Research On Legitimate Marriage And Widow's Inheritance In Oing Dynasty

This article unavoidably chooses the issue of women as the research point,but mainly writes about the marriage and inheritance rights of women in the Qing Dynasty,a particular dynasty,which are both necessary conditions for each other.On the one hand,the realization of widow's inheritance right relies on the legality of female marriage and the maintenance of long-term conservative state after the loss of her husband.In the handling of laws and civil family affairs in the Qing Dynasty,de facto marriage is not recognized and recognized by the public,so it is not legitimate.Legitimate marriage must be completed in accordance with ancient customs,such as the Six Rites,and it must follow the agreed folk customs.Rules,such as"parents'orders,matchmaker's words"and so on,women's legal marriage is protected by civil order and local government.When widows maintain their inheritance rights,they need to issue"marriage certificates"or other material and personal witnesses to prove the legitimacy of marriage.The perpetuation of the festival state is to maintain the status of widows in the family of their widows,and the family members of non-widows have lost their marriage.On the other hand,the property brought by the widow's inheritance right is used to safeguard the widow's widow's life and to bear filial piety to her parents,and to provide material support for the shaping of a perfect moral dream,so that the widow does not appear to be disturbed by her livelihood and is willing to do so.It is determined that the function of the head of the family should be replaced by the husband disappearing.Marriage is regarded as an important milestone in life in the ancient concept of China.It plays an important role in the realization of family functions and the protection of continuity.Therefore,people in Qing Dynasty were cautious about it.Not all the unions between men and women were recognized by the public.Marriage recognized by the public is legal marriage,which brings about the inheritance of widows.Legitimate marriage must embody the solemnity and prudence of marriage with complex"Six Rites".It must take"the orders of parents,the words of matchmakers"and "engagement"as contracts,and conform to the norms of social conventions,such as"good or bad not to marry" and other principles.Marriages that do not conform to any rule are not legal marriages.Illegal marriages result in the invalidation of the widow's identity after the death of her husband.Widows are not called widows.They do not have the right to inherit the property and identity of their deceased husband.They are simply called concubines and are rejected by the public.In order to ensure the social stability brought about by family continuity and family stability,the Qing court encouraged widows to observe festivals and gave widows the right to voluntarily observe festivals.The intention was to avoid relatives forcing widows to remarry for property and to enable widows to enjoy certain personal autonomy.On the other hand,local officials also give certain recognition to widows,such as the chastity archway in Huizhou,which makes the housewives enjoy the honor and favor in the family.Widows also internalize the concept ofconservatism into their own beliefs,and"lifelong" has become the pursuit goal of countless women,even at the expense of self-mutilation as a means of wisdom.Under such internal and external conditions,a large number of widows emerged in the Qing Dynasty.They formed such a special group,enjoying the rights brought by Festivalobservance and fulfilling their obligations as widows.In the family of Qing Dynasty,when the male parents died,the lack of parents made their spouse take the place of this"duty".Widows need to control family property in order to fulfill their duties of raising their children and supporting the elderly,which is the origin of widows'inheritance rights.The content of widow's inheritance right mainly includes:property inheritance right;heirship right;official inheritance right.Among them,the right to inherit property is placed in a prominent position.The widow of the festival receives the deceased husband's inheritance.The inheritance is mostly fixed assets such as land and houses.The widow can freely use or distribute these inheritance,or buy,rent,collect money,or distribute it to her adult offspring.There are also liquid assets such as gold,silver,copper,and physical objects,which the widow can reasonably use according to the family situation.Debt also needs to be inherited.The payment of husband's debts and wife's debts is a common rule among the people.Widows need to fulfil such obligations by returning the money owed by their husbands or fulfilling their promises in property,such as the agreement to donate property to the temple.Female remarriage is regarded as the abandonment of her husband's property.Widows based on the integration of husband and wife exercise family property management functions as parents.In childless families,widows inherit property directly to maintain family expenditure.In families with children,based on the integration of mother and son,children can not deal with family property directly beyond widows.When the deceased husband's inheritance is insufficient to meet the expenditure of widows and families,the husband's clan needs to fulfill the obligation of "clan harmony".The funds used for "orphans and widows" should be invested in the cause of supporting widows'conservative festival to support the widow's life;wealthy mothers will also give financial support to widowed daughters in their own names,as appropriate;and the widow herself sells dowry by selling dowry.Textile sewing subsidies for household use.The right to choose an heir arises from the stipulation that women can not be heirs,that widows themselves and their daughters can not perform the duties of succession for the deceased male parents,and that a childless widow needs to find qualified heirs from her clan.In this process,widows have great autonomy and the right to choose their favorite heirs is the right to choose their heirs.Despite the limitations of clans on the right to supervise the choice of heirs and paternity,widows'right to choose heirs is the most prominent among these limitations,and local governments will try to show respect and patience to feudal widows.The inheritance right of official position has regional particularity,only exists in the southwest area of Qing Dynasty territory,where minorities live together and retain a large number of minority customs,such as the inheritance of local officials,which are also influenced by the Han nationality area.Therefore,the inheritance of local officials in southwest China is generally carried out in accordance with the system of inheritance by the eldest son.When the male heirs are absent,the widow of the local officials inherits them at his discretion.However,under the influence of "land reform and return",the number of local officials in Qing Dynasty decreased sharply,and the corresponding number of female local officials decreased.Generally speaking,the realization of widow's inheritance right in Qing Dynasty is inseparable from the recognition of marriage legitimacy and the appearance of conservative phenomena in Qing Dynasty;widow's inheritance right is established under many restrictions;it is also supported by various parties;it is of great significance to the stabilization of Qing family;it also reflects the essence of widow's identity:widow is subordinate to her husband.The right to inheritance is not a sign of the disadvantaged,but a means to maximize power.Property inheritance should not skip widows to show that the mother's position in the family is not low.The heir is the father's heir and also the mother's heir.The inheritance of official position breaks the barrier of public office in the Qing Dynasty.