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An ancient woman, Du Jin from the Ming Dynasty plays with ancient paintings. (Image source: National Palace Museum)
Chinese traditional societyDifference between men and womenmen and women do not sit together at the same table at the age of seven. In addition to learning women’s red before marriage, women who have the conditions are also taught to learn.Female virtueafter marriage, it is usually the pattern of “the man is the master of the house and the woman is the master of the house”. However, due to the pressure of life, a small number of women in ancient times had to leave their homes in order to make a living. For the convenience of walking, they choseWomen disguised as men. How do they behave?
In the Ming Dynasty, there was a girl named Huang Shancong in Nanjing. Her father was a businessman who sold incense in Luzhou, Fengyang and other places. When she was twelve, her mother died and her only sister married someone else. Her father couldn’t bear to leave her alone at home, so he dressed Huang Shancong as a boy and asked her to follow him in business.
Following his father around the world, the clever Huang Shancong also learned about business and accumulated a lot of experience. A few years later, when his father passed away, Huang Shancong continued to engage in the business of selling incense sticks. In order to avoid trouble, he changed his name to Zhang Sheng.
In the process of doing business alone, Huang Shancong met Li Ying, who was also a fellow countryman. The two got along very well, so they became partners and sold incense together. When walking outside and staying in a hotel, the two of them inevitably have to sleep and eat together, but Huang Shancong often uses his illness as an excuse to not take off his clothes and socks. When going to the toilet and washing up, it is often in the dead of night. For several years, Li Ying did not realize that Huang Shancong was a woman.
In 1501, Huang Shancong and Li Ying returned to Nanjing together. Huang Shancong was already twenty years old at this time. She went to visit her sister dressed in men’s clothing. Her sister hadn’t seen her for a long time and didn’t know that she was disguised as a man. She thought it was someone impersonating her and said, “I don’t have a brother. I only have a sister who is doing business with my father. Don’t talk nonsense.”
Huang Shancong said with a smile: “Sister, I am Shancong.” Then he cried and told his sister one by one about his father’s death and how he did business abroad. When her sister heard that she slept and ate with a man, she was unhappy and scolded her: “How can it be obvious that men and women live together? You have brought shame on our family.” Therefore, she did not intend to recognize her and let her stay in her home.
Seeing his sister like this, Huang Shancong said angrily: “Sister, I want an explanation now. If my sister is innocent, it will not be too late to die by then.” My sister then found a stable woman to check, and it turned out that Huang Shancong was still a virgin. I felt ashamed that I had wrongly blamed my sister, so I hugged my sister and cried. Huang Shancong then returned to dressing up as a woman.
Ming Dynasty Chen Hongshou playing the piano. (Image source: Public domain National Palace Museum)
Three days later, Li Ying came to visit Huang Shancong and was shocked to see the woman dressed up. After returning home, I felt unhappy and seemed to have lost something. I didn’t think about tea and didn’t eat much. After Li Ying’s mother learned the reason, she knew that her son had feelings for her, so she thought that if her son was not married, she could marry Huang Shancong. So I found a matchmaker to propose marriage.
But who would have thought that Huang Shancong firmly disagreed. The reason was: “If I marry Li Ying, how will outsiders think of me?” Her sister and neighbors tried to persuade her, but she cried and refused. In her eyes, chastity and reputation are more important.
Soon, news of Huang Shancong disguising himself as a man to do business and stick to his integrity reached the Yousi Yamen. The Yamen rarely took charge of this “noisy matter” and not only helped Li Ying pay the betrothal gift, but also let them get married.
On the day of the wedding, someone praised her and said, “Mulan will see you again today.” Hua Mulan is a strange woman who disguised herself as a man in order to replace her father in the army during the Northern and Southern Dynasties. Huang Shancong can also be regarded as a strange woman. On the other hand, looking at the contemporary men and women whose morals have declined, how many of them can sit still and strictly observe moral integrity?
Princess Lechang of the Chen Dynasty in Qiu Ying’s “Thousands of Beautiful Pictures” of the Ming Dynasty. (Image source: Public domain)
Reference: “Shuanghuai Suijian”
“History of Ming Dynasty and Biographies of Women”
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