The Legal Status Of Female Employees In The Song Dynasty

The slave system ran through the ancient Chinese society,it presented different characteristics in different historical periods.The female slaves was called female employees in the Song Dynasty.The female employees were civilian class.This presented distinctive feature of the times.The female employees came from the good people's class,and they signed contracts with employers through intermediaries.The employers needed to pay money as a reward,and the employment had certain period of time.The female employees of the Song Dynasty were easily confused with concubine.In fact,there were different,the most prominent difference is the employment and the marriage,that the basis for building relationships with the family.The female employees had many rights in the Song Dynasty,such as in personal rights,property rights,and litigation rights.In terms of personal rights,the Song Law aggravated the punishment for female prostitutes,forced employment,private murder,personal injury,adultery,and guaranteed the personal rights of female employees.In terms of property rights,the female employees were no longer the property of the employer,and they were able to own property rights.The female employees had ownership of the wages and the property of gift.And some female employees who had children with their employers,they had the right to keep,use and operate the property inherited by the children.In addition,the Song Dynasty relaxed restrictions on female employees accused of their employers,and the female employees were able to accused some criminal acts of employers,for example,when their employers obtained the official jobs by improper means.And they also could sue to the government when their legitimate rights were violated.The legal status of the female employees in the Song Dynasty was significantly higher than in the Tang Dynasty.The factors influencing the legal status of the female employees in the Song Dynasty are no longer "the difference between good and bad class",but " master servant relationship".During the period of employment,the female employees were affected by the " master servant relationship",they were in an unequal relationship with the employers.When the employment period was short and the employment period was over,there were no " master servant relationship" between the female employees and the employers.They were in equal legal status.Comparing with other civilian class in the Song Dynasty,the female employees were in equal legal status with other civilian class who without employment relationships.There are several reasons for the unique legal status of the female employees in the Song Dynasty: the adjustment of class structure in the Song Dynasty,the gradual disappearance of the system of salves,the promotion of the female employees,the imperial court restricted on the privileges of officials,and the narrowing of the social class;The initial land policy and tax reforms had greatly reduced the personal dependence between the female employees and employers.The development of commodity economy had stimulated the trend of professionalism,secularization and hiring.The officials elected by the imperial examination system have a high degree of Legal literacy,the female employees' cases could be judged on a legal basis.These aspects together promote the improvement of the legal status of female employees.In general,the legal status of the female employees had been greatly improved compared with the female salves of the Tang Dynasty.However,as an individual in real life,its status often presented complex situations due to the different personal circumstances.The female employees were more vulnerable by employers,and were sexual assaulted by their employers.However,some female employees had chances to improve their status,when they were liked by their employers,they could be concubines.Therefore,the study of the female employees' legal status not only enrich the understanding of the female group in the Song Dynasty,but also become an important perspective to observe the social structure and legal tradition of the Song Dynasty.