| Huizhou in Qing Dynasty had a strong atmosphere of imperial examination,which was a true imperial examination society.The stable operation of the imperial examination system in Huizhou depended on the participation of all groups in Huizhou society.As a place where the imperial examinations were developed in Anhui Province,the contribution of the marginal groups in the imperial examinations is very important,and women are an important part of the so-called marginal groups.As a large group accounting for half of the population of Huizhou,women naturally could not be completely independent from the imperial examinations.On the contrary,their ideas and activities had an important impact on the imperial examinations.The imperial examination system in Qing Dynasty went from prosperity to decline to abolition.The interaction between Huizhou women and the imperial examination also changed with the development of the imperial examination system.The activities of Huizhou women in different stages reflect the complex picture of the transformation and development of Huizhou education in modern times.Influenced by the atmosphere of the imperial examination,Huizhou women had already formed a unique concept of the imperial examination.The concept of the imperial examination of Huizhou women is mainly embodied in the hope of improving their situation and demonstrating their own value through the imperial examination.Guided by the concept of the imperial examination,Huizhou women actively participated in the imperial examination affairs and carried out the activities of the imperial examination field.According to the situation of the imperial examination of different families,Huizhou women took targeted measures: for the young scholars who were going to take the imperial examination,Huizhou women strictly supervised and encouraged their children to go on the road of the imperial examination.When scholars came of age,Huizhou women’s activities mainly focused on the male members of their families who participated in the imperial examinations,including presiding over family affairs and raising children.For the families of scholars who died,Huizhou women continued the imperial examination tradition by keeping the festival and teaching their children.The connection between Huizhou women and the imperial examination was not only limited to the family,but also extended to the social level,which was embodied in that Huizhou women participated in the public welfare of the imperial examination in various ways to maintain the normal operation of the imperial examination system.The imperial examination family is an integral part of the imperial examination society and the formation of the imperial examination family is the guarantee to maintain the imperial examination system.Women played an important role in the formation of Huizhou imperial examination families.The marriage between Huizhou imperial examination families made Huizhou women become the bridge of communication between the imperial examination families.The imperial examination families with different ideas took women as the bond to realize the integration of ideas.After entering the new imperial examination family,Huizhou women became the maintainer of the imperial examination family by presiding over family affairs and leading family education.In addition,women in Huizhou demonstrated their own value by inheriting the status of their families in the imperial examination and guiding the path of their families in the imperial examination.Women were clearly visible in the passing down of the imperial examination from generation to generation.The change of the imperial examination was a great change for the Huizhou imperial examination family,but it was the starting point of transformation for Huizhou women.After the reform of the imperial examination,women in Huizhou obtained the right to education.Some advanced women in Huizhou received the new education and devoted themselves to women’s education in Huizhou,so that more women in Huizhou could live independently through education,and women in Huizhou became an important force to promote the modernization of education in Huizhou.With Huang Xingxian,Wang Ruiying and Ni Changyu as the pioneers who devoted themselves to new education,they founded new schools and taught themselves.With the improvement of women’s living conditions,the deepening of their education level and the change of the society’s inherent concept of women,Huizhou women completed the transformation of modern education along with Huizhou.From the birth and development of the imperial examination system to the transformation of modern times,the contribution of female groups has been throughout,and the activities of female groups in the imperial examination field have guaranteed the normal operation of the imperial examination system.Female groups maintain the imperial examination family,exchange the imperial examination culture and inherit the imperial examination tradition,which is the basis of Huizhou style passed down from generation to generation and became the "southeast Zou Lu".After the reform of the imperial examination,women in Huizhou promoted the transformation of education in modern times by establishing new schools and imparting new knowledge.In short,women in Huizhou played an important role in the process of the millennium imperial examination.They actively participated in the imperial examination field through various forms,influenced the process of the imperial examination,and became a soft and long-term driving force for the imperial examination.Although women received far less attention than men in the imperial examination society,which made them always on the edge of the imperial examination,they played a very crucial role in the imperial examination and seemed to be an indispensable part of the imperial examination system. |
