Wang Shao, the chief envoy from the left, sighed and said: "Tang Xunjian, it is okay to advocate simplicity in marriage, and it is also okay to severely punish infanticide. How can we forcefully stipulate the age of marriage for men and women?"
Tang Mu, the envoy on the right, joked: "That is, if a scholar goes out to study and gets sick and fails to come back to get married on time, will he be considered guilty of not getting married after missing the date?"
"Let me take a look. It's still the same old method. Don't try too many new tricks." Yuan Xuan, the inspector, said.
The capital commander Li Long looked at Wang Yuan and said with a laugh: "General Wang called us here. He must have a perfect plan. Everyone who listens to General Wang will do it!"
All the officials looked at Wang Yuan.
Wang Yuan played with the purple clay pot in his hand. This thing was given by a student and was not very valuable. He sighed: "Seven days ago, outside the military camp of the Governor's Mansion, a baby was crying in the middle of the night. Someone actually abandoned the baby girl there. It was nothing more than a baby.
I wanted the governor to take her away and adopt her. I sent people to look for her biological parents everywhere, and although I found nothing, I learned that infanticide was a common practice in Zhejiang. I also learned that the imperial censor of the Tang Dynasty imposed a mandatory age limit for male and female marriage, which was unanimously opposed by the officials and people of Zhejiang."
Tang Fengyi was very young at this time, and had passed the Jinshi exam three years earlier than Wang Yuan. He stood up angrily and said sadly: "Gentlemen, why is it so common in Zhejiang to drown infants? It's not because they are too poor to support them. On the contrary,
It’s because Zhejiang is so wealthy that extravagant weddings have become common! Over the past six months or so, I have visited more than ten states and counties privately incognito, and the extravagance in Zhejiang is simply unbelievable.”
Everyone was silent, everyone was silent.
Tang Fengyi continued: "It's just a treat for weddings, funerals, and birthdays. Even a beheaded pig must be treated. Neighbors must send gifts to the banquet. If the gift money is small, you will lose face. Weddings and dowries are even more terrible. For a commoner's home, spending a year
The price is only a few taels of silver, and the dowry for marrying a daughter is more than ten taels! These are still ordinary people, and there are even more wealthy families. Marrying a daughter can actually bring ordinary wealthy households to the brink of bankruptcy! Who dares to do this?
Give birth to a daughter?”
Min Kai, a political advisor on the left, said: "The main reason is that the people are too poor. There are not many infanticides in Hangzhou, Jiaxing and Huzhou."
Tang Fengyi said angrily: "That's in Fucheng! If Min Shenzheng doesn't believe it, you can go to the countryside and have a look. Countless babies are drowned in the countryside of the three prefectures too!"
Li Long reminded: "Yushi of the Tang Dynasty, this drowning of baby girls is not just because of dowry. There is a very bad custom in Zhejiang. It is widely said that the first baby girl is born. If the baby is not drowned, it will be difficult to give birth to another baby.
Males. Therefore, in wealthy families, they are afraid that they will not be able to give birth to a son, so they often drown their first-born female baby."
"It's nonsense and monstrous talk to confuse the public. This is what a foolish man and a foolish woman say!" Tang Fengyi became even more angry.
The custom of infant drowning has been practiced in the south of the Yangtze River for nearly a hundred years. The imperial court has promulgated many laws, but it has been banned repeatedly.
The Chenghua Dynasty promulgated the "Regulations on the Prohibition of Excessive Marriage and the Death of Women Who Drown", ordering the officials of the three departments in Jiangnan provinces to prohibit local marriages that violate the rules, promote frugality in marriage, and oppose dowry, as extravagant dowry has become a common practice. Once the phenomenon of infant drowning is discovered, it must be severely punished.
Neighbors who know but fail to report are all considered guilty!
The Hongzhi Dynasty also promulgated the "Regulations on the Disposal of the Killing of Descendants and the Drowning of Newborn Boys and Girls", which stipulated that: those who drowned infants with non-military status would be sent to the nearby guard station; those who drowned babies with military status would be sent to the border troops; those who drowned babies with the border military status would be sent to the army
They were sent to the extreme border to be exiled to the army; those who were soldiers in the extreme border and drowned infants were made to serve as the most dangerous frontier sentries. Civil and military officials who drowned infants were reported to the court for processing. Neighbors who knew about it and did not report it were all considered guilty!
The slow-responsive ancient imperial court promulgated relevant laws for two consecutive dynasties, which shows how serious the phenomenon of infanticide in Jiangnan was.
Jiangxi is more serious than Zhejiang. Everyone says: "Jiangxi people love to spoil girls the most."
Tang Fengyi stood with her head held high in the center of the main hall of Tutu Temple, looked around and said: "Gentlemen, I have encountered this kind of thing during my private visit incognito. A student in a certain county was engaged to the daughter of his neighbor. The two were childhood sweethearts and lived in two households.
They are also quite friendly. But they have been engaged for nearly ten years, and the woman is already in her twenties, but she has never been able to go to the wedding hall. Why? It’s all because extravagant weddings are common in the county. The man is a junior, and the woman must give a sufficient dowry.
, otherwise you will be laughed at by your neighbors!”
Wang Yuan asked: "So, the Tang Yushi forced the age of marriage?"
Tang Fengyi said: "Yes. If the government comes forward and forces them to get married before getting crowns and hairpins, then there will be a step down for both men and women, and they will be able to live up to their reputation. Why not do it?"
"The governor is good at making opinions and supports the opinions of the Tang Yushi." Wang Yuan said with a smile.
"President Wang is wise!" Tang Fengyi was originally unhappy with Wang Yuan and sent more than ten impeachment memorials. But after this incident, he changed his view of Wang Yuan greatly and believed that the governor was sensible.
The same is true for Wang Yuan.
I used to think that Tang Fengyi was just a fly, buzzing and buzzing all day long, making people want to slap her to death. However, such a person continued to visit her privately incognito for half a year, and carefully investigated the phenomenon of infanticide in Zhejiang, which has made today's
Many officials were defeated.
Regardless of his ability, at least Tang Fengyi is willing to do things.
Wang Yuan himself wrote a notice, which was written in vernacular, and asked the Third Division of Zhejiang to immediately announce it to the whole province. There are three contents: first, weddings and funerals must not violate the rules; second, advocate simplicity and encourage frugality; third,
3. Anyone who drowns an infant must be sent to the army, and anyone who knows and fails to report is guilty of the same crime; 4. Zhejiang men must marry before they turn 20 and women before they turn 15, otherwise they will be fined. They are limited to rectification within one month. Past offenses will not be punished, and those who commit the crime again will not be severely punished.
loan!
After the officials left and left the Governor's Mansion, they all looked at each other and smiled bitterly, feeling that Wang Yuan and Tang Fengyi were looking for trouble.
Wang Yuan walked to the side hall, which had been converted into a guest room. The old woman invited from the city was coaxing the baby girl to sleep. This was the baby girl who was abandoned outside the military camp of the Governor's Mansion.
Some parents really don't have the heart to drown their babies, so they often abandon them on the roadside, in temples or in wealthy families.
I guess they heard that Wang Yuan was a good official, so the parents of this baby girl came from the countryside and quietly left the child outside the Governor's Mansion.
When Wang Yuan learned about the custom of infanticide in Zhejiang, he almost exploded with anger.
There may be some poor people who drown their babies, but can Zhejiang be poorer than Guizhou? How come Guizhou doesn’t have this bad habit!
There are only two reasons, one is extravagance, and the other is feudal superstition.
In particular, those who drown babies in wealthy families often listen to the lies of the market and believe that it is unlucky to give birth to a girl in the first child. If the baby is not drowned, it will be difficult to have a boy. Poor baby girls who are drowned, because they are obviously reincarnated into rich families, and not only will they not become rich ladies
, she became a female ghost who died unjustly before she even opened her eyes.
The ratio of men to women in Zhejiang is very scary. Many men in their thirties and forties still cannot get a wife.
Later, the missionary Matteo Ricci also wrote a special article to record: "There is a much more serious evil in China, which is the practice of drowning female infants in some provinces... This kind of massacre of innocent people is not done secretly, but
Do it openly and let everyone know.”
The key point is that it was not done secretly, but openly for everyone to know!
What does this mean?
Drowning female infants has become a common occurrence, and the common people have long been accustomed to it. Even missionaries from the West know about it.
Zhejiang No. 3 Division quickly posted notices throughout the province. A month later, little effect was achieved.
No one paid attention to Wang Yuan at all, because it was a family matter. As the saying goes, it is difficult for an upright official to deal with family matters, so the governor still dared to mess around?