Polyandry and wife-selling in Qing Dynasty China : survival strategies and judicial interventions / Matthew H. Sommer.

By:

Sommer, Matthew Harvey, 1961- [Author]

Material type: Text

text

Media type:

computer

Carrier type:

online resource

ISBN:

9780520962194

Subject(s):

Genre/Form:

Electronic Books.

LOC classification:

HQ684 .P659 2015

Online resources:

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Available additional physical forms:

Contents:

Subject: This book is a study of polyandry, wife-selling, and a variety of related practices in China during the Qing dynasty (1644-1912). By analyzing over 1200 legal cases from local and central court archives, Matthew Sommer explores the functions played by marriage, sex, and reproduction in the survival strategies of the rural poor under conditions of overpopulation, worsening sex ratios, and shrinking farm sizes. Polyandry and wife-selling represented opposite ends of a spectrum of strategies. At one end, polyandry was a means to keep the family together by expanding it. A woman would bring in a second husband in exchange for his help supporting her family. In contrast, wife sale was a means to survive by breaking up a family: a husband would secure and emergency infusion of cash while his wife would escape poverty and secure a fresh start with another man.

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Holdings
Item type	Current library	Collection	Call number	URL	Status	Date due	Barcode
Online Book (LOGIN USING YOUR MY CIU LOGIN AND PASSWORD)	G. Allen Fleece Library ONLINE	Non-fiction	HQ684 (Browse shelf(Opens below))	Link to resource	Available		ocn913086388

Includes bibliographies and index.

Cover; Contents; Acknowledgments; Conventions in the Text; Map: Provinces of China Proper within the Qing Empire, circa 1800; Introduction; PART ONE: POLYANDRY; 1. "Getting a Husband to Support a Husband"; 2. Attitudes of Families, Communities, and Women toward Polyandry; 3. The Intermediate Range of Practice; PART TWO: WIFE-SELLING; 4. Anatomy of a Wife Sale; 5. Analysis of Prices in Wife Sales; 6. Negotiations between Men in Wife Sales; 7. Wives, Natal Families, and Children; 8. Four Variations on a Theme; PART THREE: POLYANDRY AND WIFE-SELLING IN QING LAW.

9. Formal Law and Central Court Interpretation from Ming through High Qing10. Absolutism versus Pragmatism in Central Court Treatment of Wife Sales; 11. Flexible Adjudication of Routine Cases in the Local Courts; Conclusion; Appendices A-E; APPENDIX A: QING DYNASTY REIGN PERIODS (1644-1912); APPENDIX B: PROFILES OF THE PROTAGONISTS IN WIFE SALES; APPENDIX C: PRICES IN WIFE SALES; APPENDIX D: THE QING PENAL SYSTEM; APPENDIX E: JUDICIAL REVIEW (AS SEEN IN XINGKE TIBEN); Character List; Notes; References; Index; A; B; C; D; E; F; G; H; I; J; K; L; M; N; O; P; Q; R; S; T; U; V; W; X; Y; Z.

This book is a study of polyandry, wife-selling, and a variety of related practices in China during the Qing dynasty (1644-1912). By analyzing over 1200 legal cases from local and central court archives, Matthew Sommer explores the functions played by marriage, sex, and reproduction in the survival strategies of the rural poor under conditions of overpopulation, worsening sex ratios, and shrinking farm sizes. Polyandry and wife-selling represented opposite ends of a spectrum of strategies. At one end, polyandry was a means to keep the family together by expanding it. A woman would bring in a second husband in exchange for his help supporting her family. In contrast, wife sale was a means to survive by breaking up a family: a husband would secure and emergency infusion of cash while his wife would escape poverty and secure a fresh start with another man.

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