More than 800 words on the characteristics of traditional marriage customs in China.

Since Xia Qi established the Xia Dynasty, the rulers of China have been practicing patriarchal clan system. In order to maintain this organizational form with blood relationship as the link, the rulers implemented the top-down eldest son inheritance system in political practice, while in marriage, the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties all implemented monogamy. The so-called wife means that the first wife can only have one. In addition to the first wife, a man can legally have a different number of side rooms, that is, "concubines." "Book of Rites. "Quli" records: "The son of heaven has a queen, wife and concubine"; "Governors have wives, wives and concubines". However, according to the requirements of patriarchal clan system, there can only be one original match. The first wife is born for the "clique" and the other concubines are born for the "concubines". The first wife and their children, and concubines and their children, have obviously different positions in the family. This is determined by the patriarchal clan system, which attaches great importance to the distinction between ordinary and unusual. There is no difference between the official and the ordinary, and the principle that the eldest son inherits the patriarchal clan system and power cannot be maintained, which will inevitably lead to the disorder of the whole patriarchal clan system.

In the Western Zhou Dynasty, in addition to monogamy, two principles should be followed: (1) parents' orders, and the matchmaker's words "The Book of Songs, Qifeng Nanshan" said, "What about getting a wife?" I will sue my parents. ""What about a wife? The media can't. "The marriage in the Western Zhou Dynasty must follow the orders of parents and go through the words of a matchmaker. Under the patriarchal clan system, marriage events must be presided over by parents, and the words of matchmakers can be considered polite and legal and recognized by clans and society. This is because the rulers of the Western Zhou Dynasty emphasized the rule of propriety, that is, they required the monarch, the minister, the father and the son to live in the order of propriety. The core of "ceremony" lies in "pro" and "respect". "Father first", in family and family relations, parents' status and authority should be recognized and maintained, and parents should be the center of the family. Therefore, parents can only make decisions on marital affairs like men and women, and the parties have no choice. (2) the same surname does not get married. The principle of "the same surname is not married" in the Western Zhou Dynasty is mainly based on two points: First, as Zuo Zhuan said, "men and women have the same surname, but they are born without difference", which is not conducive to the healthy growth of their children. This shows that people had a relatively scientific understanding of eugenics at that time. Second, the Book of Rites says that "marrying a different surname means being far and thick", which shows that through marriage, the connection with the aristocrats with different surnames is strengthened, and the family world and patriarchal clan system are further consolidated, which has a distinct political intention.

The establishment of marriage in the Western Zhou Dynasty must conform to the "Six Rites" in procedure. Legal marriage must go through "six rituals": (1) acceptance, that is, the man asks the matchmaker to give the woman a gift to propose marriage; (2) Ask the name, that is, the man asks the matchmaker to ask the woman's name, date of birth, and tell the ancestral hall good or bad; (3) Najib, that is, engaged after good omen; (4) Zheng Na, also known as Nabi, means that the man lets people send dowry to the woman's house; 5] Please ask the date, that is, ask the woman to choose the wedding date; [6] Kissing means that on the wedding day, the man marries the woman to his own home. At this point, the wedding was completed and the marriage was finally established. In fact, such a complicated procedure can only be carried out by aristocrats, and it is impossible for Shu Ren, that is, the so-called "courtesy is not inferior to Shu Ren". The "Six Marriage Rites" of the Western Zhou Dynasty had an important impact on the formal requirements for the establishment of marriage in later generations. Until modern times in China, in some rural areas, the obvious traces of "Six Rites" can still be seen in the form of marriage.

Just as the conclusion of marriage must abide by the "parents' orders", the decision to dissolve the marriage is entirely in the hands of the man's parents. According to historical records, there was a complete system of dissolution of marriage in the Western Zhou Dynasty, which was called "seven exits and three exits". The so-called "seven out" means that the husband or in-laws can divorce her if the woman has one of the following seven situations. "The Book of Rites contains" seven fruits ":"No children, one also; Fornication, second; Don't be an aunt, three also; Mouth, four also; Thieves, five also; Jealousy, six also; Bad disease, seven also. "However, married women can't be abandoned by their husbands in three situations, which is the so-called' three noes':" If you get married, you won't go; Don't go if you have a mourning period of more than three years; Don't go before you are poor and after you are rich. "To some extent, the' three noes' limit the arbitrary withdrawal of wives, but the main purpose is to maintain the patriarchal ethics. The system of "seven going out and three not going" is a typical reflection of patriarchy and husband power autocracy under patriarchal clan system. As an important part of the marriage system in the Western Zhou Dynasty, its influence is far-reaching. From the Han and Tang Dynasties to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the relevant provisions of the laws of various dynasties on the conditions and restrictions for the dissolution of marriage generally did not exceed the scope of "taking three out of seven".

Qin Shihuang established the first centralized unified empire in the history of China. The historical experience of Qin dynasty made Qin Shihuang fully realize the great significance of a sound legal system to the prosperity of the country, so the Qin dynasty pursued the theory of "rule of law" and "severe punishment" of legalists.

Therefore, the marriage system is less influenced by Confucian ethics, which is quite distinctive compared with the marriage systems of past dynasties:

1. The marriage between an adult and an official registration is valid.

According to the Qin law, the age of marriage for men is six feet five inches and for women is six feet two inches. They must register with the government. Without registration, it is not protected by law. "Legal Question and Answer" states: "When a woman is married, she will die a natural death, and she is not six feet small. I have been an official, and when I discussed it, I was not an official. " That is, if a female minor escapes behind her husband's back and registers for marriage, she will be convicted of her husband's death; If it is not registered, it will be regarded as an invalid marriage and cannot be punished. According to the Qin system, not only the conclusion of marriage needs official registration, but also the dissolution of marriage must be registered with the official and recognized by the official. Otherwise, it will constitute the crime of "abandoning a wife and not writing a book", and both men and women will be punished.