A live-streamed Chinese language lesson under the sky—the ancients were taken aback.

After speaking, Shen Moyan on the sky stopped and looked at a girl.

"Xiaoling, I have a question for you." She suddenly called on her class representative for Chinese.

This talented girl, who ranked first in the entire grade, appears to be a gentle and mild-mannered young woman, but deep down she has an indomitable spirit.

"If you traveled back to ancient times, would your talents have any use?"

Xiaoling pursed her lips. "At least the imperial examination route is blocked. No matter which dynasty, the imperial examination clearly stipulates that only men can participate."

Shen Moyan gently shook his head. "No, think again. What about before the imperial examinations?"

"Before the imperial examination system, there were women who served as officials in the court... although most of them were noblewomen, but," Xiaoling suddenly looked up, "Teacher, do you mean that the emergence of the imperial examination system also led to a decline in the social status of women in ancient times?"

Shen Moyan nodded heavily, "Yes."

"The gradual decline in the status of women in ancient times was caused by many factors, but the imperial examination system was the key institutional factor that led to the precipitous drop in women's status. It was more fatal than the appreciation of violent resources because it permanently and legally deprived women of their right to participate in the public sphere."

(The decline in women's status was caused by many factors, but here we will only mention the impact of the imperial examination system.)

Moreover, the impact on women at the top, upper, middle, and lower classes differs.

"The saying 'a woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent' did not exist from the beginning. Before the imperial examination system, noblewomen could participate in politics just like men because the rules of the power game had not been completely written down. However, the imperial examination system established a completely new and seemingly absolutely fair upward channel."

"However, the sign on the door of this passage reads: Women are not allowed to enter."

"This isn't an unspoken rule; it's an open rule."

"Students, think about this: in ancient times, in an ordinary family with both boys and girls, whose education resources would they invest in?"

He answered her intermittently in class.

"Of course it has to be a boy, only boys can take the imperial examinations."

"Only men can monetize resources."

"Yes, all the resources of a family are poured into the boy because he has the hope of achieving upward social mobility for the entire family through the imperial examination."

"In the long run, girls will be completely instrumentalized. Their value will be reduced to childbirth, housework, and being used as a bargaining chip in marriage. Reading and writing? Not only is it useless, but it is also believed to change one's temperament and be the source of restlessness."

"From then on, the entire elite class of Chinese society was composed of men. They grew up reading the classics on self-cultivation, family management, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world, in an intellectual environment in which women were completely absent."

"Let's think about this again. If the leadership team is all men, from their perspective, would they still care about women?"

"No, they won't." Xiaoling frowned. "They even blame women for the downfall of their country."

Shen Moyan nodded and continued, "They formulate laws, interpret morality, and write history based on their own interests and imaginations, constructing a perfect and irrefutable patriarchal discourse system. They even monopolize the weapon of criticism."

"However," Shen Moyan's voice became more spirited again, "we are in the new China, an era of gender equality, an era where women can hold up half the sky."

"We have overthrown the feudal imperial system."

We study Lu Xun's articles in order to critique them and avoid repeating his mistakes.

Bianjing, Li Gefei's residence.

Li Qingzhao and Zhao Minghui gathered in the courtyard, gazing intently at the sky.

Upon hearing that only men could participate in the imperial examinations, Zhao Minghui snapped her fan shut and said quietly, "If I were a man, I would surely have passed the examinations and achieved fame."

These words were spoken crisply and quickly, carrying a force that had been suppressed for a long time.

Li Qingzhao did not respond immediately.

She leaned against the trunk of a sycamore tree, holding a fallen leaf in her hand, slowly tearing at the veins.

"You're wrong about what you're saying," she suddenly said.

Zhao Minghui turned to look at her: "What's wrong?"

"You say if I were a man, why would I assume I'm a man? You're not a man now, so all the books you've read have been wasted? All the poems you've written have been wasted? Whether you do well or not has nothing to do with whether you're a man or a woman?"

Zhao Minghui was taken aback: "But... what's the use of women studying so much if they can't take the imperial examinations or become officials?"

"Who says studying is only for passing exams?"

Li Qingzhao tossed the torn fallen leaves into the wind. "Kong Yiji was good at taking the exams, but did he pass? He staked his entire life on one exam; if he didn't pass, he was nothing. He made becoming an official the sole purpose of studying, and becoming an official the sole standard of scholarship. Do you and I study to become officials? When I write lyrics, do I need to go to the Ministry of Rites to get a permit to write?"

Zhao Minghui was amused by her, but there was still some resentment between her brows: "But in the end... men can do so many things, and we can't do anything."

"Who said that?" Li Qingzhao sat up straight, the shadows of the paulownia leaves falling on her face, dappled and mottled. "Women can do so much. I read the Book of Songs, how many of the three hundred poems were written by women? I read history books, those virtuous women who defended their cities and died for their country, those talented women who taught and imparted knowledge—what did they do that was no less than what men did? You and I are here today discussing poetry and lyrics, and if we have the opportunity in the future, we may well write books, establish schools, and teach students. If we encounter unforeseen circumstances, we may well speak out for justice and remain steadfast in our integrity."

"Besides," the girl's tone was full of arrogance and confidence, "my lyrics are much better than theirs, and I'll write even better!"

She paused, her voice softening, but becoming more resolute.

"Men have their own achievements, and women have their own responsibilities. I don't need to assume I'm a man; I am a woman. As a woman, I can still do what I want to do."

The sycamore leaves rustled as Shen Moyan's lesson continued under the sky.

Zhao Minghui remained silent for a long time before whispering, "But... you can't take the exam."

"Yes, I can't take the exam. It's not that I'm inferior to them, it's that door won't let me in. It's the door's problem, not mine. I won't feel inferior to those inside just because a door is closed. So what if Kong Yiji was inside the door? He turned the path inside into a dead end. I'm outside the door, and I can still walk my own path..."

"So, what path will you take from now on?"

Li Qingzhao's words were interrupted by Tianmu's next words: "The imperial examination system was the key factor that led to the precipitous decline in the status of women..."

Her face suddenly turned pale.

She thought of Yang Guifei in historical records, "...So it was a mistake from the very beginning?"

Li Qingzhao looked up at the distant, indistinct imperial palace. She didn't know what path she would take in the future, but she knew what she had to do now.

She was going to petition the government to allow women to participate in the imperial examinations, even if she failed.

She wanted to let the world know that women are not objects, and that women can also be dissatisfied and angry.

It's not that whatever the man says goes.