Organizer, Chair, and Discussant: Richard W. L. Guisso, University of Toronto
The three papers in this panel approach the cliché-ridden issue of state and family in traditional China from a relatively fresh perspective. All three proceed from similar assumptions-that from the Han onward, the dominant self-image of the Chinese state was familial, that the well-regulated family unit was the basic unit of social control, and that the state possessed the duty to direct and perhaps even to define, the nature of the family. The papers focus on the early T'ang and on the early Ming, as periods which show a similar concern with the re-assertion of "Chinese-ness" after stretches of pronounced foreign influence. Policymakers in both periods saw marriage customs in the preceding years as variable, lax, and even "barbaric." The homogenization of marriage customs and of inter-family conduct was thus regarded, among other things, as a means of preserving state unity and the dynastic life-span.
Certain common emphases emerge in all three papers. The first of these is the great importance the state assigned to regulation of the family, and the various strategies, sometimes clumsy, which it employed to achieve the desired results. The second emphasis lies on the juxtaposition between the seeming-rigidity of codes and decrees and the flexible nature of enforcement. This strongly suggests the need for scholars to go beyond study of the "letter of the law" to study of the actual disposition of cases. Finally, all three papers make clear the underlying patriarchalism of "Confucianized" Chinese law, but provide some finer shadings to this perception. Lawmakers saw women as persons in greater need of regulation than men, but all three papers demonstrate a greater emphasis on familial harmony than of familial hierarchy.
Ties That Bind: The Codification of the Marital Relationship and Social Control
in Early Ming China
Anita M. Andrew, Northern Illinois University; Jiang Yonglin, University of
Minnesota
The relationship between husband and wife, one of the basic components of the "Three Bonds" (san gang) in Confucian morality, was an important element of social control in the early Ming Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang, the Ming founding emperor (r. 1368-1398), assumed the roles of patriarch, lawgiver, and moral activist and involved himself and the state in this most intimate degree of freedom in establishing the priorities for his new state. Throughout Zhu's long reign he sought to both revive and strengthen his personal power. His directives on the marital bond were no exception. The founder's efforts to legislate his views on marriage reveal one way in which Zhu attempted to influence the behavior of his subjects.
This paper will examine Zhu Yuanzhang's views on the marital bond in a number of examples of early Ming legislation, most notably the Ming commandment (Da Ming ling) (1368), the Great Warnings (Yuzhi Da Gao) (1385-87), and the Ming Code (Da Ming lu) (1397). We will argue that the Ming founder's vision of a well-ordered society was one in which husbands and wives accepted their appropriate roles in marriage, dedicated themselves to creating a stable and harmonious family unit, and offered their loyalty and obedience to the ruler. Viewed in this way, Zhu Yuanzhang's efforts to regulate the marital bond represented a form of social control which bound the family directly to the throne in late 14th century China.
Sexual Incrimination as a Tool of Social Control: A Comparison of the Treatment
of Incest and Rape in the Tang Code
Peter Lake, University of Toronto
In tandem with the ruler's need to control its subjects, Chinese law developed, from the outset, in a way that family and bureaucracy, the two basic and most important institutions in the control mechanisms, became its primary concern. Sexual incrimination is a crucial part of the family control mechanism and can be understood well only as such. This assumption can be clearly shown by a comparison of the treatment of incest and all other sorts of illicit sexuality. Although traditional Chinese law addressed a large number of sex-related offenses and punished them as severely as most other traditional legal systems, its unique Chinese character becomes evident in its emphasis on punishing incest much more heavily than any other sorts of illicit sexuality.
Centered around an in-depth comparison between laws on incest and rape, and discussing legislation on sexual offenses in terms of the dynamics of ideology and sexuality, this paper attempts to discuss the relevant statutes in the Tang Code as well as a number of cases preserved in historical records. It endeavors to expose the assumptions behind the statutes and the values protected by them, as well as their impact on the evolving status of women.
Perception of Marriage and Women in Bo Juyi's Judgement (pan) Writings
Ping Yao, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
This paper examines women's status in the Mid-Tang as seen through selected judgments written by Bo Juyi (772-846) in his preparation of the Judgements Examination (panbacui). Bo left a total of one hundred and one judgments on hypothetical legal cases. Among them, fifteen were cases that directly related to marriage and women's status. These judgements reflected his efforts to manoeuvre around the Tang Code and the power system that the Code represented. The writings basically tended to either protect, respect women or to emphasize a harmonious rather than a dominant-subordinate type of relationship between men and women. However, the discourse on marriage and women as seen through Bo's judgements should not be considered as a resistant force to the dominant discourse. On the contrary, it fell within the dominant power system. Not only did Bo pass the examination and immediately gain appointment to an office but the Tang court actually used Bo's judgment writings as references for later grading in the examination system.