How can anyone in this world ask the emperor to reward him with a tomb while he is still alive?
These tombs, tombs, tombs, mausoleums, and forests have been divided into strict hierarchies since ancient times. It is recorded: "The death of the emperor is called collapse, the princes are called dead, the officials are called dead, the scholars are called unpaid, and the common people are called death."
It can be seen that even the pronouns after death are different depending on the class.
The five ancient etiquette systems are auspicious etiquette, unlucky etiquette, military etiquette, guest etiquette, and honorable etiquette.
"Five Rites" is the general term for ancient Han etiquette. Sacrifice is regarded as auspicious rituals, funerals are regarded as unlucky rituals, military affairs are regarded as military rituals, guests are regarded as guest rituals, and weddings are regarded as honorable rituals. They are collectively called the Five Rites.
The Five Rites were formed in the Western Zhou Dynasty, but were once destroyed during the Spring and Autumn Period, which was the so-called "collapse of rituals and music".
Ji Li: Ji Li is the crown of the five rites and is mainly a sacrificial ceremony for gods, earth gods, humans and ghosts.
Jiali: Jiali is an etiquette that harmonizes interpersonal relationships, communication, and relationships.
Bin Li: Bin Li is the etiquette for receiving guests.
Military salute: Military salute is the etiquette for division and brigade drills and expeditions.
The evil ceremony: The evil ceremony is a ceremony of sympathy, condolences and sorrow.
According to records: "Uncle Da Zong... mourned the country's worries with ominous rites, mourned the death with funeral rites, mourned misfortunes with desolate rites, mourned disasters with condolence rites, mourned the encirclement and defeat with condolence rites, mourned the rebellion with sympathy etiquette."
This is the main content of the evil ceremony.
There is a saying: "The highest soil is called a tomb." The earth is built as a tomb, and the hole is used as a tomb.
It is recorded in the book: "The tombs of the ancients are not graves."
In other words, people of high status in ancient times generally only repaired tombs but did not build tombs. Different from the tombs that many people think of today, the tombs of the ancients were not higher than the ground. Only when the deceased was bearing grievances would a tomb that was higher than the ground be built. It's just that later generations blurred the concepts of graves and tombs, so the term "grave" is commonly known as "grave".
To put it bluntly, ordinary people can only build tombs, which are no more than three feet high, either with rammed earth or stones. They are just burial places for the dead.
Tombs can only be built by the scholar-bureaucrat class, and they are relatively large in scale. Monuments of merit and deeds can be erected and gardens can be built.
Only princes and generals are qualified to build tombs. Most of them are nobles of the royal family, or civil servants and generals with outstanding merits. It is recorded in the book: "A tomb is a high tomb." The earthen mounds of the tomb are relatively large and high, far beyond the tombs of ordinary people.
Mausoleums are exclusive to emperors, and they all cover a huge area. Some imperial mausoleums are even built on mountains. Needless to say, their majesty is great.
In addition, in addition to "mausoleum, tomb, tomb, grave", there is also a burial place called "lin".
People who can be buried in the "forest" are usually people of great merit and virtue, such as the literary sage Confucius, the sub-sage Mencius, the semi-sage Wang Yangming, etc. They were born in ordinary families and have made outstanding achievements for ordinary people. Only saints and sages who have made contributions are qualified to enter the "forest".
In short, the burial place of the emperor after his death is called the mausoleum, the burial place of the princes and generals after their death is called the tomb, the burial place of the officials after their death is called the tomb, and the burial place of the common people after their death is called the tomb. The later burial place is called "grave".
Now that Shao Xi is asking the Holy Master for the qualification to build a tomb, it is actually a bit redundant in the eyes of many people. Because Shao Xi is now in the fourth rank and is so young, he will definitely have a bright future in the future. Even if he passes away one day, he is still qualified to build a tomb, so he can't do it while someone is still alive, right? During his lifetime, only princes, nobles or emperors would do such things, because the scale was too large and required years of construction to complete, so why did he do it?
Shao Xi's request was not only surprising to Xiao Changyi, but also to all the officials present. It was a bit incredible. How could anyone ask the emperor for a reward to build his own tomb?
Xiao Changyi rubbed the "Dragon Pearl" presented by Shao Xi in his hands and asked curiously: "Why did Shao Aiqing make such a request? How can you have the idea of building a tomb for yourself when you are still young? You still have a bright future in the future. , isn’t it a little early to consider these things now?”
Shao Xi bowed deeply and said, "I don't want to build a tomb for myself, but I want to ask Your Majesty to issue an imperial edict to build a cemetery for Ye Ziyuan, a civilian girl in Qingshan County, to commemorate her bravery in life and death for her people." The merit of seeking good fortune.”
As soon as he finished speaking, many officials present started talking. Some people are puzzled, some are curious, and some are disdainful. After all, it is unprecedented to repair the tomb of a civilian girl.
Before Xiao Changyi could speak, someone among the crowd of civil servants stood up to object.
"Although Mr. Shao has made some achievements today, is it a bit unconsidered to make such a request that violates etiquette? Asking the Holy Master for the qualification to build a cemetery for a singing and dancing girl in the art studio, Mr. Shao really dares to think! It’s just that I disagree.”
Shao Xi followed the sound and saw that it was Yang Mucheng, the Minister of Punishment. He probably felt uncomfortable because he beat his son two days ago, so he looked for opportunities to make things difficult for himself and wanted to make a fool of himself in front of everyone.
Xiao Changyi was still a little hesitant at first. After all, if he agreed to build a cemetery, it would be equivalent to raising the status of the deceased. Even the emperor could not do this kind of thing. The main reason is exactly what Yang Mucheng said. If a woman from a humble background cannot give a sufficient reason, she will be criticized by the world for agreeing to this matter.
"I wonder what Yang Aiqing thinks about this matter? You might as well speak up and listen."
Yang Cheng quickly stepped forward, bowed respectfully, and then stood up to talk to Xiao Changyi.
"Your Majesty must not agree to this, otherwise you will be ridiculed by the world. There are only two reasons. She is just a woman. Since ancient times, women should stay at home to support their husbands and raise children, and should not be exposed to the public. And this woman is not only a singing and dancing girl in the art studio. , is a well-known local snitch, stealing treasury money, stealing government account books, all doing things in a sneaky way. How can such an unscrupulous and unscrupulous woman be qualified to have His Majesty order to build a cemetery for her? Such a thing Wouldn’t it be ridiculous to say it out loud? It’s extremely ridiculous for Master Shao to make this request.”
When Xiao Changyi heard this, he frowned slightly, picked up the tea cup in his hand, looked at Shao Xi, and asked: "Shao Aiqing, what Yang Aiqing said is true. I wonder how you want to explain this matter? I need someone. Good reason.”
Shao Xi greeted all the Yangmucheng family in his heart and thought: "It's okay for those envoys from foreign countries to come and cause trouble. After all, they are officials of other people's families, but the officials of the Jingyuan Dynasty are here for some personal grudges." It is really disgraceful to act as a troublemaker under such circumstances. No wonder his son is so virtuous, it turns out that his father is not much better."
Without even bothering to glance at Yang Mucheng, Shao Xi looked at Xiao Changyi and asked Yang Mucheng: "Master Yang only said two things. The first is because Miss Ziyuan is a woman, and he feels that women are not worthy of having the opportunity to repair tombs." Qualifications; secondly, I feel that Miss Ziyuan is of low origin and was once a thief. So now I have two questions, I wonder if Mr. Yang would like to answer them?"
Yang Mucheng sneered and replied: "Master Shao, if you have any unanswered questions, just ask. I will tell you everything I know."
"How is the health of Mr. Yang's mother? Does Mr. Yang take care of her three times a day, be respectful and filial, and take care of her wholeheartedly?"
"Master Shao is thoughtful. My mother at home is in good health. I must take care of her three times a day, be respectful and filial, and support her with all my heart. This is the foundation of human beings."
Shao Xi curled his lips and smiled and asked, "May I ask Master Yang, is your daughter a woman?"
Yang Mucheng asked with a slightly angry look on his face: "What does Mr. Shao mean by this? My mother must be a woman, is there any question? Could it be that Mr. Shao just received a heavy blow and his brain is unclear, and he can't even distinguish between men and women?"
"Well, if what I ask of the Holy One today is to build a cemetery for your family, will you stand up and object? If you don't object, you just said that women are not qualified to build tombs, so you are breaking your promise. If you object, you will be extremely unfilial. Are you going to be a person who breaks your promise and gets fat, or are you going to be an unfilial son?"
"It's ridiculous! You are clearly asking the Holy One to repair the tomb for Ye Ziyuan. What does it have to do with my mother? Let's discuss the matter. It is so rude for you to mention my family."
"Oh? It seems that in Mr. Yang's mind, only your own women are considered human beings, and women from other families are not considered human beings. If I really proposed to build a cemetery for your majesty today, would you dare to stand up and oppose it? And this When you stood up to object, it was just because the person you mentioned was not your family member. Does Mr. Yang have justice in his heart when he treats you so differently?"
Yangmucheng suddenly got stuck.
If Shao Xi really wanted to be qualified to build a tomb for his mother today, he really wouldn't dare to stand up and object. Filial piety comes first. If he can't even do a single filial piety, then he will not be able to do it in this court. It’s hard to get a foothold. But if he doesn't object, then what he just said is equivalent to farting. In the eyes of others, he is definitely a double-standard monster.
Shao Xi saw that Yang Mucheng was stunned and didn't speak, so he continued: "You are waiting for someone to open your mouth and shut up. Women are not worthy of this, and women are not worthy of that. But who is not born of a woman or raised by a woman? He talks about filial piety in his mouth, but he despises it in his heart. How hypocritical and shameless it is to regard one's mother's identity as a woman! Although that girl Ziyuan is a woman, everything she does is selfless and righteous, which a self-proclaimed man like you can do. Do you have the guts to do it?”
Yang Mucheng was speechless for a moment by Shao Xi's barrage, and quickly changed the subject and said: "Even if a woman can build a cemetery, she is not worthy. She is a singer and dance girl from a humble art studio, and she climbed over the wall to escape. How can a female snitch be qualified to receive such courtesy? Isn’t it a loss of right and wrong and a mess of ethics?”
"fart!"
Xiao Changyi, Yang Mucheng and all the officials present were stunned by Shao Xi's words. Why are you still swearing?
Shao Xi couldn't bear it when he heard Yang Mucheng arrange Ye Ziyuan like this.
"She comes from a humble background? She sold herself to bury her father since she was a child, and she performed filial piety. Therefore, how humble and humble is she to fall into the world? Compared with you, who even looks down on your own mother's status as a woman, you seem even more humble and humble. , how do you have the nerve to stand here and arrange others like this? With such insulting words to a dead person, have all your sages’ books been read into the dog’s belly?”
"In front of the Holy Lord, you actually dare to speak so wildly and insult me."
"I'm scolding you to be polite. I beat your son a few days ago. Do you, as an old man, want to try it today?"
