An analysis of Yuen dynasty levirate and property rights = Yuan dai shou ji hun yu cai chan ji cheng quan chu tan

Abstract

There is not too much to say that marriage is the most important part in the process of society. The form of marriage in an era can directly reflect different customs and characteristics of this era, such as economic, political system, popular custom.

In China, levirate used to exist in a lot of different ethnic groups like the ancient Han and other minority groups. Its form dates back to ancient time, Xia and Shang Dynasties. Until the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty, levirate form of marriage had been abandoned in the hinterland of China because it violated the traditional moral values. However, levirate still exists for a long time in the vast minority areas.

At the time of the establishment of Neo-Confucianism, Mongols established the feudal regime (Yuan) in the hinterland of China. This made a great change in all aspects, which subverted the traditional of Han ethnic, including marriage culture. Levirate began to flourish again in China. What are the reasons for the Han Chinese to accept levirate during that period? Why did Mongols eventually gradually prohibit the Han Chinese to do it? Was it because levirate involves the problem of property rights? This paper will probe into these matters.

This article is divided into four parts: the first part explains the definition of levirate and research ideas and structures of thesis; the second part describes different phenomena of Levirate in different ethnic groups before the establishment of the Yuan Dynasty; the third part describes the different phenomena of levirate in the Han Chinese and Mongolian in the Yuan Dynasty; the main purpose of the fourth part is analyzing the reason why Mongolians and Han Chinese tended to accept Levirate from property rights.

在人類社會的歷史演變進程中，婚姻具有舉足輕重的地位。每一個時代的婚姻禮制和形式都能夠反映當時的文化、政治、價值觀念。中國歷代都有具當時特色的婚姻形式，元代的收繼婚也不例外。

收繼婚並非元代獨有，它始於上古時代，曾作為古化漢族和其他少數民族廣泛流存的一種特殊婚姻形態。儘管這種婚姻形態違反傳統漢文化的道德觀念而遭到排斥和取代，但以少數民族為首的地區仍然得以保留，中原地區亦偶有出現。

元代(1271-1368年)是由少數民族統治的朝代，原本被漢人排斥的收繼婚隨著蒙古政權建立，得以在中原重新興盛發展。儘管有違漢人道德觀念，收繼婚卻仍然能夠在元代漢人社會大行其道。本文分為四部分︰第一部分闡述何謂收繼婚；第二部分闡述和解釋自上古時代始，收繼婚在漢族和少數民族中興衰的現象；第三部分闡述在元代，收繼婚在漢族和蒙古族中流行的情況；第四部分則以財產價值觀念等方面來分析收繼婚興盛的原因。通過整合歸納、文獻研究、歷史時代對比，對於元代收繼婚進行深入剖析。