The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 78 Blessed Land?

July 1724, 7, Daxing (now Brisbane, Australia).

During this period, receiving formal education was still the most luxurious right for ordinary people in most countries.Whether it is the Eastern Chinese civilization or European countries, we can find that education basically relies on voluntariness and consciousness, and those at the bottom of society inevitably have the worst education.

The Qin State inherited the model of the previous Ming Dynasty and established the Imperial Academy and Imperial College in Nanjing. In addition to studying Confucianism such as the Four Books and Five Classics related to the imperial examination, it also taught various specialized knowledge and skills in martial arts, law, medicine, arithmetic, and calligraphy. , painting and other miscellaneous subjects.

The Qin State also established official schools at the provincial, prefecture, prefecture, and county levels in local areas. Confucianism was established in each administrative area below the prefecture. In some places with prosperous culture, there were also grassroots social studies.In addition, schools were also established at the locations of administrative agencies in remote areas, such as Dusi Confucianism, Xuanweisi Confucianism, Zhutusi Confucianism, etc.Those Duwei Confucianism and Dusi Confucianism mainly recruited the children of military officials.In addition to classics and history, the teaching content of local official studies also includes the study of "Da Qin Zhi Gao" and related laws, "Nine Chapters of Arithmetic" and archery, and attaches great importance to practical learning.

Whether it is Nanjing's Imperial College, Imperial College, or local official schools at all levels, most of the students who can come to study are "property-free", either high-ranking officials, children of princes and nobles, or local squires, or from wealthy families. There are very few poor people.Because the vast majority of ordinary people are unable to send their children to government schools when they are unable to afford three meals a day and food and clothing.

At the same time, in European countries including the United Kingdom, most eight- and nine-year-old children were not studying in schools, but appeared in factories and workshops as a "labor force" that cannot be ignored, earning a little bit of money for their families. living expenses.

Children working in factories, mines and workshops work for up to 10 hours a day in conditions that even adults would find intolerable.In order to meet the needs of life, parents will even join forces with factories and agree to let their children work outside to maintain the normal functioning of the family.Treating children as adults and abusing children is not uncommon.

Compared with children in these countries and regions, children in Qi are undoubtedly the happiest children in the world.As early as more than 80 years ago, when Qi was founded in Hanzhou, Emperor Taizu promulgated the "Compulsory Education Decree", which stipulated that children over five years old must receive compulsory five years of basic education.

In the following decades, as Qi's economic strength grew, the cabinet government gradually extended the years of compulsory education to six, seven, and now eight years.

In the ninth year of Hanxing (1679), Emperor Taizu also promulgated the "Children's Protection Law", which prohibited domestic factories, mines, workshops, and other types of commercial business entities from employing children under the age of 14 to work. Anyone who violated the law would be punished. Be severely punished.

In the Hanxing-Shaoning era, in the overall social environment, the value concept of attaching importance to the family provided a good atmosphere for paying attention to the inner world of children.By the 16th year of Taiping (1720), the child mortality rate in Hanzhou had dropped to 10%, far lower than the world average.

During this period in Europe, the child mortality rate was extremely high, averaging over 30%.In most families, people have many children just to ensure that a few survive. If one child dies, another will soon take his place.It is precisely because the experience of losing a child is so common that people do not invest too much emotion in their children.Europeans generally believe that young children "have neither mental activities nor mature bodies" and are therefore regarded as extremely unstable existences between life and death.

It is ridiculous (or sad) to say that there was no such thing as children in traditional European societies. The concept of "childhood" was "discovered" only after some scholars introduced many child protection systems in Qi at the end of the 17th century. of.At that time, children gradually began to be regarded as a completely different existence from adults. They were innocent, fragile, and easily tempted, and therefore needed special care and discipline.

As a result, in some countries and regions, compulsory school education emerged one after another, which isolated children from the adult world. Day schools developed into boarding schools, where children had to spend a long period of confinement.

It is worth mentioning that the Kingdom of Prussia is the second country in the world to implement compulsory education after Qi.As early as 1712, the Kingdom of Prussia learned from the educational experience and system of Qi and took the lead in implementing compulsory national education in Europe.Since then, military service and education have been regarded as the two most basic obligations of all citizens of the Kingdom of Prussia.

During this period in Europe, more than 75% of boys and more than 50% of girls spent their teenage years in labor, and the situation of children in Eastern countries was basically the same.Living in the countryside, they have to herd sheep and collect firewood; if their family runs a small workshop, they have to card wool and weave cloth. Children of different ages will be assigned different tasks.

At six o'clock in the afternoon, it was already past the time for school to end, but on the playground of Qingping Primary School, there were still many children playing wantonly, kicking balls, playing with sandbags, skipping ropes, throwing stones, or chasing and fighting wildly to vent their anger. There was endless energy, and there were screams and laughter from children everywhere, and of course, a few cries from time to time.

At this time, most of the children's parents may not have finished work yet. When they return home, they either have to face crying younger siblings, or they have a cold pot and a cold stove, and there is no sumptuous dinner waiting for them to enjoy.Rather than that, it is better to have fun and have fun with familiar classmates on campus.

After all, this is a city, and there is no need to be like in the countryside. After school, you have to help your parents collect firewood, pack cattle and sheep, or pick vegetables from the yard to prepare dinner.

"Don't these children know that they should go home and finish their homework earlier?" Yan Zhumei, who teaches mathematics, is walking towards the school gate with a cloth bag on her shoulder, looking sideways at the crazy people playing on the playground from time to time. The child couldn't help complaining: "Everyone has to wait until dinner in the evening before hurriedly doing homework. Reading and writing with a light on at night not only wastes lamp oil, but also hurts the eyes."

"If I finish my homework early before my parents come back, wouldn't it mean that after dinner, when I have nothing to do, my parents will teach me a lesson?" Song Wenru said with a smile.

"Hey, this kid doesn't study for his parents. He still has to show off in front of his parents!"

"What are the thoughts of children!" Song Wenru said: "Look, if you go home and finish your homework in advance, after your parents come back to cook and clean up the housework, you turn around and see your children doing nothing, they will definitely teach you an excuse. One meal. In this case, it is better to have fun at school first, and after dinner in the evening, take out the books and homework. When the parents see him, they will definitely not reprimand him, but will happily praise him for his hard work. "

"Hey, it's true." Yan Zhumei couldn't help but smile after hearing this, "My little brats are like this. When it gets dark, they will run home sweating profusely, and then, after dinner, they will sit down neatly A row of people lit oil lamps and wrote furiously, which made our family feel very happy and kept saying that we would train a few college students!"

"Haha..., yes, our Yanliang was also so naughty when he was a child, thinking about how to have fun outside all day long. Sometimes, if you don't look for it, you may not be able to come back even after dark. ...Sigh "In the blink of an eye, I have grown up, but I am no longer homeless."

"That's why you can't help your mother!" Yan Zhumei said with a smile: "...Hey, Teacher Song, the carriage to pick you up is here again. You, a rich relative, are so enthusiastic. He comes to the school gate every day to pick you up and take you home. .”

Song Yuru looked up at the school gate and saw an exquisite carriage parked across the road. It was the private carriage that her family insisted on arranging to take her to and from school and her residence.

Originally, her father Song Changqing's intention was for her to move out of the old and dilapidated civilian area and move into the luxurious Song Family Villa on the outskirts.

But this proposal was rejected by Song Yuru.She was worried that after moving away, her son would not be able to find her if he returned to Daxing.Furthermore, although the house she lives in is old and noisy, it is the warm little home she has lived in for more than 20 years, and she is not willing to give it up casually.

It has been more than 20 years since she left the Song family. She has become accustomed to civilian life. If she returns to the Song Mansion in Chang'an or moves into the Song Family Villa in Daxing, she may not be able to adapt to the life of the aristocratic family there.

Her life trajectory, her friends, colleagues, neighbors, and everything around her are so incompatible with the aristocratic circle, the social circle of several brothers and sisters, the top-notch banquets, the imaginary relationship between ladies and ladies. The false love, the conspiracy of the powerful family, all these are not what she wants, let alone what she doesn't want to face. "mother!"

Just as Song Yuru and Yan Zhumei said goodbye at the school gate and were about to board the carriage, suddenly there was an eager call from behind. This familiar voice kept haunting her in her dreams, and it made her heart turn all over, making her whole body feel like... It was like an electric shock, and he froze immediately.

Song Yuru shook her head, suspecting that she was hallucinating, and turned around slowly.

"Mom, I'm back!" A handsome young officer looked at her with a smile.

"...Yanliang?!" Song Yuru looked at her son in army officer uniform in disbelief, and her face burst into tears.

"Mom, I'm back." Li Yanliang also had a sore nose. He took a step forward and wiped the tears on his mother's face with his hands. "My son came to see you just after he got home. The child is unfilial and makes the mother worried..."

"You are finally... back!" Song Yuru grabbed her son's arm and held it tightly, tears flowing down uncontrollably.

"Mother..." Li Yanliang suddenly felt a little embarrassed when he saw many passing teachers and students looking over. He reached out and patted his mother's hand gently, "Mother, let's go home first. After my son comes back, he will put down his luggage and come The school is looking for you, and you haven’t eaten yet!”

"Okay, okay, let's go home." Song Yuru smiled and wiped her tears, grabbed her son's hand, and climbed into the carriage together. "Whatever you want to eat, mother will cook it for you when you get home!"

"As long as it's made by my mother, everything tastes delicious!"

"Then go back and boil a pot of water for you to drink."

"Mom, even if you cook a pig meal for your son, your son will still be able to clean up the bottom of the pot!"

"You are just talking nonsense!" Song Yuru felt that her heart was filled with joy at this moment. Looking at her son's heroic face, she felt an unprecedented happiness and fulfillment.
-
Victor Sassoon sat in the carriage and looked quietly at the neighborhood in front of him.Through the scattered lights, you can faintly see the flowing Daxing River (today's Brisbane River, Australia). From time to time, in the alleys, courtyards, and houses, women can hear trivial complaints, and men can whisper to dissuade them. The sound of the children, the cheerful laughter of the children, and the shortcomings of the parents made this scene seem so full of fireworks.

"Victor, I don't think it's a good idea to build a synagogue here." Naftali Bennett, the person in charge of Daxing Jewish Merchant who was sitting opposite, said softly.

"Dear Naftali, you know that our synagogue is not only a place for believers to pray, it also undertakes public activities for our Jewish community, as well as educational functions for children, teenagers and even adults." Victor Sassoon said with a smile: "So, our synagogue will occupy a very large area. And this block is old and dilapidated and should be demolished. You see, we live here by a river bend and the scenery is beautiful. It’s also far away from the factory area, making it an ideal location for our church.”

"However, there are hundreds of households here, as well as a vegetable market and a community library. Although the houses are a bit old, there are no major safety risks. Daxing municipal officials may not make the decision to demolish this block. .”

"As long as our Jewish Chamber of Commerce can pay some price, they will make up their minds. In this world, no government in any country or region can refuse the temptation of large sums of money. Moreover, Qi's official promotion mechanism is based on local economic development. as the main indicator.”

“What if the residents of this neighborhood don’t want to leave here?”

"They will." Victor Sassoon said with a smile: "Under the magic of money, many seemingly difficult things can be easily solved."

"Victor, Qi is a civilized country with a complete legal system. We can't mess around." There was a faint warning in Naftali Bennett's words.

"Yes, Qi is not only a secular country, but also a country that pays great attention to laws and rules." Victor Sassoon said: "I think that only such a country will protect the legal property and rights of our Jews. Legitimate rights and interests."

As a wandering Jew, Victor Sassoon's heart was extremely complex regarding the secularization of Qi.If they live in Hanzhou, although they can get personal and property protection from this civilized country, it also means that their exclusive religious beliefs and living habits will be separated from the mainstream society of Qi.

Even in the relatively liberal environment of Qi's religious policy, those Jews who immigrated earlier were determined not to let go of their psychological defenses against the "Qi pagans" and always pursued the establishment of an independent community and limited interpersonal interactions. within Jewish circles.

Through self-isolation, the Jewish faith and Jewish culture have indeed been preserved, but it has further strengthened the unique and withdrawn national character of the Jews.

But the keen-eyed Victor Sassoon sensed the most beneficial aspect to the Jews from a decree promulgated during the founding of the Qi State, that is, "private property shall not be infringed upon without any reason."It is said that this decree was formulated by the founding emperor of Qi and included in the general principles of the "Tongdian of Civil Law".Moreover, in the following decades, the royal family and cabinet of Qi State also strictly followed and implemented this, and never violated the people's personal and property at will like the Spanish, Ottoman and other autocratic monarchies.

You must know that Jews have been expelled and persecuted throughout their thousand-year history. Their lives will be violated by tyranny at any time, and their property will be deprived of them for no reason. They can only wander and flee in one country and region after another. .

As an important representative of the Sassoon family, Victor Sassoon carefully inspected and studied the politics, economy and culture of Qi, and was pleasantly surprised to find that Qi was likely to be a blessed place for their Jews to live.Because, limited by the principle of "private property is sacred and inviolable" issued by their founding emperor, as long as they Jews follow the "rules of the game" established by the Qi people, they will not end up being purged for no reason.

He believed that in the environment of Qi State's religiously enlightened policy and under their complete and sound legal protection, the Jews would definitely get a good development opportunity.

　I am very sorry that the previous article involved some illegal content and had to be significantly modified, which may affect the reading of the plot. Here is a brief explanation.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)