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Succession in ancient China
Jan. 22nd, 2022 09:53 amIn ancient China, only male offsprings could inherit from their fathers. While a man could marry multiple women in ancient China, he could only have one official wife. The other women had lesser status as concubines.
The official wife had limited legal protection and only their sons could inherit titles. The sons by the official wives usually have more right to property succession.
Concubines had less formal marriage ceremony. They had even less legal protection, nor did they have right to their children.
The elder son usually had more rights than his younger brothers if they had the same mother.
As it was very important to have male offsprings to inherit the family name and take care of you after you reaching an old age, childlessness was one of the legal cause for men to divorcing their wives. (Because men were never blamed for infertility.) However, some people would still end up had no sons to inherit them, no matter how they tried or they died early while unmarried. Adoption became one solution.
( Read more... )
The complicated family structure caused a lot of family drama and tragedy , which was depicted in classical novels like Red Chamber of Dream, costume dramas and historical romance, so I hope this short essay might help understanding.
The official wife had limited legal protection and only their sons could inherit titles. The sons by the official wives usually have more right to property succession.
Concubines had less formal marriage ceremony. They had even less legal protection, nor did they have right to their children.
The elder son usually had more rights than his younger brothers if they had the same mother.
As it was very important to have male offsprings to inherit the family name and take care of you after you reaching an old age, childlessness was one of the legal cause for men to divorcing their wives. (Because men were never blamed for infertility.) However, some people would still end up had no sons to inherit them, no matter how they tried or they died early while unmarried. Adoption became one solution.
( Read more... )
The complicated family structure caused a lot of family drama and tragedy , which was depicted in classical novels like Red Chamber of Dream, costume dramas and historical romance, so I hope this short essay might help understanding.
