What does it mean to have trouble in front of a widow’s door? There is a lot of trouble at the widow's door. The widow in this sentence comes from "Shi Xiaoya Da Tian". This sentence refers to those women in ancient times whose husbands died and became widows.
In ancient times, men farmed and women weaved. The basic living conditions were provided by men. If a man unfortunately passed away, there would be only one woman left in the family, and the burden of life would fall entirely on the woman. On women. Moreover, in ancient times, there was a fixed idea that men were superior to women, that is, after a man passed away, women had to observe chastity and not marry, and they also had to support their parents. Therefore, women after their husbands died generally had to stay at home to avoid suspicion, because such women would easily be gossiped about when they went out to show off. , saying that as soon as her husband passed away, she hooked up with other men. So there is this sentence.
There is a lot of trouble in front of the widow's house? The first half of the sentence means there is little smoke on the widower's roof. A widower is a man whose wife has passed away. The whole sentence means that men whose wives have passed away do not make much trouble in their daily lives. If a man lives a careless life alone, he can just eat another meal casually. With a woman Live a more refined life, not just in ancient times, but now many boys are like this. Without women in the house, men rarely cook, so there is less smoke on the roof. This sentence also reflects the integrity and importance of a woman to the family.
Both of these sentences reflect the helplessness in life. Women will be criticized when they lose a man, and men will live miserable lives when they lose a woman. It also reflects that a family cannot be complete without any one party, and that the family must be complete and the importance of everyone.
In the feudal era, women's status was extremely low. Those moral shackles bound women without a chance to breathe. The three cardinal guides and five constant laws monitored their every move. For men, women were just reproductive tools. Therefore, in ancient China, newly widowed widows would be valued by others in their private lives.
The previous sentence of "There is a lot of trouble in front of the widow's door" means there is little smoke on the widower's roof. A widower refers to a man who never remarries after his wife dies. The whole sentence describes the fact that no one cooks in the widower’s home, and the widow’s front door is prone to gossip, all describing ancient Chinese ethics.
So, how did young widows in ancient times spend the rest of their lives?
First, a lifetime of widowhood
In ancient times, women were required to be devoted to their husbands, so from the moment they married into their husband’s family, they were It means you have to be loyal to your husband for the rest of your life. When your husband dies in an accident, you have no choice but to remain a widow for the rest of your life for the sake of chastity. Some extreme cases even used self-mutilation to show loyalty. For example, a woman in the Ming Dynasty once cut off her ten fingers to fulfill her love for her husband.
There is such an incident recorded in a book of the Ming Dynasty. There was a single old man who was over seventy years old. When he was dying, he took out 100 copper coins with almost all the characters polished off. No one understands.
At this time, the old woman said: her husband died when she was 20 years old, and she became a widow. It has been more than 50 years now. In the past fifty years, her life has been like a year, but in order to leave a good reputation, she would scatter copper coins on the ground every night when she could not sleep alone, and then pick them up one by one until she got sleepy. He gave up and went back to his room to sleep, making everyone around him sigh and admire him!
Second, remarry
The story of Sima Xiangru and Zhuo Wenjun can be said to be a well-known love story through the ages. . But what most people don't know is that Zhuo Wenjun was a newly widowed woman who returned to her natal family. Instead of being condemned when she remarried Sima Xiangru, she was affirmed and appreciated by the mainstream of society.
Even in the early Song Dynasty, the problem of women remarrying was still not a big problem. Song Zhenzong's queen Liu E remarried and became the mother of a country.
Although Liu E was a female, she governed the country unambiguously. For more than ten years, she managed the country in an orderly manner, making the country peaceful and the people peaceful. Liu E was also highly praised by historians and was called Yao and Shun among women. .
Third, having an affair with others
Everyone has emotions and desires, and widows in ancient times were no exception. Women after the Song Dynasty, under the influence of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, never left the front door or stepped forward. After getting married, he followed the three obediences and the four virtues. Under the shackles of women such as the Chastity Arch, his life was shocking every step of the way.
But it has to be said that this method is too risky. It is okay if the concealment is good. Once discovered, you will suffer a punishment worse than death. Dipping a pig cage is considered a minor injury, but serious injuries cannot save your life.
Fourth, take over the family business
As we all know, Qin Shihuang was the only emperor who did not have a queen. Qin Shihuang was not a womanizer, but he also had concubines, some of which he could not see for thirty-six years. There is one woman who is an exception, and she is also a widow, a widow named Qing.
Widow Qing was born in Badi, and his name was Qing, so he was also called Ba Widow Qing. Married at 18 and widowed at 22. My husband is a young local entrepreneur who has been running the cinnabar mining industry for many years and is already a wealthy industrial and commercial owner. After her husband's death, faced with family disputes and coveting by others, the widow Qing took up the huge business left by her husband, took good care of her parents-in-law, and never remarried.
After the Qin State annexed Bashu in 316 BC, the Bashu area became the strategic rear for the Qin State to complete its unification. The First Emperor of Qin and the successive kings of the Qin State implemented a preferential policy towards the Bayu region. They implemented the original management methods for the local wealthy families and allowed them to own industries, tribes and private armed forces. The widow Qing family is the representative of the local powerful, so it is natural that they should The object of attraction.
Perhaps after hearing so many stories, you will feel that ancient women were not so miserable after losing their husbands. But what we talked about today is just the tip of the iceberg. Most widows still live and die silently in the market.
There is little smoke on the roof of a widower's house, and there is a lot of trouble in front of a widow's door.
During the Spring and Autumn Period, Zheng Mugong had a daughter with extraordinary appearance. How beautiful was she? It is said that when she was a child, she had an almond-shaped face and peach cheeks, but when she grew up, she had a hot figure. But Xia Ji is not only as beautiful as a flower, but also very passionate. Her half-brother was unknown, so she had a very bad reputation in Zheng. In order to quickly move the disaster to the east, Zheng Mugong married her to Xia Yushu, a senior official of the Chen State, so later generations called her Xia Ji.
Their life was good at first, and they even gave birth to a son named Xia Zhengshu. But the good times did not last long, and Uncle Xia Yu died young. She became a widow. But as the saying goes: Thirty is like a wolf, forty is like a tiger. As luck would have it, her husband's friends Kong Ning and Yi Xingfu often visited her to express their condolences. The upright and youthful Xia Ji fell in love with the three of them after going back and forth. And Uncle Xia Yu's boss knew about this, and the three of them came together from time to time to offer condolences, and a more corrupt relationship began.
In order to stand out among the three, Chen Linggong did a stupid thing: he made Xia Zhengshu, the son of Xia Ji, a Sima. What does Sima do? The person in charge of military power! The princes have always held the military power tightly, but Chen Linggong directly gave it away. But Xia Zhengshu hated her mother's behavior deeply. Chen Linggong's behavior was tantamount to making himself look bad. One time when the four of them were preparing to have fun, Chen Linggong was killed by Xia Zhengshu's soldiers who were ambushing him at home, while the other two people quickly fled to Chu State to recruit reinforcements.
However, Chen State had no owner, so Chu State simply took advantage of the situation and annexed Chen State. In order to appease the public anger, Xia Zhengshu's chariot was torn apart, and Xia Ji, the culprit, was given to Duke Zhuang of Chu. The hero was saddened by the beauty barrier and was immediately attracted to Xia Ji. However, after the ministers tried their best to dissuade him, Duke Zhuang of Chu saw that there was no one to cook in the house of a widower (who had lost his wife). As the saying goes, there was little smoke on the widower's roof, so he gave it to him.
There is no better match for a widow than a widower. But Xia Ji was born a coward, Yin Xiang died and Xia Ji became a widow again.
Qu Wu, the doctor of Chu State, saw her beauty. Under the temptation of a few words, Xia Ji eloped with Qu Wu again. Overall, Xia Ji is the king among widows. Because in addition to the above, General Xia Ji achieved the feat of killing three husbands, a king and a son, and destroying a country and two ministers.
Later generations often used it to advise widows to be more careful. After all, it can easily arouse the covetousness of men.