The Historian

The Daughter has a good friend who is a historian, like... I mean, a real historian who travels to archaoelogical sites in China and Japan for her research, and reads ancient Chinese and ancient Japanese fluently... and teaches a module on The History of the African continent to African students from Africa.

That sounds to me a dream job.

This child did rather poorly at her A levels (which amongst the peers in her class simply meant that one of her many subjects... and ONLY one... was not a distinction). She was devastated. At that time, it seemed as if the world was at an end. No one understood why her strongest subject was not a distinction. We all finally concluded that her brilliance was such that her understanding of the subject went outside of the 'A' level marker's marking scheme. 

Life went on, as life is wont to do.

She obtained a PSC scholarship to study at NUS, her favourite subject. When most people in your class ended up in Oxbridge or an Ivy League, this option is painfully disappointing.

Within 1 year, the entire History faculty (I imagine) had decided that this young one represented the future of their faculty. Even I thought she was brilliant, and would make important contributions to her field. So, the faculty made up their own scholarship just for her, and went and bickered with the PSC to have her transferred to them. I would imagine that they said to the PSC, "You have plenty others to fill your pipeline of human resources. This one is perfect for us. There is no other, in her generation, like her."

So, the child left for Cambridge to do her Masters.

With Covid19 raging in the USA, she is back here continuing her PhD research by reading ancient Chinese and Japanese military correspondence. Wah... imagine that! She gets to read the equivalent of MI6, FBI and Secret Service correspondence, from the ancient times. She watches Game of Thrones, and instead of hiding her head in her pillow like I did, she huffs, "That is wrong military strategy! You will lose the war you morons!"

At lunch, I saw the need to impress The Historian.

Me: I do history research too, you know.

The Historian: Oh... really? What are you studying?

Me: I watch C-drama on Wu Zetian, Yang Guifei, Wei Yingluo and Xiao Yanyan.

The conversation segued to Confucius and his nefarious impact on gender equality throughout East Asian history. 

Before the 1949 Maoist revolution, women were only ever wives, concubines, or prostitutes. Female oppression stemmed from Confucian beliefs about gender roles in society where wives were to be subservient to their fathers before marriage, their husbands after marriage and their sons, when their husbands were deceased. Women made deep obeisance to their husbands, and not the other way around. Concubines had even fewer rights than wives. They were kept as mistresses by men for sexual services or to produce children. Men were polygamous (permitted one wife and an unlimited number of concubines), but women were allowed only one husband. Men held the power within the family and had greater freedom compared with women. These norms were upheld by mothers against their own daughters. Women's education only aimed to teach them these restrictive norms as laws under heaven.

What a sad existence, thanks to an idiot who lived from 551BC to 479BC. Confucius' insidious impact has resulted in many a bondmaid's death and the oppression of countless daughters-in-law. Thanks to Confucius, it was alright to bury a man's living wives and concubines with him, when he died. Confucius' impact is still seen today at Chong Pang Market when 60 yr old women refer to 30 yr old men as 帅哥 placing themselves into a subservient role they are used to, or when the men my age (or younger), call me 小妹 tipping me into a subservient role that I am not used to. Confucius' impact was also seen within my family where my mother-in-law presumed that she owned me and mine through her son.

It is all Confucius' fault. His influence throughout history has been singularly the cause of countless blighted lives and unnecessary deaths. What an odious man!

Despite Confucius, there were still women who rose above the oppression to wield raw power. Wu Zetian became an emperor in her own right. Unfortunately, there was no way to do it through institutionalised methods. You could not, for example, do a Ruth Bader Ginsburg, by getting a life - i.e., going to law school, graduating first in class, and then get appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States. Wu Zetian's path to power included first 

- becoming the concubine of Emperor Taizong, 

- and then, she became the Empress of Taizong's son (Emperor Gaozong), 

- and then, she became the mother of the crown prince.

Then, there was the Empress Xiao Yanyan of Liao, who lead her own army against the Song in 1005 AD. Her path to power also included 

- being first the wife of Emperor Jingzong of Liao, 

- and then mother of the crown prince.

A woman's path to power, independence and glory had to be through a man, and his son. No wonder Chinese mothers throughout the ages favour male offspring. It is through their sons that a woman can achieve some semblance of dignity and self-empowerment. A woman spends almost her entire life powerlessly, under the control of father, husband and mother of husband. 

Only when her son comes of age does she begin to gain some power, at which point she replicates the kind of oppressive control of younger women. I suppose my MIL was thrilled that she could now (according to Confucius' teachings) exert legitimate control over her son's household. I am not sorry I disappointed her. 

Confucius is an idiot, and I have no respect for her Confucius values at all.