When we read this poem today, we can still appreciate the fighting spirit of this woman who is not afraid of violence to defend her independent personality and love dignity. The original poem is as follows:
Lu Hang
Tired of dew, don't you stay at night?
It means the line is more exposed.
Who says sparrows have no horns? Why are you wearing my house?
Who says women are homeless? Why did you come to prison so soon?
Although I am going to prison soon, I lack a house and a home!
Who says rats have no teeth? Why are you wearing me?
Who says women are homeless? Why are you suing me quickly?
Although I sue quickly, I won't listen!
Because this man intends to forcibly hire a woman who already has a husband's family in an arrogant manner, he oppresses her by means of litigation. This woman didn't give in. This poem is the woman's reply to the other party and his lawsuit in court.
In this poem, a woman justifiably accuses a love rat man of trying to force him to get married through litigation. In the second and third chapters of the poem, the sparrow's "Who says sparrows have no horns" and the mouse's "Who says mice have no teeth" are used to compare men's behavior and expose each other's outrageous behavior.
In the whole poem, the tone of women is rhetorical, using the common parallelism sentences in the Book of Songs. The dual strategies of rhetorical question and parallelism fully express women's inner anger and embody women's firm will never give in to coercion.
Why is this a poem in which a woman accuses a man of forced marriage? This starts with Zhou Li's rules and regulations on marriage, which is also the marriage law in the era of The Book of Songs.
There were three main marriage systems in the Zhou Dynasty: monogamy; Not married with the same surname; Parents' orders, matchmakers' words. Any marriage that does not meet these three requirements is indecent and illegal. Moreover, the code of the Spring and Autumn Period stipulates that a husband who has one wife and two concubines is punished, and a wife who has two wives is punished.
In the Zhou Dynasty and even in ancient times, the legal status and identity of wives and concubines were completely different. In the Zhou dynasty, the sources of concubines were: women who did not marry the Ming media and female slaves.
At the end of Shang dynasty and the beginning of Zhou dynasty, the emerging Zhou rites just replaced the old customs of Yin and Shang dynasties. There is also a record in the history books that "the custom of decline and chaos is slight, and the teaching of faithfulness is prosperous".
It is not difficult to understand the marriage system in the era of The Book of Songs. In the Zhou dynasty, this man with a family could not achieve the purpose of forced marriage by letting women go to court.
Because according to Zhou Li's marriage system and the Spring and Autumn Code, since this man has a family, it is impossible to marry this woman again; Otherwise, it is not the woman but the man who will be punished.
In the poem Lou Lou, according to the tone and poem of the woman, the man saw that the woman refused to marry, so he sued her in Zhao Gong with a complaint. So the man became the plaintiff and the woman became the defendant, and a lawsuit about forced marriage and refusal to marry began.
So, the question is, who is Zhao Gong? Does he want to enforce the law impartially? Don't worry, look down.
Zhao Gong is Zhou Wuwang's younger brother. Sima Qian clearly recorded the story of administering the fief "Zhao" in Historical Records of Yan Zhaogong Family: "Governing the Western Regions won millions of people's hearts. Patrol villages and towns, there are Tang trees, sentenced to prison administration. From Hou Bo to Shu Ren, everyone did their job and didn't neglect their duties. When Zhao Gong died, the people thought about Zhao Gong's administration, cherished the tree, and dared not cut it down. They sang it as a poem by Gan Tang. " This is the story outline of the famous Legacy of Gan Tang in the cultural history of China.
According to historical records, where Zhao Gong ruled, he practiced the policy of rites and music, and often went deep into the people to observe the people's feelings and visit the people's sufferings. Zhao Gong keeps everything simple when traveling, and never occupies private houses when resting.
Once, Zhao Gong came to Yiyang County under his rule, parked his horse under a tall Gan Tang tree and built a hut. During the day, he served his sentence under a Gan Tang tree and listened to politics to solve the people's difficulties; Zhao Gong treats both dignitaries and ordinary people equally. In the evening, Zhao Gong spent the night in a thatched cottage under a Gan Tang tree.
Zhao Gong's moral character of leading by example, being diligent in political affairs, treating people equally, caring for their sufferings, not disturbing them and solving problems for them deeply touched the local people. In the places where Zhao Gong has been governed, people have their own responsibilities and developed production, and the whole place presents a good atmosphere of integrity.
After Zhao Gong's death, people remembered Zhao Gong and thanked him for his kindness. Maybe it's because people think things. Zhao Gong once rested on the Gan Tang Tree, which became people's thoughts. People also wrote a poem "Gan Tang" to commemorate the appeal for public morality. The story of "Gan Tang's Last Love" has also become a symbol of sheltering from the wind and rain, solving problems for the people, serving as an official, benefiting one party and benefiting one party.
Among the numerous civil litigation cases handled by Zhao Gong, there is a civil dispute based on "Lu Hang". When the lawsuit of forced marriage and refusal to marry hit Zhao Gong, who was in charge of calling this place, Zhao Gong, as the presiding judge, enforced the law impartially so that both men and women could effectively defend themselves.
The woman strongly accused the man of forced marriage in front of Zhao Gong. After listening to the arguments of both sides in detail, Zhao Gong thought carefully and compared the marriage system, and thought that men's behavior was wrong.
Finally, Zhao Gong decided that the man's forced marriage was illegal, dismissed the man's forced marriage complaint, and supported the woman's refusal to marry.
This lawsuit became a typical case after the Duke of Zhou came to power, and even caused a wide range of social influences, perhaps affecting the marriage system at that time.
It is for this reason that Lu Hang was selected into The Book of Songs. You should know that The Book of Songs was of educational significance at that time, that is, the so-called "the prosperity of poetry, the establishment of ceremony and the success of music".