From Dai's Ode to Lady Qi: "Mei Gong said: A husband with virtue is talented, and a woman without talent is virtuous. This statement is extremely inaccurate. " At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Chen Jiru said: "Women are literate, but those who can understand righteousness are virtuous, but few;" Others like to read songbooks and novels, fan the flames, and even make a scandal-free thing. Instead, it is better to be illiterate and keep silent. A woman without talent is a virtue. You can say that. "
According to the textual research of Professor Liu Yongcong, a Hong Kong scholar, it should be in the works of Ming people. It is mainly believed that it is the words of Chen Jiru (Mei Gong) in the Ming Dynasty: "Women are literate, but those who can understand the righteousness are Gude, but they are rare; Others like to read songbooks and novels, fan the flames, and even make a scandal-free thing. Instead, it is better to be illiterate and keep silent. Chen Mei Gong Yun: A woman without talent is a virtue. You can say that. "
Its original words are "a man with virtue is a talent, and a woman without talent is a virtue". Strictly speaking, Chen Jiru didn't say it himself, but was included in The Old Man's Speech by Chen. So it should be quoted by Chen from the "elder" generation. Although this sentence was born in the late Ming Dynasty, it has long been deeply rooted. The traditional view of talent and morality is its soil. "Virtue is more important than talent" is the belief of China people, regardless of gender. In addition, China people have always advocated that men should take "virtue" as the foundation and value "talent" over "virtue", so there is a saying that "a man with virtue is a talent". As for women, China people have always paid no attention to their talent, but to their "women's morality", fearing that "talent will hinder morality", so there is a saying that "women without talent are virtuous". The so-called "talent" in a broad sense certainly includes all kinds of talents and wisdom. However, in the past, China women's life circle was narrow, and they could not show their "talent" better than poetry and songs, so "talent" often refers to "literary talent" in a narrow sense.