The Ming and Qing Dynasties were the final form of the ancient marriage system in China, and the concept of marriage hierarchy was slightly lower than before. Moreover, it is even stipulated in the Marriage Law of Daming Legalist that the physical condition of marriage should be informed when engaged, which is quite eugenic in later generations.
Second, the form and content of taking a wife and concubinage.
In ancient times, the purpose of marrying a wife was not only to continue the blood line, but also to show the ethical principles and the harmony between the two families, so the ritual system was extremely obvious in the process of marrying a wife. According to the Confucian Book of Rites, this process can be divided into six parts, namely "Six Rites".
"Only then", the man asked the matchmaker to propose marriage to the woman's house, and after getting permission, he sent a gift-goose (goose is a bird that follows the sun, symbolizing the principle that the wife follows her husband).
"Ask the name", the matchmaker asks the woman what her surname is, in order to know whether the other person has the same surname as herself, because the ancients learned through observation that "men and women have the same surname, but life is not feudal".
"Naji", when the man learns the woman's surname, if he gets a good omen, he will repay the woman's family.
"Conscription", that is, engagement, is to give the woman silks, deerskin and other gifts.
"Please invite", the man chooses the date of the wedding.
"Kissing" means that the man personally goes to the woman's house to get married on the specified date.
The six rites system is too complicated. In Song Dynasty, it was simplified into three types: receiving gifts, collecting coins and welcoming relatives. Moreover, sending "geese" was later changed to sending sheep, wine and color, which is also a great progress for wildlife protection.
Compared with taking a wife, concubine is very simple. The word "that" feels very low compared with "marriage", and concubines can also be bought. Zheng Xuan once commented in Notes to the Book of Rites that "concubines share common property because of their meanness", which shows that concubines' position is extremely humble. Generally speaking, concubinage requires the consent of the wife, and most of them are old and childless, but concubinage may also come from marriage, elopement, gift, official distribution and so on. Among them, "from marriage is" and in "dead body", it is speculated that it is the system of the Queen of Hubei marrying Yao. Judging from the concubinage system, the status of concubinage and wife is incomparable. The clan and husband of concubinage are not good for Qin Jin, but more like the relationship between businessmen and customers.
Three: the meaning of marriage
Marriage is the father of the wife, and marriage is the father of the husband. Literally, marriage is really a marriage between parents. Concubine is relatively hasty, and its significance is basically limited to the continuation of blood, which cannot be compared with marrying. Throughout the history of concubinage in ancient marriage in China, it is basically full of parents' arrangement and unfairness between men and women. Studying the system of concubinage in ancient marriage plays an important role in the family relationship between husband and wife in later generations. At the same time, by comparing the relationship between husband and wife in the Confucian world represented by China and the western Christian world, it has a positive impact on the world feminist movement. Therefore, it is of great significance to study the system of marrying concubines in ancient China.
Q:
Is there a rule that concubinage can't be popular?
Answer:
Wives are bright red and concubines are usually pink.