What is the difference in etiquette between taking a wife and a concubine in ancient times?

It depends on the dynasty. Simply put: usually TV dramas often have this line "I'm your eight-carried sedan chair carried into the door", said that the main house married into the door of the situation, the ceremony is grand, the front door in. Concubine a small sedan chair into the side door, although also a happy event, but the ceremony is simple.

The Ming and Qing dynasties is the final form of the ancient Chinese marriage system, more than before the concept of marriage hierarchy slightly decreased, and in the "Daming Laws Tolu Marriage" and even the provisions of the betrothal to tell the marriage of the physical situation, which is quite later eugenics ideas.

The form and content of concubinage

Anciently, marrying a wife was not only for the continuation of the bloodline, but also in the display of ethical principles, and for the good of the two families, so the etiquette of the process of marrying a wife is extremely obvious, according to the Confucian "Rites of Passage" records that this process can be divided into six parts, that is, the "six rites".

"Nacai", the male party to invite the matchmaker to the woman's home to propose marriage, get permission to send a gift - geese (geese for the bird with the sun, is to symbolize the principle that the wife from the husband). (I really do not want to say Mr. You are also too shabby ......)

"Ask the name", the matchmaker asked the woman's family name, this is to understand each other and their own family name, because the ancients learned through observation that "men and women with the same name, their birth is not fan". The birth of a man and a woman with the same surname.

"Naji", the man learns the woman's surname and then divines if he gets a good omen to return to the woman's family.

"Naji" means betrothal, which involves sending gifts such as silk and buckskin to the woman.

"Inviting the date" means that the man chooses the date on which he wants to meet the bride.

"Welcome" means that the man will come to the woman's house on the appointed day to welcome her.

The six rites of passage were so complicated that they were simplified in the Song dynasty to three rites of passage: nacai, nacai, and pro-welcome, and the sending of geese was later replaced by the sending of goats, wine, and colorful forges, which was a major step forward in wildlife conservation.

That is to say, as the Confucian world's dragon head, Confucianism innate sparse floor dragon hosts, he did not even move the first step, should be educated princess wants to pass the door. In fact, she wants to pass the door is fine, but the nature is different.

Taking a concubine is extremely simple compared to taking a wife. The word "take" has a lower status compared to "marry", and a concubine can be bought. Zheng Xuan in the notes of the book of rites, once commented to "concubine together buyer, to its low as public property," visible concubine's status is extremely low. Generally speaking, concubines need the consent of the wife to marry, mostly for the wife's old age without children, but concubinage may also be from the marriage, elopement, gift, the official match, etc., which from the marriage that is "concubine", in the "corpse" in the presumption of e Huang female Ying married to yao that is, for the concubine system. From the system of concubinage, the status of concubines and wives is incomparable, and the concubine's clan and husband are not for the good of Qin and Jin, relatively speaking, it is more like the relationship between businessmen and customers.

Wives were "married" and concubines were "taken", and the property sent to the family in law when marrying a wife was known as the "bride price", while the property given to the family when taking a concubine was known as the "money for the purchase of the concubine". The money given to the family when a concubine is taken is called "the money for the purchase of the concubine".

Marrying a wife was very formal, requiring the family to be in the right place, divining the eight signs of fortune, marrying in the open, and the bride price paid by the man and the dowry of the woman were very generous, but also ten miles to meet the bride and so on.

The concubine is much simpler, only a small sedan chair, by the side door into the male family, will not meet the bride, the bride price is very little, generally no dowry.