Concubinage

Raise the Red Lantern is a film depicting life in a polygamous household in Pre-Modern China. The film, released in 1991, takes place in China in the 1920s during the Warlord Era. The movie tells the story of a young Chinese woman who marries a wealthy man and becomes one of his concubines. The film depicts the struggles the concubines, or mistress, face in competing for attention and affection from their master. The film also portrays the conflicts between the mistresses and their maids, and the strict rules that they must follow. Raise the Red Lantern is a somber film that illustrates the roles that women play and the conflicts they face living in a polygamous household in China. The film is told from the point-of-view of Songlian, a nineteen-year-old university student who is forced to drop out after her father dies and leaves the family bankrupt. Songlian reluctantly decides to marry into the wealthy Chen family. She becomes the third concubine or the fourth mistress. When Songlian arrives at the Chen compound, she is treated like royalty with a foot massage and luminous red lanterns. However, Songlian realizes that luxurious treatment does not last long. Every day, Master Chen decides which mistress he wants to spend the night with, indicating his decisions by lighting red lanterns outside of her room. The chosen mistress also gets a foot massage, her choice of menu items for meals, and receives the most attention and respect from the servants. This pits the women in…

The unions between soldiers and women that were permitted were concubinages. A concubium “was a non-martial relationship that in Roman society served as an alternative to legitimate marriage” (matrimonium iustum) (Grubbs 2002, 150). The differences between a wife and a concubine were hard to tell upon first glance. One of the ways a person could tell the difference between a concubine and a wife was status. Ulpian states that there is no difference between a wife and a concubine except rank…

Historically, Judaism has seen sex as an important part of a marriage between a man and a woman. This is due in part to scripture and to the social and sexual circumstances for ancient Hebrews. Regulation of sexual practices was introduced to increase the likelihood of the survival of ancient Hebrew tribes. Thus non-procreative sex and adultery became illicit in Hebrew cultures. Though it is interesting to note that polygyny and concubinage were not considered to be wrong or against the…

Song Dynasty The last of the dynasties was the Song dynasty is divided into two separate periods: The Northern Song from 960-1126 A.D. and the Southern Song from 1126-1279 A.D. It was followed by the Yuan dynasty and it succeeded five dynasties and ten kingdoms. It was the first to issue paper money and bank notes. It was likewise the first to receive a permanent navy. Also, the first to use gunpowder and the first discernment of true north using a scope. It divided up into two discrete periods,…

their own countries in search of riches and because of the Norse religion (which highly regards battle and stated that one that dies fighting goes to Valhalla), but nobody has a definite reason for why they did this. Their creation of three viking kingdoms did however lead to the development of three nations which later would adopt Christianity and become part of the mainstream European civilisation. Pope Leo IX was the 151st pope of the Catholic church and was also known as the “pilgrim pope”…

His acquisition of wealth infuses his world with increasing signs of chinese culture such as silk garments, polygamy and concubinage, and a generally increasing hierarchization of gender relations. For example, Wang Lung's obsession with Lotus is described when the author states, “but over the fields and the water the moonlight hung, a net of silver mist, and in his body ran secret and hot and fast,”(Buck 152). His passion for Lotus conceived itself here, and it represents the epitome of his…

three different subjects, including women, science, and music. Lewis claims that the three subjects, “…mark three crucial differences in approach, in attitude, and in perception between two neighboring civilizations.” (Lewis 2002 66) Even though there are these three crucial differences Lewis states that, “The status of women, though probably the most profound single difference between the two civilizations. “ (Lewis 2002 67) There is a difference in the roles and the positions that the women…

Another family infrastructure that dominated traditional China was the concubinage system (Engel, 1984). It is not uncommon to have men acquiring multiple wives in ancient China during the dynasty era. Yeh-Shen, was born into a family with two mother figures and one father figure (Yeh-Shen). This coincides with the traditional family structures that the society at the time adopted. The women in the house all considered the children’s mothers regardless of whether the wife is the child’s…

penalizing actions even if you did not mean to do it in the first place. Although it is acceptable to directly quote and paraphrase someone else’s work, you need to cite to the original source. Failure to do this will count as plagiarizing even if it is directly quoted. 6) If you are working with a friend on an assignment and you like something they wrote on their paper it is okay to use it if you want your assignment to be considered plagiarized. Although you paraphrase what they wrote it is…

Argentina. Within this look at Bourbon laws, the author emphasizes how these policies constructed patriarchy, the moral code, and honor. The author also showcases female agency throughout his book, illustrating that wives and women were not powerless, but could, in fact, pressure the court to send their husband to jail, or for financial compensation. By looking at personal letters, court case documents, and archives in the Library of Bolivia, Nicholas constructs a broad trend of marriage…