When it comes to Fu Shanxiang, what does everyone think of? Below, the History Encyclopedia editor will introduce relevant historical events to you.
The imperial examination system began to emerge in the Tang Dynasty and lasted until the Qing Dynasty. It seems that male participation in the imperial examination system was a default practice, and even during the reign of Empress Wu Zetian, there was no female participation in the imperial examination system. Until the Song Dynasty, because the imperial examination system did not stipulate that only men could participate, two women “took advantage of the situation” and appeared in the examination room as women.
During the reign of Emperor Xizong of Tang Dynasty, Huang Chonggu, although later known as the “female top scorer”, did not actually participate in the imperial examination in history.
The first woman to participate in the imperial examination was nine years old. When she participated in the children’s examination, Lin Youyu’s paper was directly presented to Emperor Xiaozong of Song. Lin Youyu’s writing is excellent, but the emperor did not attach importance to such a woman. Although he allowed her to pass the exam, he directly cancelled her qualification for the subsequent exams.
Because Lin Youyu passed the entrance examination and became a jinshi, she is also known as the “female jinshi”. The second person to participate in the imperial examination was Wu Zhiduan, but her final fate was similar to that of Lin Youyu. From then on, no woman participated in the imperial examination again, except during the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom period.
Hong Xiuquan lifted the restrictions of the imperial examination system, allowing women to participate in it in addition to men. At that time, there were 600 women participating in the scientific examination. Fu Shanxiang took the top spot in this exam, becoming the first and only female top scorer in history.
But what created Fu Shanxiang was never her talent, but the conspiracy of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
At that time, the Qing Dynasty had become a semi colonial society, and the emperors of the Qing Dynasty also lost their prestige in the midst of social turmoil. Everything was accumulated before the outbreak, and the female consciousness ruled by Cheng Zhu Neo Confucianism was also awakening. Fu Shanxiang is one of the awakened women driven by fate.
Fu Shanxiang was not doing well. Originally from a scholarly family, she lost all her happiness at the age of eight. With the departure of her parents and the decline of the family’s fortunes, she could only rely on her brother for survival. But love without material support has long eroded the last tenderness in life. At the age of thirteen, she was sent by her brother to become a child bride.
That family is an old friend of my father’s, and the two families have also agreed on a marriage contract. The only downside is that my husband is only seven years old, six years younger than her. Perhaps Fu Shanxiang’s life can only be spent waiting for her husband to grow up, have children together, and be filial to her parents in law. Perhaps his entire life will be hopeless, but he will live an ordinary life. But sometimes fate is much crueler than imagined.
Disease is the best way to bring disaster, and that twelve year old ‘little husband’ was taken away in this way. At that time, Fu Shanxiang was already eighteen years old, at the age of flowers and jade. Without the support of marriage, the in laws no longer have a good face. Even after being raised for five years, Fu Shanxiang is still an “outsider” at this moment.
The mother-in-law family looked at the young Fu Shanxiang and had thoughts of selling her to exchange for some silver money to compensate for the losses she had suffered over the years. As for the work she did in those years, it was something they should have done and never considered anything. In the era when women saw women clearly, no one would remember their efforts.
Fu Shanxiang was once again pushed into the abyss of fate, but she met the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. She thought it was a turning point in her destiny, but she didn’t expect that something was actually a deeper prison. Behind the disguise made of flowers was the hand secretly exposed from the prison.
The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom advocated equality. Confucius once said, “The people can let them know, but not let them know.” Emperors of all dynasties have misinterpreted this sentence as: If you want the people to do something, don’t tell them why, just do it directly. The emperors ruled the dynasty for thousands of years through a policy of ignorance towards the people.
But Hong Xiuquan added a few punctuation marks to these sentences, ‘If the people can use it, let it be; if not, know it.’. The meaning of this passage has completely changed, from hiding it from the people to letting them know why. Their tactics are too effective, and many oppressed people who don’t know how to awaken either voluntarily or helplessly choose Hong Xiuquan and others.
They also used a trick to win people’s hearts, which is gender equality, even women can participate in the imperial examination. How many talented women are trapped in discrimination but unable to change their fate, yet unwilling to let their talents be buried. Hong Xiuquan and others have seized on this point, not only to show women, but also to show those men.
At that time, nearly 600 people participated in this imperial examination, but not many women participated. Fu Shanxiang was one of the brave people who participated in the “women’s subject”. Many people outside are watching this achievement, either mocking, showing goodwill, or simply watching the excitement. How did Hong Xiuquan and others not know? What they want is the perspective and attention of the outside world, so that they can prove to the world that they are recognized. Therefore, the exam question for this time is “Heavenly Brother Heavenly King of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom makes policies for the true emperor”
Just praise is enough, it doesn’t require much talent or great governance ability. Fu Shanxiang praised it very well. Among the more than ten thousand words in his answer, the paragraph “Three Emperors are not enough to be Emperors, Five Emperors are not enough to be Emperors, only I, the Emperor, am the true Emperor” was praised the best.
Fu Shanxiang’s talent is outstanding, and she is also a woman. In addition, her line “Three Emperors are not enough to be emperors, Five Emperors are not enough to be emperors, only I am the emperor, the true emperor” directly acknowledges the status and identity of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and Hong Xiuquan and others. Fu Shanxiang was fortunate enough to become the female top scorer, not just a gimmick like Huang Chong, but a female top scorer who truly passed the imperial examination.
Fu Shanxiang felt that this was a gift given by fate, but he never thought that there were not so many people who truly awakened. Most people just followed the trend and wanted to achieve a certain goal through it.
Fu Shanxiang quickly became a prisoner of Yang Xiuqing due to her beauty. Like all the women who passed the imperial examination, no one really cared about their thoughts. They just wanted to make a name for themselves.
Fu Shanxiang once gave some advice to Yang Xiuqing, hoping to help him make a difference in politics. Although she became Yang Xiuqing’s plaything, she was somewhat naive in their slogans. Yang Xiuqing responded to Fu Shanxiang’s suggestion with only a severe beating, and Fu Shanxiang gradually lost all color in such a life.
After the collapse of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Fu Shanxiang disappeared without a trace. Hopefully, she can escape the disaster and gain some goodwill from fate.
