The Social Image of Hakka Women

Most Hakkas live in mountainous areas, which is why "every mountain must have guests, and no guest can live in a mountain". Because the countryside is scarce, the land is barren, and it is not easy to make a living, so most men go away to make a living. So, farming, housework, educating children, spinning and so on. Not only do you have to take care of housework, take care of the old and the young, but you also have to go out to work. All the work of chopping wood and farming in the fields has to be shouldered, forming a "men go out and women stay behind; Male industry and commerce, female farming "complementary family model. They dug in the narrow ravine and worked all day. This is quite different from the old habit in North China that women are forbidden to work in the fields and think that "women have been working in the fields for three consecutive years". The so-called "male ploughing and female weaving" is not applicable in pure Hakka areas. Women in Chaoshan haven't worked in the fields yet. Therefore, women in Hakka areas are relatively strong and have the ability to live independently. Therefore, the most prominent feature of Hakka women is their rare diligence, hard work and frugality. "Jia Ying Zhou Zhili Customs Volume" contains: "The folk land in the state is barren and the people are poor, and there are many mountains and few fields. Men make a living, each with his own ambition, while women have more housework. Therefore, rural women do all kinds of things, such as plowing, collecting firewood, weaving hemp, sewing and feeding. In ancient times, female workers were both men and women ... The so-called' healthy women are better than husbands' in Gulefu is worthy of the words of our state. "

Qianlong's "Tai Po County Records and Customs" said: "Women's makeup is elegant, knee-full, regardless of acupuncture, and they are twice as diligent as men, regardless of wealth."

Jiaqing's Preface to the Martyrs of Tai Po County Records said: "It is natural for Pu women to work hard at home, but they are unfortunate. If they can stand on their own feet through thrift, they will lose face. As the saying goes: a healthy woman is a man; There is another cloud: if you work hard, you will forget the rumors, and the daughter's day will be successful. "

"Clearing banknotes, women's customs and frugality in Tai Po" says: "Do it at sunrise, rest every day, and be frugal. There is no laziness, arrogance and luxury. The word frugality deserves its name. As for his occupation, he tramples all day long, so seven or eight out of ten farmers grow up in the countryside. That is to say, in the aspect of planting rice, in addition to ploughing, transplanting and using men, women are often used for planting, ploughing, fertilizing and harvesting. Smoking is popular in light and propaganda, and it is also cooked by women. Growing and drying tobacco is often better than men. The rest, such as growing fruits and vegetables, is purely left to women. In Gaobei area, there are many pottery products, most of which are carried by women. More than half of the porters used in shops around the country are women, and the rest are servants of miscellaneous writers, and the number is quite large. If there are vendors, there will be more widows or poor women. Except for a few rich women, all the firewood collectors have gone up the mountain, and the wages they receive are more than enough for themselves. They need to pick their own burdens and sell them in the market. People who live in secluded mountains often take this as their business. He is also diligent in weaving, but weavers are mostly for their own use. In a word, women in Tai Po can stand on their own feet, be diligent and have all the virtues of diligence, so they can run various occupations and reduce the burden on men. Among them, those who have lost their husbands can spare no effort to raise their aunts, teach their children and take songs as a way of being a woman. There are even men who rely on their wives to support and not work. If you take care of housework, you will still have trouble. "

The traditional customs of Hakka women's diligence, diligence and frugality are preserved not only in Hakka areas such as Fujian, Jiangxi and Guangdong, but also in Hakka women who migrated to Sichuan and even overseas. "Hakka Scenery in Northern Sichuan" says: "Hakka women are the most diligent. They are generally in good health. When they are not married, they read books and practice embroidery. Sometimes they help their mother or learn to cook or spin. They are busy all day and seldom have fun. ..... They are used to working and don't feel bitter. We know that most ordinary women are willing to be men's playthings all day. They give men everything except children for their husbands. Only Hakka women have washed away this shame. Most of them can run their own family life without relying on their husbands. Because they are willing to work, they can do anything. For example, they grow cotton, weave and sew by themselves. The problem of food is also solved in this way. It is purely' self-cultivation and self-weaving'. Coupled with rural by-products, such as raising chickens, ducks, geese and silkworms, or feeding rabbits, sheep and pigs. The annual income is also considerable. Their economy can be self-sufficient. If you go for a walk in Sancun when the sun rises, you will hear the sound of looms and string songs, which is endless. It really makes people admire unconsciously. They worked hard and the anniversary went on as usual, and they never heard a complaint. "

2. Hakka good girl

Michael Chener, a famous American writer who won the Pulitzer Prize, published a thousand-page masterpiece Hawaii on 1959. ..... Among Hawaiian China people, Michener wrote "Hakkas" and "rich people". In fact, there are also "Hakkas" and "rich guys" among China expatriates in Hawaii. ..... In the book Hawaii, there is a paragraph about an American doctor named Wei Jing. When he went to Guangdong to hire 300 Chinese workers to grow sugar cane in Hawaii, he insisted on hiring half of the Hakkas. He believes that "Hakkas can work hard and be diligent." For Hakka women, it is also like the description in the next paragraph, which is close to praise symptoms: "Dr. Wei accidentally noticed that women in the highlands don't bind their feet, so he pointed to a woman and asked Uncle Chunfa," Why don't their feet bind? "Uncle Chunfa from California said," They are Hakkas and not worth talking about. " Dr. Wei asked again, "Are women allowed to go to Xiangshu Township (then called Hawaiian in China)? "Uncle Chunfa said," Maybe Hakka women can, but Minnan women can't. So Dr. Wei didn't say anything, but he thought that maybe one day Hawaiians will need China women, but Hakkas must go. They look strong and smart. "

But in the end, Dr. Wei inadvertently recruited a Hakka named Xia Meiyu to work as a maid in the Wei family in Hawaii. The daily cost is 50 dollars, but she doesn't care about the salary, but works hard, from 5 am to 9 pm every day, 7 days a week. So I moved Mrs. Wei Qiang's generosity and gave her a dollar every day. "

The Hakka woman in Mikina's works is indeed a typical figure.

Hakka women's industrious and thrifty spirit is exemplary. Hakka women are very labor-intensive, and often work at sunrise. When they have no leisure, their makeup is particularly plain, and they despise the beauty of whitewashing, which also means frugality.

Because diligence and thrift have become traditional virtues, the education of daughters attaches great importance to the so-called four female workers: "housekeeping", "cooking" and "sewing".

The so-called "housekeeping" means that they should get up at dawn, be thrifty, keep everything clean inside and outside, sweep the floor and wash, take care of their grandparents and raise their children in an orderly way.

The so-called "field head" means sowing and transplanting rice seedlings, driving cattle to plow fields, weeding and fertilizing, and harvesting grains so as not to make farmland barren.

The so-called "the end of the stove and the end of the pot" means cooking, preparing soup and judging the five flavors. Everything is handy, you can learn cooking skills with one hand, and you have to cut grass and firewood as fuel.

The so-called "sewing tail" means that sewing, embroidery, tailoring, textile and other needlework can be done by yourself.

According to Hakka traditional customs, only by learning these female workers can they be considered as capable, qualified and standard women and marry a good husband. The folk song "Hakka Good Girl" vividly and concretely reflects this custom:

Diligent girl, get up at the crow. Comb your hair and wash your face. Make tea soup first.

The end of the stove and the bottom of the pot are bright and prosperous. Make breakfast, it's just dawn. Sprinkle water to sweep the floor, carry water full of tanks. Wash clothes after breakfast.

Go up the mountain to collect firewood, in a hurry Rain flower grows vegetables, stews soup and boils pulp.

Spinning and weaving, never leaving. Needle tail, clean the cupboard.

Don't talk about right and wrong, don't talk about absurdity. Cherish children, such as the liver and intestines.

Pay attention to making rice, without grains or chaff. When the guests arrive, they will discuss it in a low voice.

Happy, pick out the homely. Eggs, duck eggs, lobster sauce, sour ginger.

There are rice and wheat, but also know how to raise food. Simple tea and rice, honest clothes.

The more you have, the more frugal you are. No rice to cook, resistant to ice and snow.

Collect firewood to sell, don't enrich yourself, don't steal or rob, and do it well.

Don't blame your husband, don't blame your parents ... what a good girl!

On the contrary, in Meizhou, lazy women are ridiculed as "lazy corpses". Folk song: "The Way of Lazy Women" satirizes lazy and greedy women in a very vivid and spicy way;

Lazy corpse, funny. Get up at noon and make three or four phone calls. The cold pot died half a day after the sun rose. If you don't carry water, you're too lazy to sweep the ground. Bald, go home. Talking and laughing. The fields are not cultivated and the crops are stolen. Regardless of housework, make pigs into cats. Go in and out of the market three times a day. Fried dumplings, anything. ? (No) money to buy, steal rice to teach (exchange). Honey, can you turn it up? (screaming, crying). My eyes are like urine when I go abroad. My husband's uncle scolded and taught. It's useless for me to scold. It's immoral for me to scold (mom). Dare not go back, dare not go back. Send it back to the man's house, everyone is laughing. The lie was thrown into the pond and the melon shed fell down. I married her in a silver sedan chair. If I had known this, I wouldn't have posted the money.

Folk songs handed down for a long time are not only the expressions of local people's emotions, likes and dislikes, but also the true embodiment of local people's social life and customs. So is Hakka folk songs.

Because of this, many foreigners admire Hakka women very much. Robert smith, an American missionary who has lived in Hakka areas for many years, said in his book Hakka in China: "Hakka women are really the most admirable women of any ethnic group I have ever seen. In Hakka, it can be said that almost all the heavier jobs are done by women. If you live in a Hakka place in China for the first time, you will be surprised. Because you will see coolies doing business in towns, stations and docks, almost all of them are women who plow fields in rural areas, chop wood up mountains and even build houses, and do heavy work in ash kilns and earth kilns. They are not only competent, but also mentally happy, because they are not oppressed, on the contrary, they are positive. " In a family with little property, a man has no motive to dominate his wife, and a wife cannot live by her husband. It should be said that Hakka girls, who are famous for their diligence, hard work and frugality, are a symbol of "women create civilization". Although what robert smith said is a little biased, it does reflect the characteristics of Hakka women who can do heavy work, dirty work, tired work and other high-intensity and overloaded heavy physical work, which is incomparable to women in other regions.

3. virtuous and virtuous

The gentle and obedient character of Hakka women can be said to be very typical. Many women's husbands have been away from home for many years or have no money to support their families, but they can take care of themselves, raise children and make a living. What's more commendable is that they regard this as their responsibility and obligation without complaint. Hakka women are hardworking, independent, gentle and virtuous, including "filial piety to parents-in-law", "respect for husband" and "love for children". Let's talk about "filial piety in-laws" first. Hakka people have a tradition of honoring their parents and regard the word "filial piety" as an important criterion for being a man. The word "filial piety" focuses on the word "respect". As a daughter-in-law, what is "respect"? First of all. We should fully understand the elderly. Because the older generation live in different times and social conditions, have different experiences, and look at problems in different ways and angles, they often have different views from the younger generation. At this time, the daughter-in-law should not refute her in-laws, nor should she argue with her in-laws. Explain to your in-laws what is wrong patiently, not cynically, in order to maintain their image. In addition, Hakka women are also very concerned about the lives of their in-laws. If the in-laws are sick, the Hakka daughter-in-law will not only ask for medical advice, but also go to the mountains to dig up the roots of medicine, pound juice and decoct soup, and even ask the gods to read divination and change the sign to exorcise evil spirits, which is not far off. In case the elderly are single, a good daughter-in-law often reminds her husband to sleep with the elderly, chat for half a month, and drive away the loneliness and cold of the elderly. When the child grows up, he will carefully arrange for the child to sleep with the old man. As the saying goes, "children's ass burns three fires." In winter, children's body temperature can be used to warm the bed and quilt for the elderly, so that the elderly can sleep safely and reduce their loneliness and loneliness.

Hakka women are very respectful to their husbands. In the eyes of Hakka women, the husband is the pillar and backbone of the family. Once you become a formal husband and wife, you fully support your husband's career, work hard all your life, and have no complaints. It's really a "good wife and mother". When a husband is in trouble, his wife will take the initiative to give him advice, find problems and find ways. When the husband encounters an emergency, the wife will step forward, share the pressure of the husband and give him spiritual support. Hakka women are also considerate of their husbands in life and always take good care of their diet and daily life. Husband goes out to be warm and cold; If the husband is sick, stay with the nurse and ask the doctor for medicine. Hakka women often show tolerance for their husbands' mistakes and try to take care of their husbands' face without hurting their self-esteem. They think it's a shame to wash one's dirty linen in public. If a husband makes a mistake, let him know in reflection. Hakka women have a strong sense of chastity. They generally believe that marriage is destiny takes a hand, no matter how good or bad the husband is, it is their life's support. Some people's husbands go abroad to make a living and don't come back for decades, while their wives are still waiting for Lang's return. Yamaguchi Prefecture, a Japanese scholar, said in the book Hakka and China Revolution: "Japanese women are famous for their gentleness and obedience, and Hakka women are not inferior. Moreover, we can say that it is morbid for Japanese women to be so gentle and obedient, because their lives depend on men and they can't help but seek pity and love; The gentle obedience of Hakka women is healthy because they can live independently. What they do is pure and sincere love and reverence for their husbands' traditions ... ". From the above, it can be seen that Hakka women's thoughtfulness, support, understanding, tolerance, patience, cooperation and coordination, and guarding the pillars of the family are another manifestation of their "virtuous". Their contribution is also one of the reasons why Hakka marriage is relatively stable.

Hakka women's "virtue" is also manifested in their love and education for their children. Hakka women are extremely caring for their children. In order to make their children live longer, they often make wishes in Kannonji when their children are born. Some give Guanyin (the whole body) goddess, and name their children Nianlong, Nianduo and Nianxi. I thought that after this pass, Guanyin Bodhisattva would bless me. In that era of milk shortage, in order to give children more nutrition, mothers often extended the lactation period, so that some children were still kneeling at the age of three or four. In order to educate children to adapt to all kinds of hardships, Hakka women always patiently teach them all kinds of skills, encourage them not to be afraid of hardship, and cultivate their spirit of hard work.

In a word, the reason why Hakka women can persevere, maintain and support thousands of households in Hakka areas is because they stick to certain inherent beliefs. We can say that in Hakka society, the family is centered on women. This is also the uniqueness of Hakka women's folk customs. Therefore, it is widely praised. Edel, an Englishman, said in an interview with China: "Hakka women are the most superior women and women in China." He also made such comments in two books: Introduction to Hakka Germplasm and Outline of Hakka History: "Hakka is a nation that combines rigidity with softness (according to the press, it should be a clan), and Hakka women are the most beautiful working women in China. ..... Hakka (department) is cheese on milk, and at least 70% of this glory should belong to Hakka women. " Mr. Yu Ke, a Hong Kong cultural figure, said in the article "The Origin of Hakka and Its Contribution to History and Culture": "Hakka women can indeed be westernized today, but at the same time they are anti-male, which has caused great misfortune to their families, or women's liberation activists have suffered a lot and become" men's women ",lacking the gentleness of women and unable to get married, so men turn away when they see them. Hakka women combine independent life and femininity. "

4. Smart and brave

Hakka women have less opportunities for education than men, but their intelligence is amazing. Many illiterate women are good at mental arithmetic and singing, and their lyrics are also brilliant. Some women can also write poems and lyrics. Only in the Qing Dynasty, two famous female poets, Ye and Fan Yuxiang, appeared in the mountainous areas of eastern Guangdong. In the era of "women without talent are virtue", such talented women are rarely seen in remote mountainous areas. Robert smith, an American missionary, said with great appreciation in the book Hakka in China; "Hakka women, in addition to diligence and respect for their husbands, also envy their intelligence, enthusiasm and cultural progress. Because of the need of labor, Hakka women have never had the bad habit of foot binding since ancient times, and their superstitious degree is far less than that of women in other places. ... most of them are smart. They like to sing folk songs when they are chopping wood on the mountain. They often ask questions and often answer questions, and they should respond to each other. " Rob. Smith's words well summed up the fine qualities of Hakka women, especially their wisdom and civilization.

Hakka women are smart and eager to learn, and especially value and like scholars. During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, there was a filial father in Qiongzhen Li Village, Bai Ye, Tai Po. Under the teaching practice of his father and brother, he learned classics at an early age and could write poems. After marriage, he taught her husband to read. Three years later, her husband proved to be a scholar, which became a much-told story. During the Daoguang period, Fan Yuxiang of Huzi Village, Sanhe, Tai Po was a famous poetess in eastern Guangdong, and her Bi Hua Ji was published in the world. Qiongzhen Li and Fan Yuxiang are included in The Poetry Collection of Baixianglou. Ye, a female poet of Jiaying in the late Qing Dynasty, was handed down from generation to generation with Collection of Guxiangge. Fan Yuxiang, Li Yuzhen and Ye are also called "the three great female poets in Lingdong", which can be described as the outstanding women in Hakka literature in eastern Guangdong. They also create women's reading opportunities through their own efforts. Ye founded Yide School in the late Qing Dynasty 1905 and 1899. 1905, Ms. Liang Yunchun of Meizhou opened Jiaying Girls' School; 1927, the public girls' school "Jiashan girls' school in the first district" started. According to the statistics of Meizhou 1952, girls account for about 20% of junior high school students in most schools, while the proportion of girls in Yule Middle School in Meijiang District of Meizhou City and Guangyi Middle School in Meixian District is above 30%.

Hakka nursery rhymes say: "Buffalo, brothers don't study, how can they have wives!" " "It is said that men who don't study can't marry a wife. In other words, the ideal husband of Hakka women is a scholar. Another cloud says: "Moonlight, mother scholar, riding a white horse across the lotus pond ..." The moon is used as a metaphor for "mother scholar", that is, only a scholar can marry a wife as beautiful as the moon. Is there no obvious practical significance to attach importance to knowledge and "scholars" and "officials" today? In the past, although Hakka women had few opportunities to receive cultural education, they had to earn money to support the education of their husbands and children through heavy and meager labor such as plowing and planting mountains, carrying water, cutting wood and selling, even though their lives were very difficult. As the rural proverb goes, "If you beg for food, you must pay for your children's education". As the saying goes, "I save my throat to pay education fees for my children, and I only hope that my children will be beautiful and famous." "The continuation of Hakka children's education is also the result of the exchange of blood and sweat among Hakka women. This is one of the important reasons why there are so many Hakka scholars and intellectuals all over the world.

5. Hakka people like to sing folk songs.

Hakka people like to sing folk songs, and most Hakka rural women are experts in singing folk songs, which is another prominent folk feature.

Hakka folk songs are particularly famous. All folk songs have a sister's name, all folk songs have a sister's surname, and no song can be sung without a sister.

Hakka folk songs are widely spread, and they are all sung with long feelings. Every sentence is sung in Lang's heart and the voice is sung in her sister's heart. Indeed, the prosperity of Hakka folk songs is directly related to Hakka women. Once in these places, you can often hear their unique tones singing in the ravine. Even if a person sings solo, it will take half an hour to finish. The slow beat, with a long tail, often lingers and reverberates in the deep and long ravine for a long time. These gorgeous songs, as well as the deep and strong feelings contained in them, will arouse infinite joy and sadness after listening, and often make people cry. ……

In Jiaying County (now Meizhou), there is a story of "singer Liu Sanmei". Legend has it that there is a famous female singer named Liu Sanmei in Songkou Town, Meixian District, Meizhou City today. She is very clever, good at making up songs casually, and her singing voice is also very beautiful. She sings beautifully. Every time after work, Third Sister always invites male and female singers to refute each other, expressing their resentment against social injustice at that time and yearning for a better life. Although no one can beat her, people worship and love her. Therefore, Sanmei's reputation shocked Jiaying County and spread throughout Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi provinces. One day, the same group of women in Liu Sanmei were washing clothes on the dock at the door. Suddenly, a boat floated down from the upstream, and an honorable scholar stood at the bow. Before the ship landed, the scholar made a pretentious greeting and asked where Liu Sanmei lived. Seeing this man's posture, Third Sister asked, "Sir, what do you want with Liu Sanmei?" The scholar said, "Ask her to sing folk songs. I don't believe she can beat me! " When Third Sister heard the boasting of the scholar, she uttered an "Ah" and asked, "How many ballads do you dare to refute Third Sister?" The scholar showed an air of indifference, pointed to the cabin, shook his head and sang:

Talking about singing folk songs? Just uploaded a few from the ship, seven or eight baskets, one basket for you, and the cut rice.

Three elder sister listened to, giggled, freely retorted:

Liu Sanmei, where are you from? Since ancient times, folk songs have entered the mouth, and there are no folk songs on board!

"From the mouth" and "put down" are homophonic puns, and there is a thorn in the words, which makes the scholar dumbfounded. At this time, this smart-ass scholar realized that "climbing the flower tree and asking the name of the flower" showed his stupidity. Knowing that he was far from the opponent of Third Sister, he had to turn around and run. As soon as the story spread, Liu Sanmei's reputation became even louder. In addition, there are many legends about Hakka female singers, such as Yang Sidi and Huang Xiaomei in Xingning, Lu Sanmei and Zhang Liuman in Jiaoling, etc. Hakka women are not only hardworking, thrifty, smart and studious, but also brave and fearless, daring to fight and not afraid of sacrifice. The historical legend of Huang Chao and Ge Tengkeng in the late Tang Dynasty said: "In the past, Huang Chao rebelled and shook his sword across the mountain, killing people at every turn; Two men, a virtuous woman and a boy, went out to escape, Huang Chao and Lu Yu. Nest on the back blame the elders, carry the young side by side, because knock it. That woman doesn't know what she met. It's Huang Chao. She said: I heard that Huang Chao rebelled and killed people everywhere, and she will come one day; Brother's first brother became an orphan and his parents died. He was afraid of being caught by thieves and even deprived of blood and food, so he lost to his back. Young people have practical children and dare not buy nephews, so they take them with them. The sage of Jia Chao comforted him and said, Don't be afraid! I was afraid of kudzu vine, so I hurried home and hung the door with kudzu vine. When my soldiers arrived, I didn't kill them. When the woman came home, she was anxious to hang kudzu vine in the pit where she lived. The soldiers in the nest had ordered not to kill those who hung kudzu vine, but she was afraid to go in. A pit of men and women can't die because of this. Later, it was called Getengkeng, and today's Hakkas are all residents of Getengkeng. "(According to: Getengkeng, according to the genealogy of Hakka surnames, its place is Shibi Village, Ninghua, Fujian. )