Polyandry and Wife-Selling in Qing Dynasty China

Download or read book Polyandry and Wife-Selling in Qing Dynasty China written by Matthew H. Sommer and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2015-09-15 with total page 492 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Polyandry. "Getting a husband to support a husband." Attitudes of families, communities, and women toward polyandry. The intermediate range of practice -- Wife-selling. Anatomy of a wife sale. Analysis of prices in wife sales. Negotiations between men in wife sales. Wives, natal families, and children. Four variations on a theme -- Polyandry and wife-selling in Qing law. Formal law and central court interpretation from Ming through high Qing. Absolutism versus pragmatism in central court treatment of wife sales. Flexible adjudication of routine cases in the local courts.