In the pre-Qin period thousands of years ago, in the "Book of Songs" that was widely circulated among the people, simple sentences were used to describe the youthful emotions between men and women, which is the well-known saying "Guan Guan Jujiu, in the river" Zhizhou. A graceful

In the pre-Qin period thousands of years ago, in the widely circulated "Book of Songs" , simple sentences were used to describe the youthful feelings between men and women, which is known to the world as "Guan Guan". Guan Jujiu, a graceful lady and a gentleman in Hezhizhou. The man and woman got married under the witness of 's parents and the order of the matchmaker, and became a loving couple who will stay together for a lifetime.

However, in the ancient feudal society where men were superior to women, the marriage system formed in the Western Zhou Dynasty was influenced by ethics. Although monogamy was advocated, the concept of wives and concubines has been passed down for thousands of years. High-ranking officials even have groups of wives and concubines. . However, looking at the traces of history, we can find such a strange phenomenon. That is, the wives of the first wives often rush to take concubines for their husbands. What is the reason for this?

Demonstrate status and keep taking concubines

In ancient feudal society, there were three thousand beauties in the emperor's harem. This was not only because of the desire for beauty, but also a symbol of the monarch's identity and power. Other royal relatives and dignitaries imitated this behavior one after another, forming the "monogamy and multiple concubines system" . The wife here is the direct wife of the Three Books and Six Etiquettes Ming Media is marrying , which is exquisite. They are well matched, but the requirements for marrying a concubine are much lower.

In order to show off their financial resources and status, many famous families will take in many beautiful concubines, while the wife of the first wife has to take care of the overall situation. For the sake of the prestige of the family business, she will not stop this matter, and will even take the initiative. Looking for a candidate for your husband.

During the Northern Song period, the famous literary master Su Shi had to be transferred to other places due to his official position. In order to allow her husband to live a more dignified life in a foreign land, his wife took the initiative to bring Su Shi and Chaoyun together. acquaintance. Taking a concubine for her husband.

Spread the branches, and the family develops

The most important thing for the wife of the head wife to help her husband take in concubines is to help the family spread. The ancients have paid attention to the continuation of the bloodline since ancient times, especially the wealthy family with a big family. A family needs children to inherit and run it, and can strengthen the power of the family business. Under the influence of the patriarchal system , no matter how many concubines a husband takes, only the son of the first wife will become the eldest son, enjoy the right to be awarded an official title, and will be the next head of the family.

There is an old saying "There are three types of unfilial piety, and having no offspring is the most important" . However, under the backward living conditions in ancient times, it was very difficult for women to have children. Accidents occurred from time to time. In addition, being too old will cause harm to the body. Damage, So the wives of the first wives will take younger women as concubines to reproduce the family's heirs.

There is such a story recorded in the ancient book "Historical Records". Tian Chang, a scholar-bureaucrat in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period Qi State , once took in more than a hundred concubines, and later gave birth to seven more. There were more than ten children, so after his eldest son inherited the title, Tian Chang sent his children to various fiefdoms in Qi State. Under such a move, the Tian family slowly took control The whole country of Qi was in a state of great splendor.

The sin of seven estrangements, worrying about divorce

In ancient times, the social status of men and women was very unequal. There were provisions in the laws of the Tang Dynasty . If a wife committed the "seven estrangements" after marriage, If she commits such a crime, she will be divorced by her husband. And among these seven, there is an express provision that is "jealous" , which means that wives cannot be jealous after marriage, because this will "disorder the family" and lead to family disharmony.

For a married woman, the most important thing is her reputation. Once she is divorced by her husband's family, she will attract criticism from the neighbors, and her future life will be even more miserable. Faced with her husband's behavior of taking a concubine, the wife of the first wife can only be generous and tolerant, and take care of it in a pleasant manner. Even if she is dissatisfied, she cannot say anything.

In the Qing Dynasty there was a wealthy family. Because the wife had not given birth to a child in the four years since her marriage to her husband, her parents-in-law took a beautiful concubine for her husband. As a result, the concubine was favored by her husband and became pregnant soon after. Pregnant, the jealous wife made her concubine kneel in the courtyard after her husband left home. Afterwards, the husband returned home and was furious, and ordered the wife to return home with a divorce letter. After that, the wife was lonely and desolate, depressed And finally.

Summary

In ancient times, the wife of the first wife took the initiative to take a concubine for her husband, which was actually a last resort. As an oppressed wife in feudal society, she could only consider it for the sake of the family, otherwise she would bear the consequences of being divorced.

With the progress of society, such feudal dross has dissipated. People now respect monogamy. After two people become husband and wife, they support each other for the rest of their lives. If you do something deviant, both men and women will be morally condemned. . Married life is plain as water. People who are already engaged must shoulder their own responsibilities and never lose their rationality because of temporary pleasure, which will lead to the end of their wives and children.