In ancient China, the status of women was very low. Today, the editor of History Encyclopedia will bring you a detailed introduction about it.
In ancient times, due to orthodox Confucianism, women generally had little status. In addition, the hierarchical system in ancient times was very strict. If a maid were to go and rebel as a queen, it was basically impossible. At the same time, ancient times also placed great emphasis on matching social status, and the vast majority of maidservants could only serve young masters or ladies.
But in history, there is a woman who, from the beginning of wandering and living under someone else’s shelter, eventually rose to become the queen of a country. It can be said that this is the story of the ugly duckling evolving into a white swan, and the protagonist of this story is Song Fujin.
01
Being a maid in childhood
Song Fujin was born into an official family, which can be said to have a good background. Unfortunately, he lived in the worst era, during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. War was a common occurrence, but due to the war, Song Fujin was separated from his parents and began to live a turbulent life.
Fortunately, Song Fujin had an optimistic attitude and was always full of hope for life. It was precisely this optimistic attitude that allowed her to receive the favor of heaven. Wang Rong adopted this woman and made her the maid of his own children. Although Song Fujin was only a maid at this time, his own life was greatly guaranteed.
This kind of life lasted for a few years, and the relationship between Song Fujin and Wang Rong’s daughter was no longer that of a young lady and a maid, but more like friends who talked about everything. It wasn’t until Wang Rong’s daughter got married that Song Fujin married into the Xu family as a dowry maid.
The man married by Wang Rong’s daughter is named Xu Zhigao. He is the adopted son of General Xu Wen of Southern Wu. However, Wang Rong’s daughter has a bad attitude towards Xu Zhigao and even looked down on her husband at one point because he is an adopted son and his knowledge, experience, and other aspects can only be considered mediocre. Therefore, there has always been a gap in their relationship.
Due to Wang Rong’s daughter’s hot temper and contempt for Xu Zhigao, she was actually Wang Rong’s daughter’s dowry maid, which further moved Xu Zhigao. As a personal maid, Song Fujin’s gentle, considerate, low-key and humble personality deeply attracted Xu Zhigao. After a long time, Xu Zhigao truly fell in love with this maid.
Wang Rong’s daughter did not beat or scold Song Fujin after learning about this matter. Instead, she did not care about it because Miss Wang herself did not have a good impression of Xu Zhigao. Instead, she became even more arrogant because of this incident. For Xu Zhigao, who was serving in the army at that time, having someone constantly care about him was the greatest comfort to him, and this person was only Song Fujin.
02
Title of Empress
After a long time, Xu Zhigao’s feelings for Song Fujin became very deep. Soon after, Miss Wang passed away due to illness, and Song Fujin’s status skyrocketed, becoming Xu Zhigao’s favorite woman. Later, Xu Zhigao also took over Southern Wu and established his own country: Southern Tang.
Xu Zhigao officially changed his name to Li Yang afterwards, and Song Fujin successfully became the empress of a country, completing her ultimate comeback of life. However, even so, she did not become irritable due to holding power, but instead calmly helped Li Yang handle affairs in the harem.
Song Fujin was not only able to handle trivial matters in the harem well, but also able to help Li Yang regain his sanity in the first place when he became irritable due to the incident in the court. Therefore, Song Fujin’s position in Li Yang’s heart became increasingly important, and he also handed over various powers in the harem to Song Fujin.
Song Fujin not only managed the harem in an orderly manner, but also had a very humble personality. He was very kind to both the courtiers and palace maids, which earned him great respect from everyone.
Song Fujin’s current status is inseparable from her own efforts. Even though she does not have an excellent background, she is very clear about when to do what she should do and how to do it to the best of her ability. It is this attitude of judging the situation and being gentle and friendly towards others that has won Li Yang’s favor.
And as the empress of a country, Song Fujin also helped Li Min to complete political affairs in the court many times. The courtiers throughout the court also highly praised him for being only for the empress, whether from the perspective of being a wife or a empress of a country, he was very outstanding. Therefore, Li Min’s love and affection for Song Fujin became increasingly profound.
03
Xiaoyao Empress Dowager
No matter which emperor they were, they all wanted to pursue immortality in their later years, and Li Yang was naturally one of them. In order to pursue immortality, they would always take some strange elixirs. Modern people are seriously affected, and the ancient refining techniques were not mature. Eating too much cannot achieve the effect of prolonging life, but instead can lead to heavy metal poisoning and death.
But the ancient people did not have this concept in their hearts. In order to pursue longevity, ancient emperors would only sink deeper and deeper. Li Yang would also eat some strange elixirs every day to help himself prolong his life, but it had the opposite effect, causing himself to be poisoned and die.
After the death of Li Yang, the throne was succeeded by Crown Prince Li Jing. Due to the young age of the Crown Prince at that time, the ministers in the court hoped that Song Fujin could step in and assist Li Jing in handling national affairs, stabilizing the court, and paving the way for Li Jing’s future. The ministers could be said to have such requests every day.
However, Song Fujin was well aware of what he should do and also knew the various hidden dangers brought about by watching from behind the scenes, so he refused the ministers’ requests and only silently helped Li Jing handle various affairs in the court.
From this, it can also be seen how clear Song Fujin was about her own positioning, and she did not have an almost abnormal pursuit of power. Instead, she chose to be a carefree empress dowager, wholeheartedly managing the affairs of the harem and always providing assistance in court affairs, wholeheartedly cultivating Li Jing to become a virtuous ruler.
The decision of Song Fujin not to choose to rule behind the scenes avoided the division of power in the court, as well as the disputes and killings that occurred after Li Jing grew up due to the transfer of power. Her decision also made the court better and made Li Jing and the courtiers more respectful to her. After her death, she was also posthumously awarded the title of Empress Yuanjing.
04
Song Fujin’s successful comeback from a maid to the empress was closely related to her own personality and attitude towards work. Whether she was a maid or a noble empress, she had a precise sense of propriety in her actions, neither making people feel like she had crossed the line nor being able to help others.
And Song Fujin was also able to maintain her original intention, not wavering due to the temptation of power. Even though the courtiers requested her to rule behind the scenes and help handle the affairs of the court, she firmly refused, silently doing everything she should do. Women with such a state of mind are unlikely to succeed, and it is this decision that earned her the respect of the court’s civil and military forces.
