During the Yong'an era, Qingxi Town had five "unruly" women:
She secretly studied poetry and books, and was punished with three days kneeling in the ancestral hall. In response, she wrote "Questions to Heaven," challenging the heavens: "Why can't women study?" She was Shen Moyun, a concubine-born daughter with a backbone harder than her brush.
She took a knife and cut the ropes of her wedding sedan, then swore in the street, "I will never marry in this life." With every chop of meat, she also chipped away at the bones of this world. She was Liu Rudao, the butcher's daughter, whose strength was matched only by her temper.
She was stunningly beautiful, yet hated nothing more than using her looks to serve men. With her ancient zither, she mocked the powerful and wealthy. When a flirtatious guest leaned in, she plucked a string and slashed his sleeve. She was Gu Qingxian, a musician at the music house, with a sword for a zither and ice in her eyes.
She could embroider mandarin ducks so lifelike they seemed alive, but refused to embroider a wedding dress. A sign hung at her shop: "No bound feet allowed. I don't serve concubines." She was Su Qiaoniang, an embroiderer with needle and thread in hand, making the rules yield.
She risked her life to save the children of an entire town, only to be accused of "bewitching people with witchcraft." So she shaved her head and became a nun, traveling far and wide to teach women how to identify medicine and save lives. She was Zhou Youwei, a healer with a bodhisattva's heart who refused to keep it inside a temple.
Five women whom their era regarded as "freaks" met in an abandoned temple after a flood. When officials embezzled the relief grain and women and children starved to death in the streets, they joined forces. They wrote a manifesto, raided the government granary, passed secret signals, sewed clothes for the righteous, and brewed medicinal soup, rescuing Qingxi Town from a sea of corpses.
In the courtroom, the imperial inspector asked, "What path should women follow?"
Shen Moyun held her head high:
"The Great Way belongs to all, and the world is for the common good. Women, too, are part of this world."
Later, a stele was erected at the town entrance. It bore no names, only five words:
"They came, and did not kneel."
