When it comes to romantic affairs, we often think of Tang Bohu. It is said that when he already had eight beautiful concubines at home, he also ordered Qiu Xiang to be his wife to Washington. This means that Tang Bohu has enjoyed the style of one wife and eight concubines.
However, this is only a record of wild history, and it is difficult for Tang Bohu in the official history to even marry a wife, let alone take a concubine. Great artists often lived a difficult life during their lifetimes. Now let's discuss how the concubinage system appeared in the history of our country, and what are the differences between the status of wives and concubines.
Today, I will join you in ** this topic, which may be a little sensitive for male compatriots.
In the literal sense, the earliest meaning of concubine was a woman who was punished for her crimes, because there were slaves in ancient times, so concubines may be equivalent to slaves. In ancient and modern times, concubines had a variety of nicknames, such as side room, companion room, concubine, little wife, aunt, etc., which reflected the very low status of concubines.
Whether in ancient or modern times, the status of concubines has always been low.
The "Da Ming Law" stipulates that the eldest son has the right of priority inheritance, and the children born to the concubine have no inheritance right. If the wife has no children, the property is jointly inherited by the other concubines. Concubinage and concubine children should be regarded as the main wife and son-in-law.
Korean concubines had a low status and resembled slaves. The concubine system originated in the Shang Dynasty and was no different from a slave and could be bought and sold. There are three ways to take concubines: buying, elopement, and snatching.
Concubines can only be concubines, elopement or informal channels cannot be wives, and forced marriage will not be allowed. Jin Xiangong once snatched the Lirong woman as a concubine.
The existence of concubines does not come from the generosity of the male host, but a helpless choice when the main room cannot have children. In ancient society, concubines were not the head of the family, but the property of the man, and there was no freedom and human rights, and no matter how many children were born, the main wife had to be recognized as the mother.
From the appearance of concubines to the fall of the Qing Dynasty, the status of concubines has always been at the bottom of society, and most of the concubine stories recorded in historical materials have ended in tragedy. Many people mistakenly think that concubine is synonymous with the idiom "three wives and four concubines", but in fact, China has practiced monogamy since ancient times, but before modern times, men could take concubines.
In ancient China, the marriage system made women the property of the male master, but it did not affect the implementation of monogamy. By the Spring and Autumn Period of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty and the Warring States Period, this system began to gradually disappear, and concubines and concubines were also confused.
The rise of the concubinage system was actually related to war and destruction, and it was these factors that undermined the Zhou rites and made the concubine gradually become a role on the stage of history. However, concubines still have a lower status than wives because they are only property that can be replaced at any time and have no autonomy.