In ancient China, the institution of polygamy was often the main cause of jealousy among women within the family. Under this system, the main family and concubines inevitably clashed over the favor of their husbands and the inheritance of family property. Especially in the Song Dynasty, with the rapid development of the economy, the phenomenon of scholars taking concubines became common, which was not limited to the purchase of concubines, but even included mutual gifts. This widespread acceptance of concubinage intensified rivalry and jealousy between wives and concubines.
At the same time, in the social atmosphere of the Song Dynasty, scholars frequently traveled with courtesans and attended banquets. There are many brothels in the capital, and the universality of this kind of interaction between scholars and prostitutes also indirectly contributes to the formation of the jealousy psychology of the main room. During the booming economic boom of the Song Dynasty, scholars and wealthy families generally took concubines and socialized with prostitutes. This phenomenon is reflected in the competition for beautiful concubines, as well as the exchange and sale of concubines among scholars. The scholars took prostitutes on their trips, the existence of many brothels in the capital, and the customs and activities during festivals all reflect the popularity of prostitutes in the Song Dynasty. In the Song Dynasty, scholars generally took concubines, which gradually became a social custom. Unlike the Tang Dynasty, the Song Dynasty used beautiful women as part of the ransom of the powerful, and the emperor also connived at the concubinage of his courtiers, making concubinage a common phenomenon in the Song Dynasty. 
The practice of taking concubines in the Song Dynasty is known to the world. Mei Zhi, a scholar of the Northern Song Dynasty, once put forward the "Five Miasma Theory", believing that the practice of concubine taking is deeply rooted in society, and even the scholars of Beijing are difficult to avoid.
After Mei Zhi put forward the "Five Miasma Theory", the scholars believed that the practice of concubines was difficult to eliminate. Concurrence has penetrated into the life of the Song Dynasty scholars. In the Song Dynasty, ministers' families generally had concubines.
Wang pointed out that the phenomenon of concubines in the families of scholars in the Song Dynasty was widespread, and each family of scholars had an average of 12 concubine chambers. Under the culture of concubinage, it was regarded as a virtue for scholarly families not to take concubines. The phenomenon of scholars in the Song Dynasty giving concubines to each other also reflects the universality of concubines.
The main family of the Song Dynasty often showed jealousy because of jealousy of concubines. Due to the ** of the concubine room, the jealousy between wives and concubines is especially fierce in high-ranking nobles and wealthy families. At the beginning, Xue Juzheng's wife prevented her husband from taking a concubine because of jealousy, resulting in Xue having no children. Xia Zhu's prominence caused his concubines to attract the jealousy of his wife. 
During the Southern Song Dynasty, the wives of Zhenjiang scholars abused their concubines out of jealousy. At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, the six daughters of the Wu family were unable to maintain their marriage due to jealousy. During the Southern Song Dynasty, some women objected to their husbands' concubinage and were extremely cruel.
The jealousy of the concubine of the wife of the Song Dynasty not only depends on the talent and beauty of the concubine, but also on the competition for family status. The existence of the concubinage system in the Song Dynasty reflected the backwardness of the marriage system at that time.
During the Southern Song Dynasty, although there were scholars who were obsessed with women, they reduced the phenomenon of concubines because of jealousy. In order to prevent wives and concubines from being jealous, scholar families were very cautious in taking concubines.
Even if you have to take a concubine, you will pay attention to the conduct of the concubine. The scholars refused to take concubines in order to maintain family harmony. Some families in the Song Dynasty were not allowed to take concubines in order to protect family order. 
During the Southern Song Dynasty, the resistance of scholars to the concubinage system reflected the family problems caused by concubinage, especially the conflicts between wives and concubines. In addition to concubines, the male prostitution in the Song Dynasty was also one of the reasons for the large number of jealous women. In the Song Dynasty, a society with a highly developed commodity economy and culture, different types of prostitutes such as domestic prostitutes, official prostitutes, and private prostitutes appeared. The existence of these prostitutes is partly a reflection of the widespread phenomenon of prostitution in society.
The dialogue between Song Jiao, the prime minister of the Northern Song Dynasty, and his younger brother Song Qi reveals an important reason for the prevalence of prostitution at the time. Song Jiao reads "Zhou Yi" on the night of Shangyuan, while his younger brother carnivals with courtesans until dawn. The next day, Song Jiao's words suggested that their desire for a life of luxury during a period of poverty may have been the motivation for their struggle for the imperial examination. 
This shows that in the context of the prevalence of the imperial examination system in the Song Dynasty, one of the purposes of some scholars to obtain fame was to achieve a luxurious lifestyle. The prostitute was seen as an expression of this concept of pleasure.
Song Dongxia analyzed the reasons for the prevalence of prostitution in the Song Dynasty, including the improvement of the status of scholars, the prosperity of the commodity economy, the negative influence of science on the psychology of scholars, and the acquiescence and support of prostitution in feudal society.
During the Southern Song Dynasty, the prostitution was also prevalent, and even the great Confucian Zhu Xi and Lu Jiuyuan could not prohibit it. Many well-known personalities such as Fan Zhongyan, Ouyang Xiu, Su Shi, etc., also often associated with prostitutes.
Yan Rui, the most famous prostitute in the Southern Song Dynasty, was involved in a number of high-ranking **, but this behavior was often not strictly punished. Even if Zhu Xi threw Yan Rui into prison on the grounds that Tang Zhongyou was a prostitute, in the eyes of the official, this kind of behavior was nothing more than "showing off talent and competing for idleness". 
During the same period, Xie Mengxi, Lou Key, Chen Liang and others also had records of prostitutes. For example, the dispute between Xie Mengxi and Tongfu over their interaction with official prostitutes reflects the fact that many celebrities in society at the time liked to socialize and have fun with prostitutes. Under the social background of the Song Dynasty, the phenomenon of jealousy between wives and concubines was still widespread. This phenomenon is rooted in the monogamy and polygonal concubinage system in ancient Chinese society, and this system has become the root cause of jealousy for many women. 
A striking feature of female jealousy in the Song Dynasty was the psychological jealousy caused by economic development, which was not present in dynasties before the Song Dynasty.
The phenomenon of jealousy in the Song Dynasty manifested itself in several main aspects, which were related to economic factors: first, the prosperity of brothels and the popularity of prostitution;The second is that the wife maintains her position in the family through expensive inheritance;Finally, there is the threat of concubines to the inheritance of the family property of the main wife.
From a psychological point of view, economic development has contributed to the commodification of the status of concubines to a certain extent, and women are mostly limited to life within the family, which is caused by traditional rituals. As a result, the wife often uses her rich dowry to show off her financial and status advantages in the family, which further stimulates comparisons and jealousy among women. 