The Institution Of Marriage In The Qing Dynasty Study

The research objects of this thesis are marriage, family, relative and inheritance legal system in the Qing Dynasty. There are all together eight chapters, which are as follows: basic principles, characteristics and evolution of the marriage system in the Qing Dynasty; the notion about the marriage and gradual changes of the notion; the existence and termination of marriage; the prohibitory regulations and restrictions of the marriage; and the status of married women. The thesis aims at explain the basic contents and evolvements of the marriage system in the Qing Dynasty.Some Characteristics and implements of the thesis The main viewpoints of eight chapters are as follows:1. The marriage system in the Qing Dynasty has knolled the passing bell of the feudal marriage system, and from which the democratic marriage system sprouted.2. The marriage system in the Qing Dynasty had reflected specialties of multiple-nationalities and comprehensiveness, which has not only infiltrated martial cultures of the HanNationality and Man Nationality, but also that of other minor nationalities.3. The amendment of laws and changes of ideology in the last stage of the Qing Dynasty has greatly stricken the marriage system in the Qing Dynasty.4. The additional case laws and Confucianism were adopted in the judgments of marriage cases which has no doubt increased flexibilities of judicature.5. The direct intervenes and manipulations of Emperors have raised the qualities of imperial marriages and consolidated the dominion of feudal dynasticism.6. The emergence of self-determinate marriages and more and the tendencies of more and more women tend to remarry have directly struggled with chasteness torii tradition, which has shown women at that period of time began to take the conception of chasteness lightly.7. The divorce of plebeians is more flexible than that of government officials. The wives of government officials and women erected, as chasteness models by the governments hadneither the right of divorce nor that of re-marriage. However, wives of plebeians could divorce through agreement.8. Women in the Qing Dynasty were reinforced with restrictions and durance by the changes of the articles in the regulation of allowance of divorce on the seven occasions and forbiddance of divorce on three occasions, and the adoption of assistant provisions in dealing with marriage cases.9. The expansion of the content of anti-ethic severe crimes and aggravations of relevant punishment has indicated that the Qing Dynasty paid much attention to ethics and feudal social orders, even death punishment was used in order to keep the ethics.10. Women in the Qing Dynasty lived in a special period of time, in which class struggles and national contradictions arose now and then. Especially in the late years of the dynasty, bourgeoisie called for reforms, the state gate has been broken by the foreign powers, the economic structure has been changed, together with the aggression of western ideology andrapid changes in the view of value. All those above have either directly or indirectly influenced the life and the marriage status of women in all classes. All in all, their marriage status has shown the characteristics as follows: women were classified into different grades, adhere to their husbands. Their lives were imprisoned with strict ethics. The marriage was protected by the law but some women dared to break through the traditional feudal marriage system.