such as Yue Linyuan

At the beginning of December, Zhong Qingheng, the deputy cabinet assistant, proposed in the early court that the existing laws and regulations of the Daheng Kingdom were biased in the part related to peace and separation, so he proposed that the laws and regulations should be revised.

Article [-]. Change the identification standard of "righteousness". If both husband and wife do any intentional harm to themselves and their relatives, once they cause substantial bodily harm, they can be judged as "righteousness". Article [-], if the husband forces his wife to commit adultery with other men, or if the husband has not returned for three years, the woman goes to the government to request reconciliation, once the government judges that the conditions for reconciliation are met, This reconciliation will not require the consent of the husband or the husband's family; Article [-], although the abduction and trafficking of folk women into wives and concubines is expressly prohibited, such illegal things still occur, so anyone who is trafficked and forced to marry into the husband's family is a Wife or concubine, if the situation is true after investigation, the marriage relationship will not be recognized. In addition, those who buy wives or concubines will be sent to prison and sentenced, and the abductors will be thoroughly investigated. The wealth belongs to the victim woman.

After Zhong Qingheng put forward this proposal, it was once opposed by some courtiers, especially Wang Ren, Zuodu Censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, who was the most fierce.

Wang Ren insisted that a woman obeys her husband when she gets married, and the husband is the guide for the wife. It is only natural for the husband to teach his wife the responsibility of corporal punishment. Violation of etiquette laws will make the wife disobey her husband and make the house uneasy.

In this regard, Zhong Qingheng argued in court: "When married, obey the husband, and when the husband dies, obey the son. These are two of the three obediences; the husband guides the wife, and the father guides the son. Shi Ke remembers, what is the meaning of this guideline? Yes, it is the example that a husband should be a wife, and a father should be an example for a son. But if it is, the husband beats his wife in the name of teaching or locks up his wife to make him Starving, his wife takes this as a guideline, and treats her body in her own way, so what should I say? Besides, a husband is also a husband, and his behavior falls into the eyes of his son. What do you think? He would think that his father did the right thing. So in the future, he would imitate his father's behavior, beat his mother and even imprison her mother to make her starve. Isn't this a violation of filial piety and etiquette?

"What is etiquette and law? Only when there is etiquette can there be law. Xunzi said, 'The law is the end of the rule; the gentleman is the root of the law'. The law of the law is the beginning of the long-term stability of the country, and the gentleman with both ability and morality is the law. The origin of the law. And what is a gentleman? Mencius said: "A gentleman has benevolence in his heart, and propriety in his heart. The benevolent loves others, and the courteous respects others. Lovers will always love them, and respect others will always respect them." Benevolence, know how to be courteous and respect others, so that you can win the same respect and love for yourself. Confucius also said, "People are not benevolent, such as etiquette." It also shows the importance of benevolence. If a person even has the most basic benevolence If there is none, how can he take etiquette seriously? If a person who would do things that are unrefined, such as beating his wife, would say that he still has benevolence in his heart, would Mr. Wang believe it? Other adults who opposed Zhong's proposal , do you believe it? Such a person, the son who is taught, may imitate his mother and behave unfilially. If this is the case, where will the etiquette be placed? In the long run, where is the gentleman and where is the etiquette?

"As for the degree of substantive bodily harm, it is natural to give a standard. By no means, any harm can be judged as 'righteousness'. There are clear regulations. How can it make a wife feel uneasy if she does not stay in her husband's house? In Zhong's view, If the atrocities are not stopped, and the number of people who understand the way of a gentleman and practice the way of a gentleman is less and less, then it will really be a violation of etiquette and law, and shake the foundation of the country!"

This argument made Wang Ren and the others at a loss for words, and after a while they looked so ugly that they all reprimanded: "You are making unreasonable words!"

Zhong Qingheng was not angry in the slightest, and only said: "Since you say Zhong's strong words are unreasonable, then please adults to refute Zhong with reason."

Wang Ren couldn't refute it, so he turned to the third item of the bill, bluntly saying that no matter whether a woman is married or concubine because of buying and selling, since it has been recorded by the government, it is a legal marriage relationship, and it will be denied after it is absolutely unrecognized. and buying wives and concubines is wrong, but they are not the masters of abductors. If they are sentenced, this law may be too harsh.

As for Wang Ren's rebuttal, Zhong Qingheng hadn't opened his mouth yet, and Jiang Sheng, the Minister of Rites, couldn't help rebutting: "Why doesn't Mr. Wang talk about etiquette at this time? Parents ordered the matchmaker's words." If you buy a wife or a concubine, do you obey the orders of both parents? Furthermore, according to the laws of the Daheng Kingdom, engagement and marriage must be voluntary. Abduction and trafficking are already illegal, so buying a wife and a concubine is even less voluntary. Involuntary is illegal, even if the government records it, it is illegal in essence, so how can there be a legal marriage relationship? The government recognizes a fraudulent illegal marriage, why can't it deny it?

"If it is wrong to say that buying a wife and concubine is not a crime, I think it is wrong. Why did the sale start? It is because there is a buyer who bids that someone takes the risk to act as the seller. The kidnapper is unforgivable, and the buyer is also Of course. It can even be said that the buyer is the source of the evil that has been repeatedly banned. Of course, I know that Mr. Wang has always opposed the cool law, and frequently used the failure of Shang Yang's reform as an example to prove that the cool law is not advisable. However, if Shang Yang's law is really so unacceptable Why do later generations continue to establish new laws and regulations based on the laws of Shang Yang? Xunzi said, "Clarify rituals and righteousness to transform them, establish laws and correct them to rule them, and impose severe punishments to prohibit them." With this Confucianism, it proves that etiquette educates First, legal governance is supplemented, but if you don’t pay attention to etiquette and law, you should use punishment to prohibit these villains’ illegal actions! As the censor of the Zuodu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, Mr. Wang even has Confucianism and laws and regulations. If you don’t study it, I’m afraid that many people have been wronged over the years!”

Jiang Sheng's words made Wang Ren so angry that he almost passed out in the hall. Wang Ren knelt down to Chu Yuezhi and begged to think twice, saying that the laws and regulations have been passed down for many years, and they must not be changed lightly, let alone use cool methods lightly.

Chu Yuezhi said: "Every sentence of what Zhong Cifu said is reasonable. Courtesy is before the law. Why can't it be changed? If you talk about cruel law, the stick of eighty is punishment, prison is punishment, exile is punishment, but now this The sentencing standard has not yet been determined, how can it become a cool law?"

Wang Ren was speechless, Chu Yuezhi simply let him kneel like this, figured it out and got up again, the rest of the courtiers who objected didn't dare to say any more when they saw this.

So far, Zhong Qingheng's proposal to revise the law has been confirmed, and will be promulgated and implemented after further discussions with the Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple to finalize various details.

In mid-December, more than half a month before the first lunar month, Ruan Xing, Minister of Dali Temple, and Liang Chen, Minister of the Cabinet, jointly proposed that there are women engaged in business among the people, among them widows or those who have to do business because they help their husbands. Most of them are women, but in the process of doing business, there are sometimes disputes. Because Daheng Kingdom has no relevant laws and regulations, even if it is reported to the government, it is difficult to make a decision. Therefore, the proposal should make relevant laws and regulations for women's business, so that the government has laws to follow case trial.

Women should not show their faces, this is the tacit courtesy, women must travel outside when they are in business, this is against the etiquette system, so a large number of courtiers once again said that instead of formulating laws to regulate women's business, women should be explicitly prohibited from doing business Merchants destroy etiquette.

The proposal to prohibit women from engaging in business was refuted almost as soon as it was put forward, because it was related to the fact that the victim of a woman trafficking case was rescued. At that time, the imperial court would help the victimized women change their names and surnames, and uniformly arrange for them to enter the embroidery and weaving workshops set up by the imperial court to support themselves with their own hands.If women are prohibited from engaging in business, it is questioning the wrongness of the court's method of arranging victimized women for many years, and those victimized women whose lives have been ruined due to trafficking will lose their shelter again?

Some courtiers argued in court that the victimized woman was a special case and should not be included as a comparison, and if women were allowed to engage in business, wouldn't it be encouraging women to show their faces in public regardless of etiquette?

Si Yuanting refuted this by citing an example from the previous Tang Dynasty: "There is a record in "Taiping Guangji", 'There is a Banqiao store in the west of Bianzhou in the Tang Dynasty, and the store's three ladies...widowed, over [-] years old, neither male nor female, nor Relatives have a few houses and make food for their business. However, the family is very rich and has many donkeys and livestock. If the husband is dead and has no children, what should the widow do for a living if she does not engage in business? Dare to make people starve to death, Let people argue again, the Daheng Kingdom cannot tolerate helpless widows, so it is not as good as the previous dynasty? Not only that, but there are many records in "Taiping Guangji" about women operating in textiles, metallurgy, fruit and vegetable shops, etc., which can be seen in the past In the history of dynasties, there are not no examples of women engaging in business. The previous dynasty could allow women to engage in business, but why can't it be tolerated today?

"It is true that at the beginning of the founding of the Daheng Kingdom, it was also recognized that the business and industry were mixed. The Daheng Kingdom has long been open to industry and commerce. After the sea ban was lifted, the sea trade has further developed the economy of the Daheng Kingdom. Now the laws have already referred to the "Quan Tangwen" The new law should be established by the armies, envoys, etc. who are brokers in villages and towns. So that the common people have more than enough food and clothing, and why are some women with special circumstances not allowed to start a business and start a business, so that they can make a living by themselves?

"For a long time, divorce has followed the seven rules, and there is a decision in the 'three not to go'. If the wife's natal family has no one to rely on or even no longer exists, the wife cannot be divorced. Divorcing a wife must be determined by the clan, and it is by no means easy. A divorce letter can be made. However, if a wife can only rely on her husband, isn’t this a burden for a man? Allowing a woman to start a business and start a business is not necessarily a matter of mutual benefit. A woman can justifiably help her husband family; if unfortunately, the husband dies early and has no children, he can also support himself through business instead of only counting on the deceased husband to leave an inheritance. If we talk about examples, there is a record in the "Compilation of Epitaphs of the Tang Dynasty". After the husband dies, he manages the property and knows Tao Gong's method, so he will have no fear of floods and droughts, and he will be rich in good and bad luck."

Si Yuanting's argument was based on evidence as well as past recorded cases. With this beginning, Ruan Xing and Liang Chen could stand on their feet in the subsequent court debate.

And saying that wives can only be attached to their husbands is a burden for men, and it is just to persuade those courtiers who insist on their own views and think highly of themselves.

After another half a month of court debate, it was finally decided before the first month of the court that the court was closed, and the relevant laws and regulations for women's business start-ups would be negotiated in the following year. industry to enter.

So far, 11 years have passed since the establishment of the women's school, and finally in the last month of the 20th year of the Yanqing Dynasty, the revision of various laws and regulations related to women was successfully promoted.

The regulations on Heli and Women's Establishment and Entrepreneurship were finally promulgated and implemented in September of the 21st year of the Yanqing Dynasty and December of the 22nd year of the Yanqing Dynasty respectively.

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The author says:

Reference source:

"The law is the end of the rule; the gentleman is the source of the law." ———— "Xunzi · The Way of the King"

"A gentleman puts benevolence in his heart, and propriety in his heart. A benevolent man loves others, and a courteous man respects others. Those who love others will always love them, and those who respect others will always respect them." ——— "Mencius Li Lou Chapter [-]"

"People are not benevolent, how about etiquette?" ——— "The Analects of Confucius·Bayi"

"Clarify rituals and righteousness to transform them, establish laws to rule them, and punish them severely to prohibit them." ——— "Xunzi·Xin Evil Chapter"

Zhong Qingheng: I am familiar with the debate on etiquette and law, let me do it!

Chu Qi: He is a talent. Fortunately, he was woken up by Liang Chen's scolding.

Himemoto: The author himself may have exhausted the stock of etiquette that he has learned so far...