Marriage and Inequality in Chinese Society (Volume 12) (Studies on China)

Until now our understanding of marriage in China has been based primarily on observations made during the twentieth century. The research of ten eminent scholars presented here provides a new vision of marriage in Chinese history, exploring the complex interplay between marriage and the social, political, economic, and gender inequalities that have so characterized Chinese society. Marriages Of The Ruling Elite In The Spring And Autumn Period / Melvin P. Thatcher -- Imperial Marriage In The Native Chinese And Non-han State : Han To Ming / Jennifer Holmgren -- Shifts In Marriage Finance From The Sixth To The Thirteenth Century / Patricia Buckley Ebrey -- The Marriage Of Sung Imperial Clanswomen / John W. Chaffee -- Ch'ing Imperial Marriage And Problems Of Rulership / Evelyn S. Rawski -- Grooming A Daughter For Marriage : Brides And Wives In The Mid-ch'ing Period / Susan Mann -- Wives, Concubines, And Maids : Servitude And Kinship In The Hong Kong Region, 1900-1940 / Rubie S. Watson -- Prostitution And The Market In Early Twentieth-century Shanghai / Gail Hershatter. Marriage And Mobility Under Rural Collectivism / William Lavely -- Women, Property, And Law In The People's Republic Of China / Jonathan K. Ocko -- Afterword : Marriage And Gender Inequality / Rubie S. Watson. Edited By Rubie S. Watson, Patricia Buckley Ebrey. Papers Presented At The Conference On Marriage And Inequality In Chinese Society, Held Jan. 1988, Pacific Grove, Calif. This Volume Was Sponsored By The Joint Committee On Chinese Studies Of The American Council Of Learned Societies And The Social Science Research Council--p. Opposite T.p. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Frontmatter LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS (page ix) LIST OF TABLES (page xi) PREFACE (page xiii) CHRONOLOGY OF CHINESE HISTORY (page xvii) Introduction (Patricia Buckley Ebrey, page 1) 1. Marriages of the Ruling Elite in the Spring and Autumn Period (Melvin P. Thatcher, page 25) 2. Imperial Marriage in the Native Chinese and Non-Han State, Han to Ming (Jennifer Holmgren, page 58) 3. Shifts in Marriage Finance from the Sixth to the Thirteenth Century (Patricia Buckley Ebrey, page 97) 4. The Marriage of Sung Imperial Clanswomen (John W. Chaffee, page 133) 5. Ch'ing Imperial Marriage and Problems of Rulership (Evelyn S. Rawski, page 170) 6. Grooming a Daughter for Marriage: Brides and Wives in the Mid-Ch'ing Period (Susan Mann, page 204) 7. Wives, Concubines, and Maids: Servitude and Kinship in the Hong Kong Region, 1900-1940 (Rubie S. Watson, page 231) 8. Prostitution and the Market in Women in Early Twentieth-Century Shanghai (Gail Hershatter, page 256) 9. Marriage and Mobility under Rural Collectivism (William Lavely, page 286) 10. Women, Property, and Law in the People's Republic of China (Jonathan K. Ocko, page 313) Afterword: Marriage and Gender Inequality (Rubie S. Watson, page 347) CONTRIBUTORS (page 369) INDEX (page 371) Until now our understanding of marriage in China has been based primarily on observations made during the twentieth century. The research of ten eminent scholars presented in this volume provides a new vision of marriage in Chinese history, exploring the complex interplay between marriage and the social, political, economic, and gender inequalities that have so characterized Chinese society. Spanning 2,500 years, the essays cross disciplinary boundaries and draw comparisons to marriage patterns in South Asia, Europe, and Africa. The persistence of gender inequality is a major theme, and contributors raise issues for further study of the complex web that connects marriage to economic and gender inequality