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As we all know, three wives and four concubines are the signs of the ancients marrying wives and taking concubines. At that time, in order to show the identity and status of men, the backyard was often full of wives and concubines. If a man has only one wife for life, he will generally be ridiculed.
Of course, what is said here is about the official eunuchs, as ordinary people, even if they want to take concubines, they do not have the financial ability. Just imagine, a family that needs to worry about food and clothing all day long, it is already very difficult to marry a wife, how can they have the ability to take a concubine.
For ordinary people, the so-called three wives and four concubines are all situations that can only occur in rich and powerful families, but even if this kind of family does not really have three wives and four concubines, it all depends on the specific situation.
Many people actually have a misunderstanding of the ancient marriage system, thinking that it was legal for a rich and powerful ancient man to have three wives and four concubines. Ancient officials did not emphasize it so much, they have always promoted monogamy, but this marriage system was regarded as nothing by the rulers and nobles.
They may not have three wives, but there is no limit to the number of concubines, some people have several concubines, and some powerful people may have a dozen or dozens of concubines.
Being able to have three wives and four concubines was a symbol of status and status for ancient men, and it could also highlight the wealth and honor of the family, just like the emperor had three palaces and six courts, which was a symbol of a successful man.
In addition, the reason why there will be three wives and four concubines is because at that time, all dynasties and dynasties would have wars all year round, which made the ratio of men and women out of balance, and the number of women was far more than that of men, so that capable men could have more than one woman.
Of course, the feudal society has the idea of male superiority and inferiority of women, and the status of women is relatively low, whether it is a rich merchant or a nobleman or a royal family, as long as it is a rich man, they can easily buy concubines. The more concubines you buy, the more you can show your strong financial resources to the outside world.
The so-called three wives refer to the main wife, the stepwife and the flat wife. Judging from its name, it can be known that it was impossible for an ancient man to have three wives at the same time, at least the stepwife was married after the death of the main wife.
In order to show their status, some families may have equal wives, but in the real family, they disdain to marry equal wives, and they prefer to respect the marriage system of monogamy and multiple concubines.
Only those wealthy businessmen who do not have so many rules in the family will not be restricted, no one will take care of the things in their backyard, and after having a wife, they will let another woman become a flat wife, and exercise the rights of a mistress like a wife.
The wife, without going into too much detail, is the wife that the man is marrying, she and her husband are outside the home and the other, helping the husband take care of the house, and the important decisions in the family can also be involved, and they need to handle the management of the concubine and the management of the house.
Stepwife, this wife is the wife who is the first wife, that is, the man's wife dies, and the other wife is remarried, her status is the same as that of the main wife, if before that, the stepwife is promoted from the concubine, the child she gave birth to before will change from the concubine to the concubine, and can enjoy the same treatment as the children of the concubine.
Of course, there is a premise here, that is, the wife did not give birth to a son-in-law when she died. If a son has already been born at the time of the death of the main wife, then even if the stepwife's children have become concubines and have certain inheritance rights, in most cases, the final family leader will be the children of the main wife.
Flat wives, some rich families, at least not relatives of the emperor, especially many wealthy businessmen, they marry a flat wife in addition to having a wife. Although she is also a wife, her status is definitely not as good as that of a wife.
is also a hostess, and she is also giving birth to offspring for her husband, but compared to the children born to her wife, her status is also relatively inferior. is also a descendant, and in terms of inheritance, the children of the main wife often take precedence.
The four concubines refer to noble concubines, good concubines, cheap concubines and concubines, but not all ancient men's backyards set up these four types of concubines, some may only have one noble concubine, and the others are good concubines or common rooms.
Of course, some ancient men had one or two intercourse before they got married, and in order to show respect for their wives, they might send away the intercourse when they were about to get married, and the so-called sending was to sell or let them marry the steward of the Zhuangzi, etc., which were all dealing with the intercourse.
In other words, the status of Tongfang is between good concubines and cheap concubines, but if they do the wrong thing, they can be sold by the male or female hostess, not only their status is low, but their living conditions are not particularly good.
In many families, if they are highly regarded maids or stewards, they may be more respected than Tongyu, which can only stay in a specific house all day long, and cannot go out at will.
This kind of woman is usually a dusty woman who is bought back from the outside by the male owner, although she was redeemed and became a concubine, but her status is very low, and the same as the room, she can be given away or sold by the male owner or the hostess at any time.
Noble concubines and good concubines have relatively higher status, and their treatment is not the same. Good concubines are innocent girls from ordinary families, they voluntarily become concubines for some reason, and before that, they will sign a concubine document, that is, they are considered to be members of the family, and they cannot be sold or given away to others at will.
Although the concubines are not as good as their wives, they have a certain right to speak in the main wife, because they are either the henchmen of the main wife, or their sisters, such as the concubine sisters in the family, etc., they are equivalent to the substitutes for the main wife.
The reason why the main wife brought them with them and asked them to serve their husbands was to strengthen their position on the one hand, and to let them have children on the other. Most of their children are to be recorded in the name of their wives.
In addition to being the wife of the main wife, the concubine may also be a woman transferred by a high-ranking and powerful person, for this kind of woman, even if the wife is unwilling, she needs to be treated well.
Although the feudal society has the concept of three wives and four concubines, but the hierarchy is also very strict, even if the ancient men favored the concubine, but also need to give the wife the minimum respect, and the status of the concubine can never cross the wife, otherwise once the reputation of the concubine to kill the wife spreads, the impact is great.
Even so, three wives and four concubines were a bad custom in ancient times, and this marriage system had a great impact on the stability of family relations. In today's society, monogamy truly embodies the equality of men and women, that is to say, a good marriage system can promote the harmonious development of society.
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