Have you ever heard of "consanguineous marriage"? is the kind of plot that is often seen in TV dramas and makes the audience pinch cold sweat. Haha, I know what you're thinking, don't worry, today we're not going to talk about the modern version of "consanguineous marriage", let's talk about the ancient version!
In ancient times, it was common for cousins to marry cousins and cousins. At that time, the emperor sometimes personally decreed that he would arrange marriages for his children and nephews! However, behind this kind of "kiss and kiss" marriage, there are actually many interesting stories and shocking situations.
In other words, there was an emperor in the Ming Dynasty who fell in love with his concubine, and then he thought of a wedding for the concubine's cousin and his daughter! Isn't this a typical "fertilizer water does not flow into outsiders' fields"! It's a pity that the ministers of the DPRK and China don't buy it, and all kinds of opposition ** almost didn't lift the palace.
Ancient people attached great importance to family kinship. In their opinion, cousins have a common ancestor, so such a marriage is "close to each other". More importantly, this type of marriage helps to preserve the family's power, wealth, and status.
Isn't that a little weird? At that time, people were always close relatives married, why don't we see many records of deformed children in the history books?
First of all, in that era when there was no concept of genetics, people thought that the inability to give birth to children or deformed children was due to ghosts and gods, bad fate, etc., rather than the consequences of consanguineous marriage.
Second, medical conditions were limited in ancient times, and many deformed children may not survive at all. Even if a malformed child is born, it may not be recorded for various reasons.
Finally, the fertility rate in ancient times was inherently low, so the birth rate of malformed children may not be as high as we think.
Of course, there is also the reason why history books were written by the literati and writers of the time, who paid more attention to matters such as politics, war, and culture. They may not think it is important enough for them to write about it or because they are unlucky. Therefore, even if a deformed child is born, it is difficult to find relevant records in the history books.
In general, despite the many problems that seem to exist in modern times, consanguineous marriage was a widely accepted model of marriage in ancient societies. But with the development of modern medicine and genetics, we have a clearer understanding of the dangers of consanguineous marriage.