saw you coming over."

A dim or dull bronze mirror. In ancient times, there were craftsmen who traveled from street to street, specializing in polishing bronze mirrors.

Diexi (蹀躞): An ancient functional belt for hanging items, also called Diexi belt.

斫 (zhuó): Originally refers to the blade of an axe.

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(End of this chapter)