Riding and cutting the imperial pirates of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 696 Untitled - Celestial Marriage (Should not appear in the short term afterward)
(The content of this chapter is based on textual research at the end of the Han Dynasty, do not follow the plot)

It was too painful to write about Guan Yu's Kawenka, and I wanted to cut the ball several times.

But to give up at the door, there is always some unwillingness, so I can only mess around like this.

Tomorrow will be Guan Yu and Wang Zheng heads-up (I haven’t written a heads-up for a long time, I’m still a little excited)
After the battle with Guan Yu, according to previous experience, it should be a smooth writing time.

ancient marriage system
Chinese ancient history spans more than [-] years. This article attempts to sort out the phenomenon of women's remarriage and the evolution of related legal regulations and social concepts from the vertical historical development.At the same time, because in the "pre-civil society" in ancient China, folk customs and moral concepts (that is, "customary law" in a broad sense) often have no less impact on people's lives than national statutory laws. , all paid considerable attention to the moral concepts other than the statute at that time and the evolution of public opinion.Through historical recounting, at the end of the article, the author tries to put forward some superficial conclusions and thoughts on this issue.

[-]. The pre-Qin era - the phenomenon of remarriage of women was common, and at the same time, Confucianism has appeared to prohibit remarriage

The pre-Qin period, shortly after leaving the early civil society, was still in the infancy of human civilization.Some customary systems formed in primitive society still remain, such as the fact that women have a higher status and free marriages are still common, all of which reflect this.At the same time, the patriarchal clan system of the slave-owner class was also continuously strengthened. The ritual system evolved from primitive social rituals was transformed and played an increasingly important role in social life after the Western Zhou Dynasty. promote.

It is manifested in the marriage system. On the one hand, under the patriarchal system, men are superior to women and arranged marriages have become the marriage principles generally respected by social concepts after the Western Zhou Dynasty.On the other hand, on some issues, there are still some traces of equality between men and women in early society.

According to Zhou etiquette, male nobles can have multiple concubines, but only one official wife.If the first wife dies, theoretically the man cannot remarry, and the remarried spouse can only be called the stepmother, and the deceased wife must retain the status of the first wife. "Gongyang Zhuan" said: "Once a prince marries nine daughters, the prince will never marry again." This custom has been passed down to future generations in terms of etiquette.In the Ming Dynasty, the last great dynasty ruled by Han landlords in Chinese history, there was such a practice: there was more than one empress buried in each imperial tomb, and some of them obtained the status of empress during their lifetime, and some of them were honored by the "Mother is more precious than her son." "It was sealed after death.But only the first consort queen can enjoy the preferential treatment of being buried in the underground palace before the emperor, and the successor queen or those who have no queen status but can only be buried elsewhere after death, and then relocated after the emperor goes to the funeral.

For the same reason, although as early as the Western Zhou Dynasty, there were already opinions against women's remarriage in the ritual system, such as "Book of Rites".Suburban Characteristics" article: "If you are married to your husband, you will never change it for life, and you will never remarry if your old husband dies." However, among the Chinese folks, this concept was not widely popular at this time.This is because: on the one hand, the high status of women in primitive society still has some remnants; on the other hand, backward social productivity also made population reproduction a major task in early human society, and strictly restricting women's remarriage is obviously not conducive to society. economic development and population prosperity.

The Spring and Autumn and Warring States period was an era of great turbulence and great change in ancient my country. The old ritual traditions and social order collapsed. At the same time, the level of social productivity has been significantly improved. School theories are colorful and a hundred schools of thought contend.During this period, it was only a general theory that advocated restricting the remarriage of widowed women, without any universal binding force.At the same time, frequent wars and heavy population losses over the past few hundred years have required more labor for the development of productivity, which makes the task of population reproduction undertaken by marriage even more important.Therefore, even the elopement of young men and women was not absolutely prohibited at that time, and the remarriage of widows was naturally not a problem.Even among princes and kings, this kind of thing is not uncommon.According to historical records, Wei Xuangong had an affair with his stepmother, and the son born to him grew up and married Qi girl. Seeing that Qi girl was beautiful, Xuangong robbed her and took it for himself. "poetry.Bei Feng."Xintai" is Weiren's satirical work of Xuan Gong.After the death of Duke Xuan, the eldest son of his concubine, Gongzi Wan, married Xuan Jiang[⑤], and had many children, two of whom became kings.The people of Wei also stabbed it in "The Wall Has Ci".As a king, he actually married daughters who were remarried or married three times, and their offspring were not discriminated against, which shows that this custom is widespread.From the surviving records about the legal provisions of the pre-Qin period, there is no restriction on women's remarriage.

Of course, there are certain restrictions on the remarriage of widowed women, that is, they must serve their husbands for the full period of mourning, and they must abide by social customs on the requirements for the establishment of marriage, and so on.

[-]. The Qin and Han Dynasties - The further systematization of the theory of restricting remarriage and the widespread existence of remarriage behavior
After the reform of Shang Yang, the state of Qin implemented the legalist thought, put national interests first, and the tradition of etiquette, law and morality was relatively ignored.In the family legislation of the Qin Dynasty, women could have the same status as their husbands in some respects, for example, women could kill their adulterous husbands, husbands who beat their wives were punished the same as wives who beat their husbands, and so on.Reflected on the issue of women remarrying, they are also very tolerant.From the records about the laws of the Qin Dynasty in the Han bamboo slips in Zhangjiashan, Jiangling, it can be seen that there is a regulation that "the husband dies and the wife marries herself, and the one who takes it is not a crime".Qin Shihuang's "Kaiji Stone Carving" said "Marry with a son, and die twice as unchaste" has been regarded as a norm for restricting remarriage of widows with children for thousands of years. After research by some modern scholars, they believe that it is not a restriction on widows Pregnancy out of wedlock makes a negative evaluation.

After Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty, Confucianism gradually became the official orthodox thought of China.The moral and etiquette standards advocated by Confucianism have increasingly exerted their influence and gradually become the mainstream moral norms and behavioral norms of society.Confucianists and bureaucrats in the Han Dynasty gave full play to the expression in the pre-Qin classics about the idea of ​​male superiority to female inferiority, and gave a further negative moral evaluation on the issue of women's remarriage.Ban Zhao's "Women's Commandments" said: "Men have the intention of remarrying, but women have no more suitable writing." Strictly restricting the freedom of the same sex in a woman's tone has caused far-reaching harm for thousands of years.The rulers of the Han Dynasty also began to pay homage to widows who kept their chastity. In the fourth year of Shenjue (58 BC), Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty rewarded the "chaste women and obedient women" in Yingchuan area with cloth.After the Eastern Han Dynasty, such actions became very frequent.

However, the speeches of orthodox Confucianists in the Han Dynasty had not yet completely restrained people's social behavior.The written law at that time did not explicitly restrict women from remarrying.In real life, the phenomenon of women remarrying is not uncommon.Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu's sister, Princess Huyang, fell in love with a married man Song Hong after she became a widow, and Emperor Guangwu personally lobbied for her.A famous litterateur in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, Cai Yan (Cai Wenji), the daughter of Cai Yong, first married Hedong Wei Zhongdao, was captured by the Huns, married the Zuoxian King, and had children. After returning to the Han Dynasty, she married Dong Si, successively. Remarried twice.Such a life experience did not become a stain in her life, on the contrary, because of her legendary experience and literary talent, she was included in the "Book of the Later Han Dynasty" by Fan Ye from the Southern Dynasties."Biography of Women", this is simply unbelievable after more than 1000 years.The ancient poem "The Peacock Flies to the Southeast" tells the story of the Jian'an period of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Liu Lanzhi was not tolerated by her mother-in-law, and her husband was forced to leave. It is not a shameful thing for a woman to remarry.

[-]. During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties - the legal norms were inherited from the previous dynasties and the public opinion became more and more strict
During the Three Kingdoms period, due to successive years of wars, the population dropped sharply.In order to survive and reproduce, the rulers have given loose regulations on the requirements of marriage.At that time, when there was a year of famine and war, there was no need to prepare for the "six rituals". As long as you met your uncle and aunt and got married, you were considered to have fulfilled the ceremony.Regarding the issue of women's remarriage, the loose regulations of the Han Dynasty laws were also followed. "Three Kingdoms" records that Sun Quan, the Lord of Wu, once took Mrs. Xu, a widowed woman, as his concubine. Zhen, the queen of Wei Wendi Cao Pi, was originally the wife of Yuan Shao's son Yuan Xi. After Yuan Shao was defeated by Cao, she belonged to Cao Pi. Later, she fell out of favor. Later generations also derived the famous legend of Luoshen from it.

After the Western Jin Dynasty unified the whole country, the rites and rites often rose again in a short period of time. Emperor Wu of the Jin Dynasty issued edicts many times, prohibiting the marriage of scholars and concubines, and strictly clarifying the distinction between concubines and concubines. Regarding the issue of remarriage of widows, it was similar to the situation in the Eastern Han Dynasty. The ideology has frequently praised the chaste women, but the phenomenon of folk remarriage still occurs from time to time.

The Sixteen Kingdoms of the Eastern Jin Dynasty and the subsequent confrontation between the Northern and Southern Dynasties were a period of turmoil in Chinese history where people were devastated.Years of wars have caused social production to regress and the population to drop sharply, especially in the north. Not only have they suffered huge economic losses, but their culture has also stagnated for 200 years.Reflected in the legal system of marriage, the ruling dynasties were too busy dealing with civil strife and wars for a short period of time to create, so little change was made to the Han-Jin system.

Generally speaking, during the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Song and Qi Dynasties in the Southern Dynasties, as well as the Sixteen Kingdoms in the North and the Northern Wei Dynasty, due to the rise of metaphysics, Confucianism was at a relatively low stage of development.Reflected in the field of family law, the status of women has improved slightly.In the Eastern Jin Dynasty, there was even a situation where women divorced their husbands. As for women's remarriage, it was also relatively common. The princesses of the Liu Song Dynasty were generally at odds with their concubines, and the emperor allowed them to divorce and remarry one after another.

However, after the Liang Dynasty in the south, Confucian ethics began to flourish again, and the ruler's propaganda on chaste and martyrs also began to escalate. "Liang Shu."The Biography of Gu Xian": "There is a chaste woman... a young widow, childless, filial to her uncle and aunt, her parents want to marry her, and she swears to die. In the Liang and Chen dynasties, there were more and more, subtly changing the social atmosphere and the direction of public opinion.

Similarly, in the north, even during the long period of war during the Sixteen Kingdoms and the early Northern Wei Dynasty, the argument of promoting women's day was always heard.The Northern Zhou government formally issued an imperial edict announcing that "filial sons, obedient grandchildren, righteous husbands, and chaste wives, show off their families." This is also a move to imitate the measures of the Han and Jin regimes in history.

[-]. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties - the fetters on women were loosened again under the flourishing age

The Sui and Tang Dynasties were the heyday of my country's feudal society. At that time, China's economic development level, ideological and cultural concepts were at the forefront of the world.At the same time, due to the amalgamation of northern foreign cultures and Central Plains cultures in the hundreds of years before this, the traditions of the northern peoples' emphasis on women's status and free marriage and union have been preserved to a large extent.Therefore, in the Sui Dynasty and the early years of the Tang Dynasty, public opinion and official legislation were very tolerant of women's remarriage.

The royal family of the Tang Dynasty, with northern ethnic origin, once set an example for the world in every word and deed, and never cared about women's remarriage.According to "New Tang Book.According to calculations in "Princess Biography", there were 29 princesses who remarried in the middle and early Tang Dynasty, and five of them remarried three times.The famous Princesses of Xiangcheng and Princess Taiping have all remarried. The royal family is like this, and the folks are even more commonplace. The wives or daughters of Fang Xuanling, a great Confucian scholar, and Han Yu have all remarried.It can be seen that at that time, the old adage that "women have no articles about remarriage" was forgotten by people to a certain extent, and even the orthodox intellectuals who advocated moral articles did not regard remarriage as a crime. "Old Tang Book."Biography of Lie Nv" records: "Shangguan, the concubine of Linggui, the king of Chu, died and died. The brothers said: 'The concubine is still young and has nothing to give birth to. She changed her marriage to a different family, and her etiquette is normal.'" This shows that At that time, it was common practice for young and childless widows to remarry, and it might be abnormal to "keep chastity".

Correspondingly, men, even aristocratic men, are not ashamed to marry remarried women.As we all know, Wu Zetian was originally a talented person of Emperor Taizong and an official concubine, but was made a queen by Emperor Gaozong.Concubine Yang Gui was originally Princess Shou, the son of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty, but she remarried Xuanzong.These acts of incest in the eyes of later generations existed openly in the royal family of the Tang Dynasty.As for court officials and well-known figures, it was common for them to marry remarried women.

Predecessors have discussed a lot about the prevalence of remarriage among women in the Tang Dynasty. Here, the author only emphasizes two points:

1. The remarriage of widowed women in the Tang Dynasty was not unlimited.The ancient rule that a husband cannot be remarried after mourning continues to be implemented. "Tang Law Discussion."Household Marriage" article "Marriage at the funeral of parents and husbands" says: "Those who marry at the funeral of their parents and husbands will have three years in prison, concubines will be reduced by three classes, and they will be divorced." Due to the lack of specific legislative materials before the Tang Dynasty, this It is the earliest provision we know of the punishment for violating the ancient saying that a husband cannot be remarried after mourning, and it can be seen that the punishment is relatively heavy.

In addition, in the middle and early Tang Dynasty, although social norms did not vigorously promote women's keeping one's will, women were still protected by law if they voluntarily never married again. "Tang Laws and Discussions" stipulates in the article "Forcible marriage when a husband mourns and guards his will": "All husbands who are mourning and want to keep their will, who are not grandparents or parents of the daughter and marry by force, will be punished for one year; Minus the second class. Separate them.” In the discussion, it was explained: “Women’s husbands mourn and wear, and they swear to keep their vows. Only grandparents and parents can marry them.” However, from the analysis of the provisions, women’s chastity is actually a are greatly restricted.In an era where chastity is not particularly valued in society, parents and grandparents are likely to force their daughters to remarry.

2. The high status of women in the Tang Dynasty was not only impressive compared with the subsequent feudal dynasties, but also surpassed the era before it.Therefore, in the Tang Dynasty, especially in the middle and early stages, it was not uncommon for the heroine to come to court.Empress Wu of Emperor Gaozong, Empress Webster of Emperor Zhongzong, and Zhang of Empress Suzong were all powerful and popular political women.Originally, since the Han Dynasty, the issue of women's remarriage in social norms has become stricter. In the Southern and Northern Dynasties, despite the influence of minority cultures, the deeds of chaste women were still vigorously advocated.In the early Tang Dynasty, this kind of moral concept was simply ignored by the public opinion.The reason is not unrelated to the fact that Chinese civilization is at its peak at this time, the whole nation is full of self-confidence, the ruling methods are unprecedentedly tolerant, and the ideological, cultural and moral constraints are obviously lower than those of subsequent dynasties.After the Anshi Rebellion, the Tang Dynasty turned from prosperity to decline, and the ideological control was even greater than before.The remarriage of princesses and the return of mothers to the imperial court tend to disappear. Therefore, the tolerance of women's remarriage in the prosperous Tang Dynasty is a special case in the history of Chinese legal system and social customs.Today's people who study this period of history should be proud of the tolerance, advanced system regulations and social customs that our nation possessed more than 1000 years ago;It should be noted that this light of reason was immediately swallowed up by the thick fog of etiquette that followed.

[-]. The Song and Yuan Dynasties – the changes in the social atmosphere under the fixed legal provisions and the stricter ethics and ethics
After the glory of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, the Northern and Southern Song Dynasties were obviously weak in terms of political and military strength.However, objectively speaking, the Song Dynasty still has a high status in Chinese history.During this period, the commodity economy developed unprecedentedly, bills were widely used in transactions; culture continued to develop after the Tang Dynasty, the implementation of civil service politics, and the improvement of the imperial examination system are worthy of study and reference by people today.However, another trend of thought also emerged in Song Dynasty China, which influenced the subsequent nearly 1000 years, and that was a variant of Confucianism-Confucianism.Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism strongly advocates "preserving the principles of nature and destroying human desires", maintaining the feudal principles and destroying the needs of human nature.In terms of the marriage and family system, women's rights and interests are contemptuous, and even put forward: "Starvation to death is a minor issue, but injustice is a major issue."Under the influence and long-term penetration of Neo-Confucianism, during the hundreds of years from the early Song Dynasty to the Southern Song Dynasty, the public opinion evaluation on women's remarriage and the social atmosphere itself experienced tremendous changes.

At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, still taking advantage of the legacy of the Tang Dynasty, it was popular for women to remarry in society.After many years of turmoil in the royal family during the Five Dynasties, even the rule made at the end of the Tang Dynasty that the princess should not remarry was not followed.Taizu's younger sister first married Mifford, and after becoming a widow she changed to Gao Huaide. Among social celebrities, Fan Zhongyan, a great writer, lost his father when he was young, remarried with his mother, and returned to the clan when he grew up.Song Renzong promulgated regulations similar to those of Tang Xuanzong, and the remarriage of those with children in the clan was prohibited, but the trend of folk remarriage did not abate during the Northern Song Dynasty.

Zhou Dunyi, Cheng Yi, etc.'s promotion of "starving to death is a small matter, and injustice is a major matter" had little influence in the Northern Song Dynasty. Cheng Yi's nephew died, and his wife failed to keep the chastity.However, after the Southern Song Dynasty, the style of etiquette gradually became stricter. On the one hand, Zhu Xi and others spared no effort to promote it, controlling the ideas of intellectuals; on the other hand, it also began to show a huge influence in social life.After that, there is absolutely no record of multiple marriages of royal princesses and princes and princesses, and the remarriage of ordinary daughters of officials and officials has gradually decreased.Correspondingly, the records of chaste women and martyr women in "History of the Song Dynasty" and "History of the Yuan Dynasty" are greatly enhanced compared with the previous dynasties.Originally, the genre of "Biography of Lie Nu" was created by Liu Xiang, and Fan Ye included it in the official history for the first time in "Hou Han Shu".The female series praised by several early history books are outstanding women in various fields, such as Ti Ying who saved her father, Cai Wenji who was outstanding in literature, and Le Yangzi wife who assisted her husband. It is equivalent to a "biography of outstanding women in various industries".But after the "History of the Song Dynasty", almost all the so-called noble women are chaste women who maintain their chastity and do not serve second husbands.In short, historians believe that the only virtue worthy of praise for women is to stick to integrity, and other talents are not worth mentioning. "Biography of Lie Nu" has become an out-and-out "Biography of Lie Nu".

Of course, the famous women in the Southern Song Dynasty, compared with the subsequent dynasties, can still find cases of occasional remarriage.Li Qingzhao, a famous poetess, was originally married to Zhao Mingcheng, with a happy love and a happy life.Jin Bing's iron hooves crushed her leisurely life, and Zhao Mingcheng passed away shortly after the trip to the south.Li Qingzhao remarried to Zhou Ruzhou as his wife. After marriage, she found that her husband was of poor character, committed illegal activities, and could not live together.Qingzhao then sued the officials to report her husband, who was brought to justice.The law of the Song Dynasty stipulated that if a wife sues her husband, even if the accusation is true, she must "be imprisoned for two years."Qingzhao saved her life from being imprisoned by helping a friend and divorced her husband.However, Li Qingzhao's experience in the second half of her life was often hidden by literati who appreciated her talent, probably because her behavior was considered disgraceful and detrimental to her image of purity and purity.Compared with the example of Cai Wenji mentioned above, people's moral evaluation on the issue of women's remarriage has changed, which can be seen.

Originally, it was as early as the Western Zhou Dynasty that women's remarriage was opposed in ethics.However, for a long time, Confucianists' advocacy is one thing, and the concept of the common people is another.The idea of ​​prohibiting women from remarrying penetrated into the common people very slowly, at most it spread among nobles and scholar-bureaucrats.Moreover, in a specific period, such as the Tang Dynasty, there was a resurgence.However, after the Song Dynasty, this concept began to extend to the common people, and increasingly became the overall social norm that dominated the moral evaluation of common people.The reasons are very complicated, and a detailed analysis is obviously beyond the scope of this short article.Objectively speaking, roughly speaking, there are two points worth noting: [-]. As we all know, with the gradual decay of the feudal system, the rulers have lost the broad-mindedness and tolerance they had in the heyday. The control over civilians and society is increasing, and laws and moral norms are increasingly interfering in people's private lives.Second, the gradual implementation of the imperial examination system provided opportunities for the children of the poor common people to embark on official careers, promoted the vertical mobility of society, and promoted the development of education, but at the same time, it also prompted the idea of ​​ethics to take root among the poor. , expanding their social base.In some large clans, one of the ancestors has been a high-ranking official, and after many generations, he will strictly abide by the family rules and regulations established by him, and these written family regulations often have a very strong color of ethics.

Of course, judging from the superficial legal provisions, the clauses on women's remarriage in the "Song Xingtong" copied the provisions in the "Tang Law", and there are still only two charges of "remarrying after a husband's funeral" and "remarrying forcibly while determined to observe chastity". , the prescribed penalty is exactly the same.However, the inheritance of legal norms does not mean that women in the Song Dynasty can be in the same position as women in the Tang Dynasty when it comes to remarriage.

The Yuan Dynasty was a relatively special era in Chinese history.On the one hand, due to the policy of ethnic discrimination carried out by the Mongolian rulers, the people in the central plains and the south endured unprecedented unequal treatment; Both customs and legal regulations present some unique features.

It is a custom among the northern peoples that the elder brother dies and the sister-in-law remarries the younger brother.This ancient habit has existed since the Huns.In the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, the Han Dynasty and the Xiongnu signed a peace treaty, and Gaozu and Shanyu were called brothers.After the death of Emperor Gaozu, Mao Dun Shanyu wrote to Empress Lu, asking Empress Lu to marry her.In fact, this is a normal custom for the Huns, but it is a great shame and shame for the Han people in the Central Plains.Empress Lu was furious, but this mighty woman had no choice but to write a letter to Shan Yu saying: "It's my luck that you didn't forget me. But I am old and frail, my teeth and hair are falling out, and I can't serve you. You, offer a few cars today, and I have the right to serve you by your side." The dignified empress dowager of a country, begging others like this, it is considered embarrassing.This custom was still circulating among some ethnic minorities at the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

In the Yuan Dynasty, this custom not only continued to exist among the Mongols who entered the Central Plains, but also entered the lives of the Han residents. "Dayuan Tongzhi stipulations."Household Order" records many examples of younger uncles accepting sister-in-laws.The marriage of uncles and sisters-in-law, in the traditional customs of the Han nationality, is originally a kind of rape between relatives. This is an example of the influence of ethnic minority customs on the culture of the Central Plains.

However, the remarriage of a sister-in-law to a younger uncle is not only unacceptable to the Han people ethically, but also creates legal conflicts.The laws of the Yuan Dynasty continued to restrict the marriage of Han men and women, such as "no remarriage if you have a wife" and "no forced remarriage if you keep your will".Based on this, after the mid-Yuan period, there were gradually strict restrictions on accepting sister-in-laws, such as: sister-in-laws are not accepted if they are engaged, uncles who have wives are not accepted, uncles and sister-in-laws are not accepted if there is a huge age difference, etc.Moreover, there are other adoption systems in Mongolian customs, such as nephew adopting aunt and brother adopting sister-in-law. Because it is too incompatible with Han traditional ethics, it is not practiced in Han areas.

Of course, the most stringent one is that women who follow the rules of the previous generation and are determined to be chaste should not be forced to remarry.In March of the 13th year of the Yuan Dynasty, the Ministry of Household Affairs stated in the memorial that "from now on, these women who keep their will should not be harassed by their heirs, and they must obey what they guard. If they are called to marry, they will be convicted and still receive successors." The Yuan government commended widows who kept their will, as did the previous generations. The imperial edict of the first month of the eighth year of Dade said: "Women who obey the will and keep the will will do what they want. If the will is outstanding, there is nothing to support, and the official will give food. Store shirts." The "Yuan Shi" included no less chaste women than the previous generation.

With the retreat of the Mongol rulers to the north, the somewhat peculiar custom of accepting sister-in-law by younger uncles was re-prohibited in the law.

[-]. Ming and Qing Dynasties - Laws and moral norms became more stringent and the phenomenon of remarriage still existed in real life

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, my country's feudal system gradually became decadent and declining.Reflected in social customs and moral norms, since the Song Dynasty, the power of ethics that has destroyed human nature has continued to expand, and the suppression of women's freedom of life and freedom of marriage has reached an unprecedented level of cruelty.

For the first time, the "Law of the Ming Dynasty" condensed two provisions on women's remarriage in the previous code, "marriage at funeral" and "women's marriage by force" into one, but the punishment was lighter.In the Tang and Song Dynasties, the "funeral marriage" was changed to "one hundred rods", and the crime of forcing widows to remarry by people other than parents and grandparents in the Tang and Song Dynasties was included in the "Law of the Ming Dynasty" Only "eighty sticks".On the surface, the legal provisions of the Ming Dynasty were even looser than those of the Tang Dynasty.However, in order to concentrate on maintaining the rule of the dynasty, the laws of the Ming Dynasty focused on punishing those acts that violated the interests of the regime, such as treason and treason, while for private matters such as marriage, they were as lenient as possible, but did not interfere too much.That is to say, the principle of "light the light, but the heavy".Therefore, a reduced sentence does not necessarily mean that women can enjoy a more lenient choice on this issue.

"Law of the Ming Dynasty" also clearly stipulates for the first time: "If the husband is ordered to die and remarries, the crime is the same (quote's note: refers to the above-mentioned regulations on the remarriage of the husband's funeral), pursue and divorce." About The prohibition of remarriage of officials' wives was stipulated as early as the time of Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, but it was abolished soon.It was not restored until the fourth year of Yuan Zhida (1311).The reason is explained as "Women are granted the title of prefectures and counties because of their husbands, which means that they are different from common people's wives. After receiving the order of the court, if the husband dies unfortunately, the wife is not allowed to marry again." The right to remarry was deprived of titled noble wives.Feudal law deprived millions of ordinary people of happiness, and gave no care to its defenders.

The "Law of the Qing Dynasty" made unprecedented new regulations on the issue of forcing widows who keep their will to remarry: "Where the husband's mourning is over and he is willing to keep his will, the grandparents, parents, and grandparents and parents of the husband's family marry forcibly , Eighty sticks. One class will be added for probation, and one class will be added for those who have made great achievements.” Since ancient times, parents and in-laws can force widows to remarry regardless of their wishes, without any legal responsibility.This brand-new regulation in the Qing Dynasty was definitely not to respect women's right to choose freely, but because the contempt for women's remarriage at that time was deeply rooted among the people.After consideration, the legislators believed that the significance of maintaining Gangchang Mingjiao and preventing women from remarrying could compete with the absolute control of parents over their children, which was also one of the highest norms of feudal ethics.This legislative change is very noteworthy.

In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the power of feudal clans further increased, and a large number of rural regulations and clan contracts were full of clauses that persecuted women and deprived women of their right to remarry.At that time, the effectiveness of the implementation of state laws, especially civil norms, was greatly reduced.In vast rural areas, clan customary law and local customary law actually play a major role in adjustment.Therefore, if a woman wants to successfully remarry, she must first encounter the extremely powerful clan power.

In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, based on the need to maintain their own decadent system, the rulers continuously strengthened their admiration and advocacy for women's chastity. "Internal Training", "Biography of Ancient and Modern Women", "Standards" and other so-called female education books are overwhelming, and the emperors of Ming and Qing Dynasties have issued many such edicts and drafts.From the dense chastity archways and local chronicles in various places, a large number of women who have lived their lives and even died for their husbands have emerged in large numbers. We can feel the misfortune of women and the cruelty of feudal ethics.

However, it is an indisputable fact that women's remarriage in the Ming and Qing Dynasties was greatly hindered in practice and discriminated against by public opinion.However, women's remarriage at that time was not like "although it is prohibited by the law, it is already extremely difficult" as some scholars said.From the large number of case records, notes and other written materials left by the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it can be seen that among ordinary people, the phenomenon of women remarrying still exists.Of course, because of the express prohibition of the laws quoted above, such incidents are absolutely impossible to happen in official families or in large clans with stricter family rules.

Although some literary works in the Ming and Qing Dynasties cannot be used for empirical analysis of legal history, they can still reflect many social customs and living habits at that time, and make up for the lack of official historical records.From these works, we can see that women's remarriage is not extremely difficult among the civilians with a low level of education, but still occurs from time to time.For example, in "A Dream of Red Mansions", the mother of the second and third sisters remarried to You's family with her daughter.Of course, literary works, especially, more reflected the thoughts and feelings of the bourgeoisie and literati with anti-feudal consciousness.In the vast rural areas, the problem of women's remarriage may not be treated with similar tolerance.However, through the records of literary works, we also understand various aspects of this issue, or we can say that we see a hint of the bright colors brought by the emerging class.

(End of this chapter)