Feminist thought and research have formed a certain climate in China over the years. Although I do not express my position clearly, through research, more people can understand the status of women in ancient times. Knowing that the status of Chinese women has evolved from the Zhou Dynasty The process of decline all the way to the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Is it meaningful to reality?
Women played an important and active social role in the Shang Dynasty society. "Book of Rites: Jiao Te Sheng": "Women are subordinate to others," which reflects the low social status of women in the Zhou Dynasty. Different from the status of women as pure male subordinates in the Zhou Dynasty and later, women in the Shang Dynasty had relatively independent personal property and personality to a large extent. In the sacrificial activities for the ancestors of the ancestors, the ancestors have an important theocratic status, which reflects the deep imprint of the matrilineal tradition in the Yin and Shang era. Women could occupy positions that could only be filled by men in later generations in various fields such as politics, economy, culture, and military in Shang society, showing a high social status. Female officials in the Shang Dynasty can be roughly divided into three types: witches, douban and minor ministers, and they were widely active in social life. ?
1. Female witchcraft?
As a typical theocratic society in the Shang Dynasty, the significance of witches in this society was undoubtedly the most important. Various officials in the Shang Kingdom and even the King of Shang all had the identity of witches. "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals: Shunmin": "There was a severe drought and there was no harvest for five years. So Tang Nai prayed in the mulberry forest with his body... So he cut his hair and hands, sacrificing his body and praying to God." King Shang's identity as a wizard It was decided that Tang must be sacrificed during drought. Mr. Chen Mengjia said: "History is based on witches and becomes the administrative officials of the king; although the king himself is the leader in the political field, he is still the leader of the group of witches." (Chen Mengjia, "Myths and Witchcraft in the Shang Dynasty", "Journal of Yanjing University" 》Issue 20, 1936) Under this premise, witches and kings are both high-level status in a theocratic society. ?
The original meaning of "witch" is a female wizard. "Guoyu·Chu Yuxia": "In men, they are called 觋, and in women, they are called witches." "Shuowen" teaches witches as "Witches, Zhu also, women can do invisible things and dance to subdue gods." It can be seen that witches are originally women. , and only women are called witches, and when men join this ranks, they are called "觋". "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" records a large number of images of female witches, such as "female sacrifices to female relatives" in "Overseas Western Classics", "female sacrifices to female relatives", "female sacrifices to female relatives", "corpse of female ugly women", "corpse of Huang Ji" in "Dahuangxi Jing" "etc. The Great Wilderness Western Classic records ten witches living on the sacred mountain: Wu Xian, Wu Ji, Wu Pan, Wu Peng, Wu Gu, Wu Zhen, Wu Li, Wu Di, Wu Xie, and Wu Luo. ?
One of them, Wu Xian, was the most famous witch in the Shang Dynasty. "Overseas Western Classics" says: "The Kingdom of Wu Xian is north of Nv Chou." "Lü's Spring and Autumn Annals: Don't Bow" and "Shiben" both have "Wuxian makes a chopstick". "Historical Records of the Yin Dynasty": "Yi Zhi praised Wuxian. Wuxian managed the Wang family successfully." "Shangshu Jun": "In order to obey God, Wuxian managed the Wang family", "Jinbenzhu Chronicle" : "Order Wu Xian to pray in the mountains and rivers." This witch named Wu Xian governed the politics of the kingdom during the Taiwu era and had a very high status. The oracles reflect that her profession is the sacred work of communicating between the past kings and God: "Jia Chen Bu, Zhen, Xia Yi Bin Yu. Zhen, Da Jia Bin Yu Xian. Zhen, Xian Bin Yu Di." ("B" 36) It can be seen that it is related to Wu Xian, who was worshiped together with God and the late king, had a high social status. Like Wu Xian, the important witches who "ruled the royal family" were the witches in Zu Yi's period. "Shangshu Jun" said: "In Zu Yi, there were witches like Wu Xian." "Yin Benji" said that Yi Yin "entered from the north gate." , encountering female doves and female rooms", which shows that witches widely existed and were active in the court of the Shang king. ?
An important part of witches’ witchcraft activities is dancing to pray for rain. "Mozi: Under the Ghost of the Ming Dynasty": "The constant dancing in the palace is called the witch wind." "Shuowen" also calls witchcraft "the use of dance to bring down the gods." There is the word "wu" in the oracle bone inscriptions. The word "witch" and "wu" have the same pronunciation and are shaped like , , and . It is a woman dancing to pray for rain. Just as the king, one of the wizards, also has the obligation to sacrifice in the rain-making activity, both the king and the witches participate in the dance to pray for rain. "The Rites of Zhou·Dancing Master": "The handsome one dances in the drought." The "Zhou Ritual·The Witch" says: "If the country is in severe drought, the handsome witch dances." The inscriptions include: "Renzi divination, He Zhen" , Wang Wu, Wei Yu.
("Continuation" 4.24.12)/Wang Qihu dance... great luck ("He" 31031). "It can be seen that both the king and the witches participated in the dance to pray for rain, and may "lead the witches to dance." This kind of ritual is the "Yu" in the Zhou Dynasty. "Erya·Shi Xun": "Dance, also called Yu", Guo Pu Note: “During the Yin Festival, the dancers sigh and pray for rain. "The frequent occurrence of "Dancing Rain" records in oracles illustrates the importance of witch activities: "Huwu, is there rain? Huwu, death rain? ("Jin" 638)/Xinsibu, Binzhen, Huwu, You Congyu. ("He" 12831) Bingzi divination, today's dance, there will be rain. ("A" 969). "This type of inscriptions is very common in oracle bones, which testifies to the frequent activity of "dancing for rain".?
In addition to the witchcraft activities of praying for rain, witches also pray for rain by becoming sacrifices. The oracle bone inscriptions include: The word " ", or " ", is "焄", which depicts the sacrifice being burned in the fire. The inscription reflects: "Zhen, female, will she die from the rain?" ("Yi" 3449) It has been unitary divination, Hu Zhen, the following Gengxu burned Nufanzikou ("Ren" 133./Zhen, now Bingxuxuan, there is Congyu. ("He" 9177 Zheng)/囗囗divination, its "Yong mother, there will be heavy rain, good luck." Scholars believe that they were low-status victims of theocracy. This view is inappropriate because in the theocratic era, being able to become a sacrifice to the gods was not only a witchcraft obligation, but also meant a glorious and sacred mission. Therefore, the King of Shang also volunteered to become one. Sacrifice. This idea of ??honoring oneself by dedicating oneself to gods has always remained in the Shang culture. Volume 10 of "Taiping Yulan" quotes Zhuangzi: "In the old Song Dynasty, there was a severe drought, and people would be worshiped in the temple to see the rain. Jinggong... … Take it upon yourself, and it will rain before you say anything.” This material may come from the same theme as Tang’s Ancestral Rain. But it reflects the sacred meaning of sacrifice. The witches in "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" are also depicted. Cheng Qiuyu's sacrifice, "Overseas Western Classics": "The corpse of an ugly woman is burned and killed within ten days after birth." "Book of Rites: Jiao Special Sacrifice" notes: "Corpse is also a sacred elephant," and "Corpse, Chen Ye Shuxian pointed out: "The holy king, the divine corpse, and the human sacrifice are essentially one, which is a universal prototype of the primitive farming festival (Ye Shuxian, "Cultural Interpretation of the Book of Songs", Hubei People's Publishing House, 1994, P462. ). It can be seen that the "corpse" is a sacred sacrifice. This reflects their high social status. /p>
"Duo Biao" specifically refers to the spouses of the Shang Dynasty kings in the oracle bone inscriptions. As spouses, they were the kings, generals and ministers of the Shang Kingdom: "Book of Rites: Internal Rules": "Men do not talk about internal affairs, women do not talk about external affairs", "Book of Changes: Family": "Women are in the inner position, men are in charge. "The right position is outside, the great meaning of heaven and earth." "The Analects of Confucius·Bayi": "Only women and villains are difficult to maintain." Women in the Zhou Dynasty and after "keep silent on the outside" and "the right position is within." The humble status of women in the Shang Dynasty is in sharp contrast to that of women in the Shang Dynasty. Therefore, the Zhou Dynasty people accused the Shang king of "only women's words are useful" in "Book of Pastoral Oaths". The inscriptions include: "Zhen, the king listened to women, and told . ("He" 1051) To sum up, the career of the Shang king's "many brooms" is reflected in the aspects of being granted titles, commanding troops, paying tribute, and organizing production.
"Brooms are good" are women. Well, she was one of the queens of Shang King Wu Ding, and her posthumous title was "Simu Xin". "Xin" is a very noble heavenly stem in the Yin ritual day. The sacrifices of the royal ancestor Kuang were all held on Xin day, which shows her noble status. Because she owned a fiefdom called "Pang", she also had the status of a lord. The inscriptions include: "Jia Shen divination, Zhen, Hu Bianhao will accept people in Pang first ("Qian" 5.12.3)/Yiyou divination, Zheng." "Zhen, call the broom to gather people in Pang first ("Qian" 7.30.4)". "Collect" means "***", which is equivalent to "to", "to ascend", and "to", that is, to recruit people or armed people. The meaning of the word reflects that Broom organized the army from her fief "Pang". The oracle "How good will the year be?" ("Cui" 864)" asks whether the agricultural harvest of the good fiefdom will be good this year.
This woman with independent property, fiefdom, and military power does not usually live in the king's harem, but travels between his fiefdom and the capital: "In the twelfth month of the twelfth month of the lunar calendar, will the broom come unexpectedly? (" "Lin" 1.20.11)/囗戌Bu, Zhengzheng, Broom is good to see. ("Jian" 35.3)/Guiyou div, Genzhen, born in December, Broom is good to come ("He" 2653). In the book, she also paid tribute to the king: "Jiayinbu, 囗, Broomhao into fifty ("He" 10133)." The 1928 rich funerary objects unearthed from the tomb of Broomhao in Anyang in 1976 reflect her wealth and strength. .
"Zuo Zhuan·Thirteenth Year of Chenggong" "The major affairs of the country lie in sacrifice and military service." Military affairs and sacrifice are the privileges of those with noble status and status. In political activities, Biao Hao not only led the army to attack enemy countries, but also presided over the sacrifices to his ancestors. The record of the largest number of troops used in the Shang Dynasty was the crusade led by Zhu Hao, which used 10,000 warriors from the king and 3,000 warriors from her own fiefdom, totaling 13,000 people: "Xin Si Bu, Hu Zhen, Deng She has three thousand broomsticks and ten thousand troops, calling out... ("Britain" 150). "In addition, she also led the kingdom's army to attack Fang, Qiang, Yi, Tufang and other enemy countries on many occasions: "Jiawu Divination, Zhen. , Wang Wei ordered the broom to conquer the barbarians (Yi 527). The bronze statue symbolizes her military power.
The sacrifices hosted by Broom are also very frequent: "Zhen, don't call Broom for Hao. ("Iron" 45.1)/Zhen, Broom is good for you? ("Zhu" 7)." This It is a good broom to preside over ancestor worship and ancestor worship. Precisely because Bian Hao is a woman with independent personality and strong abilities, Wu Ding showed great care for her: "Zhen, will Bian Hao delay the disease? ("He" 13693) / Wuchen Zhen, Broom Hao will bring disaster. ? ("He" 32760)". After her death, Wu Ding would still dream about his wife in his dream: "Zhen, Wang Meng is good at brooms, but not at all? ("Iron" 113.4)."
The broom in "Many Brooms" She is an important female official and princess. The fact that she came from the "well" indicates that she may have come from the Xing State area in the north. This area was close to Longfang, an enemy country of the Shang Dynasty, so she also led troops to attack Longfang: "Zhen, don't let me attack Longfang with a broomstick" ("Continued" 4.26.3)/Wei Zhu concubine defeated Long Fang. ("He" 6584) "Maybe her fiefdom is also close to this area. She managed the farmers' production in the fiefdom, and the King of Shang showed concern for the harvest in her territory: "Broom concubine receives the millet year? ("Yi" 762) / Zhen, broom concubine receives the millet year? ("Continued" 》4.25.4) / Yi Chou Zhen, Broom Concubine Tian Yong ("A" 3001)/Kou Chou Kou Zhen, Broom Concubine Tian Huo ("He" 9607) "This woman is the same as Broom Hao." , has independent property and career, and travels between the fief and the royal capital: "Come Broom Concubine? ("A" 2912)." Broom Hao and Broom Concubine are very representative women in the Shang Dynasty who have the status of feudal kings. Sex for two people. In addition to them, there are other Duojiu who also have clear status as feudal lords. "Bi Niang showed the seven tuns, Gen." ("He" 966)/"Bi Liang showed the ten tuns...six tuns" ("He" 17528) reflects the historical event of Bian Liang paying tribute to the king. Another example is "Broom apricot... three tuns" ("He" 17523 Jiu), "Broom qi shows another bite of the seven tuns" ("He" 17525), "Xin Chou, broom hi shows the four tuns" ("He" 17517 ji) , "Guiyou, the broomstick shows one tun" ("He" 10199 mortar) "Wuxu, the broomstick yi shows two tuns" ("He" 17533 mortar). It can be determined that the prerequisite for the status of tribute payer is to have one's own fief. Similarly, the inscription "Wushen, Fuxi showed Ertun, Yong" (Jiu, "He" 2354) shows the status of the king of another Shang king's spouse, Buxi. There are many more examples of this type. In addition, "Duozhu" also has the right to canonize members of the royal family on behalf of the king: "Zhen, women's books and paintings, small notices ("He" 2824)". Hua, or Zi Hua, was a descendant of the Shang royal family who had a fief, and he once conquered Fang. His canonization ceremony was presided over by women.
"Guoyu·Jinyu" "Bei Qiangyan", Wei Jie "Qiang, a female official."
"Qiang" is the same as "瑑", indicating that one of the basic functions of female officials is to manage agricultural production. This is the identity of female monarchs such as Bianhao and Biangui. In addition to these women, the oracle bone inscriptions reflect Wu Ding's "many brooms" also include 64 people named Broom, Broom Rat, Broom Pregnant, Broom Jiao, Broom Ru, Broom Bao, Broom, Broom Sister, Broom Xi, Broom Chu, Broom, and Broom (see Hu Houxuan "The First Collection of Oracle Bone Studies and Business History", Hebei Education Press, 2001, p97) Although not all of these "many brooms" can have the noble social status, power and wealth of brooms and brooms, they Some of them lived in the palace for a long time, and more of them had their own fiefs. While they were married to the king, they were widely engaged in social activities such as leading troops in battles, offering sacrifices to their ancestors, organizing farming, and collecting tributes. They are an important type of female officials in the Shang Dynasty, reflecting the lofty status enjoyed by women in the Shang Dynasty. In sacrifices, the Shang Dynasty had the practice of offering sacrifices to the spouses of the direct Shang kings. It can become an independent unit in the sacrifice system. Male Ancestor: "Book of Rites: Shaolao Food Gifts" says: "The master said: 'My filial grandson will come to Dinghai to recommend the annual affairs to the emperor's uncle, and to marry a certain concubine to a certain surname. It will be a good meal. ’” This record can be proved by the “Book of Songs·Zhou Song·Fengnian”: “For wine and sweet wine, the food is given to the ancestors. "The Preface to Poems" says: ""Feng Nian" is also the sign of autumn and winter. ""Bao" is the name of the sacrifice, so Kong Yingdashu said: "If you say '烝give to your ancestors', you will sacrifice it in the ancestral temple. "It can be seen that in the Zhou Dynasty, spouses were indeed used to worship ancestors. The inscriptions on the bronze sacrificial vessels of the Zhou Dynasty always have the words "pay filial piety to a certain ancestor, a certain concubine, a certain test, and a certain mother". This is a reflection of the use of spouses to sacrifice ancestors. .
3. Female ministers and female history?
"Ministers" were an important social group in Shang Dynasty society, and their main body consisted of officials with various administrative or specific positions. They were widely engaged in activities such as economic management, military command, and administrative duties. In the oracle bone inscriptions, there are "Xiao Ji Chen", "Xiao Duo Ma Qiang Chen", "Xiao Qiu Chen" and other full-time minor officials. Reflection: "Zhen, (only) Xiaochen ordered the millet to be planted in January ("Qian" 4.30.2)" This is Xiaochen's management of farmers' agricultural production ("Sword" 212/Xiaochen). "Chen Qin ("He" 5572)", "Qin" was an important general in the Wuding era, which shows that the minister also served as a military commander. "The minister has his own town ("He" 5596)", reflecting some Xiaochen also has his own fiefdom. Due to the importance of Xiaochenyi's court in the Shang Dynasty, they are often rewarded by the king: "Xiaochen Yishu" says: "Guiji, Wang Yi, Xiaochen Yi Jian Shipeng, used his mother. Gui Yi ("Xu Yin" Part 2.66)/Wang Yi Xiaochenkou, Cai (in) Dashi (Xiaoyu "Ancient Jade Illustrations" 4.11) "
Assisted Shang Tang in the founding of the country. The important minister Yi Yin is also a minor minister. "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals: Zunshi" says: "Tang Shi is a minor minister." Gao Zhuyun says: "The minor minister is called Yi Yin." "Mozi Shangxian": "Tang has a minor minister." "The Qi Yi Qi inscription "Shu Yi Zhong" contains: "Yi Xiaochen Weifu". This shows the high social status of Xiaochen. In "Xia Guan", "Tian Guan" and "Yi Li" of "Zhou Li" "Xiaochen" was also mentioned many times in later documents such as "Yan Li".
In the Shang Dynasty, many of the important social group "Xiaochen" were women. Bu, Xiaochen? October. Wuwubu, Xiaochen Buqi? ("B" 83)/Xiaochen ("Y" 2451)". "Female" comes from "strength". The inscription contains the words "Women are pregnant, Qi?" ("A" 3737), which shows that "" means "successful childbirth". These ministers who gave birth to babies were obviously women. King Shang Divinations were made for them to care about the success of their childbirth, indicating their sexual relationship with the king. However, they were not called "Brooms" in "Duo Broom" but "little ministers", which meant that they were generally not the legal spouses of the king. They are female officials from the middle and lower classes. The inscriptions include "Biao Tuo" and "Xiao Chen Tuo" ("He" 5578), which shows that there are also a few female officials with the status of "Duo Biao".
But generally speaking, they are a group that is often less noticed among the three types of Yin and Shang female officials.
In the Shang Dynasty, there was also a position of "Historian" with a strong military flavor among the official positions. "Book of Rites·Tamazao": "If you move, the history will be written on the left, and if you speak, the history will be written on the right." This means that the setting of historians in the Zhou Dynasty was subject to the cultural principle of "Zhou Shangwen". However, in the Shang Dynasty when "Yin promoted quality", historians showed a strong military meaning. The oracle reflects: "Zhen, Fang Qiwu Shi, Zhen, Fang Fuwu Shi." ("He" 9472)/"Zhen, did you get Qiang in the Northern History? ("Guo Guohui" 914)"/"Renxu Bu , Zhen, please let us accept the pace of history. ("Iron" 250.1)" In the oracles, it not only reflects that the historian was attacked by the enemy, but also there are records of the historian taking the initiative to attack the enemy. The historical work " " is a depiction of holding an ax and ax in his hand. Undoubtedly, they reveal the true identity of the historian of the Shang Kingdom. ?
Women in the Shang Dynasty also played the role of historians: "Zhen, the king said: 'Hou Hu, the history of women.' , receive...("He" 3297)". The female historian here refers to the female historian sent by Wu Ding to Canghou. "The Rites of Zhou·Nu Shi": "The female history is in charge of the ceremonial duties of the queen, and is responsible for the internal governance. She governs internal affairs with edicts." Zheng's note: "The female history is a female slave who knows how to write." "Tianguan Zhenzai Shang" has Zheng's note: "History, the person in charge of books." Jia Shu: "History, the person in charge of writing documents." The history of the Shang Dynasty was neither a "female slave" nor a pure "book person", but was responsible for both recording events and fighting with an ax in hand. comprehensive officers, including women.
4. Female Officials of Fang Kingdom
In addition to playing an important political role in the Shang Kingdom, women in Shang Dynasty society also played an important role in various Fang Kingdoms. First of all, we can realize from many country names with female meanings that these Fang countries also contain a strong matrilineal tradition: "...Bofu? ("He" 6845)/Dinghaibu, Qidun? May. ("He" 6846)" This is to ask whether the country will launch a crusade against the country. "姈Shi... ("He" 1463) / "Shiliu" ("He" 2760)", "姈" and " " come from "female", and they paid tribute to the Shang Kingdom, but they were not called brooms, indicating that they were not acting as The "many brooms" who are granted the title of monarch are those who serve the country with a female surname. In addition, there is "Gengchen predicts Zhen, Zaizhen ("He" 36475)". Zheng Qiao's "Tongzhi·Clan Brief": "Men are called surnames, and women are called surnames." "Historical Records·Xia Benji": "Using the country as the surname" reflects this basic tradition.
The King of Shang canonized important women from the other country. The oracle contains the word "Bamboo": "... Bamboo Marquis ("He" 3324)." The King of Shang knighted the "Bamboo Concubine" of the Bamboo Kingdom: "Zhen, Tang Fujue's Bamboo Concubine?... Bamboo Concubine." ("He" 286). "In Oracle Bone Inscriptions, "wife" and "concubine" are the same, and there is no distinction between high and low in later generations. The inscription also says: "My wife reported: 'Ten people have been invaded by earthworks in my field.' (Reverse 6057 of "He")" It is also the name of the country, and "wife" refers to the woman from the country of Bamboo who married to the country of Ye. She reported the earthworks to the King of Shang. The invasion of "my field" on the one hand illustrates her status as a monarch, and on the other hand it also shows that the female officials of Fang State also actively participated in political life.
It is worth noting that some women in Fang Kingdom also played the role of "many brooms" in the Shang royal court. The concubine in the previous article is a woman from the Well Kingdom. "Zhen: Fuzhou ("He" 22264) is a woman from the Zhou Kingdom." "Weikou ordered from Yahou ("He" 3310)", Yaguo is an important prince of Shang, "...Fu Yalai?... (Reversed in "He" 2813)" The oracle not only reflects that Asian women also serve as "many brooms", but also shows that this kind of "broom" travels between the home country and the merchants, and is one of the roles that connects the political interaction between the dynasty and the Fang state. . "Zhen, Zhou Yiwu ("He" 5654)", "Yi" is used as a verb, which means "recruiting" and "providing". This shows that not only some "many brooms" came from Fang State, but Fang State also provided witches to the Shang court.
In the Shang Dynasty, there was also the " " country: "Yihai Zhen: Wang Qixi ordered Hou, Shang (rewarded) to Zu Yimen ("Tuennan" 1059)". The above describes some female ministers who had sexual relations with the King of Shang but were not their legal spouses.
The inscriptions show that the King of Shang also had this kind of relationship with the "female" of the country: "Yiwei... Zhen, the king belongs to his daughter. ("He" 1532 Zheng) / To a daughter? Don't be to a daughter ("He" 14161 Zheng)" Some similar cases in the country mean that the position of female ministers also exists in the country of Fang. These materials all show that whether in the Shang Kingdom itself or in other countries, the social and political roles played by women were generally the same. ?
In summary, it can be seen that the society of the Shang Dynasty was obviously different from the social appearance of the later Zhou Dynasty and beyond. Women in the Yin and Shang Dynasties were not purely male vassals or marginalized social characters, and the order in which men were superior to women was not obvious. They were frequently active in various fields of society and engaged in various occupations that later only men had the right to engage in. Female officials in the Shang Dynasty could be found in any important department of Yin and Shang society, and enjoyed various social rights equal to men. Some of them even became important ministers of the king. The king also showed a caring attitude towards them. This is of great significance to our understanding of the influence of the continuation of matriarchal social traditions in the civilized era and our interpretation of the social conditions and cultural outlook of early Chinese civilization.