History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 71 The Festival of the Immortals

Afterwards, Zhou Tai asked in bewilderment, "When did you get into trouble with Hu Yi'ao?"

"It's not over yet, I just want to beat him up."

Xi Jiao didn't know Wei Yao, but he knew that poor, powerless students must be very careful in their dealings with others! So, would Wei Yao dare to provoke Hu Er Tiao? To put it bluntly, did Wei Yao even have the right to cause trouble for Hu Er Tiao?
I wouldn't dare. No.

The trouble Wei Yao suffered today was simply because Hu Ertiao wanted to hit her.

He's her fellow disciple. He helped her vent her anger by hitting Hu Yi'ao with a stone pill. What's wrong?
The healing medicine at the Imperial Uncle Temple was much better than that of the pharmacies outside. Several young monks, only five or six years old, skipped and hopped around as the chant master sent them over to apply the medicine to the female students. After the medicine was applied, looking at their green and blue-grayed faces and necks, which looked more and more like pythons, one of the young monks couldn't help but laugh.

"Run! The female benefactors here love to beat people."

“I don’t want to be told they’re like snakes,” the young monk ran back to the monastery and complained to the chant master.

At this moment, in all the Zen monasteries, in the scripture halls where people did their daily practice, and in the corner courtyard where Wei Yao and the others were, the deafening chanting could be heard. Countless Dharma sounds converged, bursting forth like thunder and roar across the earth.

Inside the courtyard, an excited Chen Shushi explained to the students, "It's the Lotus Sutra! It must be the Imperial Uncle Temple transporting the Buddha statue. You don't know, the accompanying monks chanted the sutra all the way to Yongning Temple with such fanfare!"

Hai Yeren muttered, "It's not that far."

"Hey!" Yuanzi kicked him, telling his friend not to talk nonsense at a time like this.

In the old capital city of Pingcheng, crisscrossed by paths, at this time, it wasn't just the Imperial Uncle Temple that started transporting Buddha statues; the other three major temples—Tianguan Temple, Jianming Temple, and Baode Temple—all mobilized. Lesser-sized temples also set out half an hour later.

In the afternoon, the imperial children who were practicing the "Five Soldiers" dance next door all went to the intersection of Youmei Street to rehearse their formations. The schoolchildren who were singing the poem "July" could only go to the intersection of Lixue Street after nightfall because they still had to apply herbal medicine to their faces.

On the morning of April 8th.

As the great drum atop the White Tower south of the city wall resounded a thousand times, monks from Yongning Temple set out in procession. Before the Buddha statues and carriages emerged, ordinary monks first scattered fresh flower petals to pave the way and sprinkled dew on branches. Then, junior monks left the temple, forming two lines, each carrying a melon. Next, nuns appeared in two lines, each striking a chime and chanting scriptures. Behind them were the Pure Monks, dressed in old robes and straw sandals, also chanting scriptures as they walked.

The first large cart carrying the Buddha statue has arrived! Dozens of people are pulling the cart in front and pushing it from behind, demonstrating the statue's grandeur. This Buddha, Shakyamuni, is cast in bronze, gilded, and adorned with colorful robes; the rising sun shines behind his head.

In an instant, people on both sides of the road shouted "Amitabha" and "Compassion".

Rumble... The axle rolled across the ground, passing through the eyes of the worshipping crowd.

Immediately afterwards, the truck carrying the second Buddha statue came out!
This Buddha is also Shakyamuni, but the features of this statue are different from those of the previous one. Only a few powerful and wealthy people know that the face of this statue is modeled after His Majesty.

The third statue is Guanyin, and the chariot carrying her on her tour is also pulled by dozens of Buddha statues.

By this time, Wei Yao and the other young girls who were supposed to be singing hymns had gathered at the intersection of Lixue Street and Sangqu Street. Chen Shushi had made up all the girls, applying a very thick layer of powder, pressing it into the areas where the flowers were painted. Shushi said that this would prevent the powder from smudging during the singing, but actually he was just trying to cover up the injuries on their faces and necks. There was nothing wrong with that; he could have just said it outright.

As Cui Ying stood there, she felt her face getting itchier and itchier. She came up with a clever trick: she pressed her face with the tip of her fingernail. Soon, small crescent-shaped marks appeared on her face.

To distract Cui Ying, Wei Yao directed her to look into the distance. There, banners fluttered along two wide streets, and crowds thronged, all craning their necks in anticipation. Guo Yun couldn't help but exclaim, "Is the entire city of Pingcheng packed here?!"

"Wow--"

A baby was crying not far away, and the elders covered the baby's mouth and coaxed the child gently, saying that they should not hit the child today.

The officers and soldiers kept shouting and preventing the people from crowding around the schoolchildren like Wei Yao.

Cui Ying felt like she couldn't take it all in; she was constantly drawn to this spot and then to something in the distance, and she even forgot to scratch her face.

Guo Yun whispered his gratitude to Wei Yao: "You took several blows for me this morning, I saw it all, and I feel very embarrassed."

Wei Yao whispered back, "Even though Miss Hu is so fierce, you still dared to stand up for me. You were the one who taught me the meaning of being a fellow disciple, so how could I not stand in front of you when you're being bullied?"

Hearing these words, Guo Yun felt incredibly comforted. Her voice choked with emotion, yet she made a powerful promise: "Ayao! We are fellow disciples, and we will always help each other from now on!" At the first intersection of the parade route, after the long procession of Buddha statues had passed, the warriors from the governor's mansion took the stage to perform the "Five Weapons" dance, the first segment of the parade. The five weapons they carried were spear, halberd, battle-axe, shield, and bow and arrow.

These warriors were strong and robust, with fierce and solemn faces. Every move they made, every step they took, and every leap they made stirred up the wind with a "whoosh" sound!
As the dance concludes, three warriors stand in a line, while the remaining warriors leap from the sea like roc birds, flipping over their heads and landing gracefully. The warriors who have just landed immediately form several horizontal lines of three, and the warriors who were in those lines flip over them, facing the sky.

"Good!" The cheers of the people reached a fever pitch!
Next intersection.

After the golden Buddha carriage passed, eighty-one students from the state academy and the Imperial Academy, each dressed in their own school's robes, emerged from various corners of the crowd. They lined up in nine rows and nine columns, and then, starting with the student at the very front, recited the essence of the Analects, specifically the "Learning" chapter:
Confucius said, “Is it not pleasant to learn with a constant perseverance and application? Is it not delightful to have friends coming from afar?”

"A virtuous person focuses on the fundamentals; when the fundamentals are established, the Way will naturally arise. This is what filial piety and brotherly love mean..."

"I examine myself three times a day..."

At the next intersection, there was the "Five Weapons" dance performed by Xi Jiao and other princes of the imperial family. The five weapons they held were: knife, sword, spear, halberd, and arrow.

The boys were dressed in bright red clothes, with their blouses entirely in bright red, wearing black warrior crowns with pheasant feathers on their heads and tiger-skin boots with stripes on their feet. They shouted excitedly according to their different actions!

"Ah—it's Xi Jiao!" The first person to throw a flower branch appeared in the crowd, and soon it turned into a rain of flower branches, all being thrown at Xi Jiao.

The boys are unaffected!
"Clang!" Swords clashed.

"Thud!" The twin arrows pursued.

"Drink, drink, drink, drink!" The spear-wielder thrust forward with each shout!

"Kill—Kill—" The halberd-wielder roared and charged with rage, making hooking and feinting throws.

At the next intersection, it was finally time for Wei Yao and the others to sing hymns.

Hu Ertiao deliberately squeezed between Wei Yao and Guo Yun, but her nemesis Hai Yeren had been waiting for this day. He kicked her in the back of the knee, causing Hu Ertiao to kneel on one knee in front of Wei Yao and the others.

Seeing this situation, Chen Shushi disregarded everything else and knelt down beside Hu Ertiao, tightly grasping her wrist and pleading with tears in his eyes: "You can kill me later, please sing the poem properly first, I beg you, my lady!"

Hu Ertiao took a deep breath: "Fine! Just this once, I won't stoop to his level!"

Wei Yao and Guo Yun both breathed a sigh of relief and quickly stepped onto the road.

As the music began, five female officials played the zither and lute in the waiting area, while a male attendant accompanied them on a drum and another male attendant struck a chime.

Yuan Jingrong began reciting a poem: "In ancient times, people were taught poetry and music, and recited them..."

All the young men followed: "Sing..."

All the girls followed: "Xuanzhi..."

The thirty students shouted in unison, "Dance!"

"In July, the scorching sun sets; in September, clothes are distributed. On the first day, the wind howls; on the second day, the chill is biting. Without clothes or coarse garments, how can we survive the year..."

On the outskirts of Pingcheng, Lu Baozhen rode the warhorse given to her by Changsun Wuzhuo, galloping towards Luoyang.

The bustling atmosphere of the old capital was no longer relevant to her.

Fotu households: Those who had committed crimes or were government slaves forced to work in temples were called "Fotu households". They did the heaviest work in the temples. They were different from the "monk households" mentioned above, but the amount of work was about the same.

"In ancient times, people were taught poetry and music, to recite and sing, to play stringed instruments and to dance," comes from a commentary on the poem "Zi Jin" in the "Zheng Feng" section.

Halberd (jǐ), Yue (yuè), He (hé)
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(End of this chapter)