Ming Dynasty: I, Yan Maoqing, am truly radiating auspicious energy!

Chapter 32 Engagement
As for the so-called "three-inch golden lotus".

Yan Maoqing said he couldn't appreciate it at all.

Regardless of whether he is an honorary member of the Foot Fetish Association, even if he is, he would certainly not have the slightest interest in those twisted and deformed little feet.

In his view, such foot fetishism does not belong to the realm of aesthetics at all, but is a kind of deformed and ugly fetishism that is even more abnormal than "three-inch golden lotus".

However, according to his observations after traveling through time, he discovered...

The foot binding practiced during the Ming Dynasty appears to have differed significantly from the foot binding practiced during the Qing Dynasty:
First, according to later statistics, foot binding was extremely common in the late Qing Dynasty, with more than 90% of women having bound feet.

In this era, the proportion of women who bound their feet was only about 20% to 30%, and they were mostly concentrated in the middle and upper classes with relatively good family backgrounds.
Secondly, the emphasis of foot binding for women in this era was on the "bow" and "slender" shape. Reaching this standard meant being called a "golden lotus," which is the "slender jade feet" often mentioned in ancient poems and literature. There was no blind pursuit of size.

By the Qing Dynasty, foot binding had evolved into a seven-character formula: "small, thin, pointed, curved, fragrant, soft, and straight." In order to meet the standards of the seven-character formula, many people did not hesitate to start binding their daughters' feet when they were two or three years old, so as to break and deform the toe bones as early as possible.
Furthermore, the shoes worn by women with bound feet in this era were still relatively normal flat shoes.

During the Qing Dynasty, with the influx of Western high heels, flat-soled arched shoes began to evolve into high-heeled arched shoes. This may be one of the reasons why foot binding began to develop in this bizarre and abnormal direction.

However, it seems inaccurate to say that this bad habit was entirely the fault of the Qing Dynasty.

Yan Maoqing recalled reading an article before, in which there were many different theories about the origin of "foot binding", and the earliest one could even be forcibly linked to Tushan, the wife of Yu the Great.

The earliest records of foot binding in historical texts appear in the Song Dynasty court.

However, the aesthetics of that time were not much different from those of this era, focusing only on the "bow" and "slenderness".

In order to showcase the soaring, cloud-piercing posture often seen in later ethnic dances, it was even stipulated that only nobles were entitled to "bind their feet".

As for why "foot binding" became "foot wrapping" in the Qing Dynasty, and began to move rapidly in a distorted and deformed direction...

This is not an attempt by Yan Maoqing to whitewash the Qing Dynasty.

However, historical records do show that from the time of Nurhaci, the three major national policies for conquering the Han people were shaving their heads, changing their clothes, and prohibiting foot binding.

During the reigns of Emperors Huang Taiji, Shunzhi, and Kangxi, bans were repeatedly issued to prohibit foot binding. For a long period, the practice was similar to the "keep your head, lose your hair" principle, with those who bound their feet being beheaded as a warning to others.

Even Empress Dowager Cixi, the last ruler of the Qing Dynasty, personally issued an edict banning foot binding.

After all the back and forth, the final outcome was the awkward situation of "men surrendering but women not surrendering".

The shaving of heads and changing of clothing were successfully implemented, but the practice of foot binding not only became more widespread and more distorted the more it was prohibited, but even the Manchu government could only turn a blind eye to it. Until its demise, it never figured out whether it had truly conquered the Han people...

Some people say that this is actually a problem left over from the Ming Dynasty.

This was because the Ming Dynasty designated the Cheng-Zhu school of Neo-Confucianism, which advocated "preserving heavenly principles and eliminating human desires," as the official doctrine, and also placed extreme emphasis on the "three obediences and four virtues" for women. Furthermore, foot binding was designated as part of the etiquette for women's "feminine appearance" in the palace.

These three factors complemented each other, imprinting a deep and ingrained ideological imprint on people, which inevitably led to the deformed development of "foot binding" into "foot wrapping".

Yan Maoqing was also unsure whether this statement was correct.

He only knew that people's thoughts were always either left or right, and they would always do things that he couldn't understand, just like the later saying, "Behind every outrageous rule, there is a group of even more outrageous people."

Perhaps in the beginning, foot binding was just a sudden idea of ​​some dancers to make their dance moves more graceful, just like in the Song Dynasty court;
Perhaps the establishment of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism as the official doctrine and the emphasis on the three obediences and four virtues for women were actually just to improve the rule and to guide the negative social atmosphere left over from the Song and Yuan dynasties, just like the Ming Taizu and Ming Chengzu.

Perhaps many Han Chinese women persisted in foot binding after the Manchus entered the Central Plains, truly carrying the spirit of "men surrender but women do not," just like the Manchu government's helplessness;

Then, things took an unexpected turn...

This is a small matter, but also a big one.

If possible, without hindering his goal of "retiring and returning to his hometown," Yan Maoqing would not mind doing his part in any small way.

Anyway, he should be able to enter the palace to meet the emperor soon.

If the Jiajing Emperor could believe in the saying "two dragons cannot meet," he should also be able to believe in the saying "foot binding is what binds the fate of the Ming Dynasty."

After all, the latter still has some logic and scientific basis.

Moreover, in a short time, the Jiajing Emperor will have his neck bound by palace maids, which is similar to the death of his son...

With these thoughts in mind, Yan Maoqing smiled and replied to Manager Liu with a truthful statement:
"I appreciate Manager Liu's kindness, but I am already engaged in my hometown, and it is really inconvenient for me to live with an unmarried woman before the wedding."

"I apologize for my abruptness, Mr. Yan..."

Manager Liu paused, a barely perceptible hint of disappointment flashing in his eyes.

“However, I have something even more important to ask Manager Liu for help with,” Yan Maoqing added immediately.

Manager Liu immediately perked up and turned around to agree:

"Please speak freely, Mr. Yan, I will certainly do my utmost to assist you!"

"Later, I will rewrite the answer sheet I wrote during the palace examination. I would like to trouble Manager Liu to print a hundred copies and find a few people who are good at keeping their mouths shut to post them secretly."

Yan Maoqing said in a low voice,
"Manager Liu, leaking the palace examination answers is no small matter. Please keep this a secret. It is a secret between the two of us, is that alright?"

"..."

Manager Liu's heart trembled slightly. If they shared a secret, then they were already on their side, right?

……

Xia Mansion.

"The fact that Yan Maoqing was selected as a probationary official must be due to the guidance and support of treacherous officials!"

"I am a chief minister," said Xia Yan with a confident tone.

"I wonder who this treacherous minister the Grand Secretary is referring to is?"

Gao Shi, the censor of the Ministry of Justice who had just submitted a memorial impeaching Guo Xun under Xia Yan's instructions, turned sideways and asked.

"It can't be me and Zhai Luan, nor can it be those Hanlin Academy scholars. Who else could it be?"

"But as far as I know, didn't Yan Song instruct his one-eyed son to expel Yan Maoqing from Yuzhang Academy before the ceremony of issuing the imperial edicts?"

"Then you probably don't know that after the imperial examination, Yan Maoqing got into a fight at the palace gate and was arrested by the Embroidered Uniform Guard. The person who spoke up to save him was Yan Song, wasn't he?"

Xia Yan squinted, as if the scheming frog had been touching his stomach the whole time.

Gao Shi couldn't help but gasp: "Hiss—Does the Grand Secretary mean..."

"Expelling Yan Maoqing from Yuzhang Academy might very well be a tactic he's using to cover his tracks, in order to avoid suspicion during this selection process!"

Xia Yan said,
"Brother Boyuan, you may not know this, but the content of Yan Maoqing's answer sheet in the palace examination is completely different from the essays submitted for selection this time. There are too many conflicts to list."

"For a person's thinking to undergo such a dramatic change in such a short period of time, what else could it be but guidance?"

At this point, Xia Yan got up again and took a folded piece of paper from the desk not far away, handing it to Gao Shi:

"Brother Boyuan, please take a look. This is Yan Maoqing's answer sheet for the palace examination."

Gao Shi glanced at it briefly, and his expression changed:

"Such wicked and wicked people are truly rare in this world!"

"Not bad!"

Xia Yan nodded and said,

"Although Yan Song was cunning and treacherous, he never openly supported the emperor's ascetic practices. However, he covered the agarwood and leaf crown that the emperor had given him during his ascetic practices with a light gauze and wore it every time he met the emperor, doing his utmost to flatter him."

"This scoundrel and Yan Song are birds of a feather, it's only natural that they share the same stench."

Gao nodded in agreement:

"This... such wicked people are a menace. If they enter the court and join forces with Yan Song, they will only cause more harm. I wonder how the Grand Secretary plans to deal with this?"

"hehe."

Xia Yan stroked his beard and smiled.

"Brother Boyuan, do you think that if this examination paper is accidentally leaked, even if Yan Maoqing is selected as a probationary official, he might not be able to survive until the end of the examination period?"

……

(End of this chapter)