Rebirth of Zhu Di's son

Chapter 296 How dare Yu dare to disobey the ancestral system?
a few days later.

The yamen of the Ministry of Rites.

The main hall of the official office.

At this time, the senior officials of the Ministry of Rites and the chief and deputy directors of the Printing and Printing Department, Zheng Fang Xiaoru and Xie Jin, all gathered together. They were discussing how to improve and reform the system of marrying wives and concubines that had been passed down for thousands of years, so as to draft a draft for His Majesty the Ming Emperor as soon as possible. A copy of the "Order on Marriage and Concubinage".

In particular, the system of concubinage was the focus of discussion this time.

Zhu Gaoxu always did things first, and he would never order a certain official to do something on a whim.

He discussed with the prince Zhu Zhanyu about the selection of concubines by Han Wang Zhu Gaochi for the prince Zhu Zhanji and Jingjiang King Zhu Zuojing. They were originally aiming to reform the concubine system.

Prince Zhu Zhanyu will soon face the issue of concubinage. It is just right to take this opportunity to reform the concubinage system.

After all, if the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty acted in accordance with the reformed concubinage system, he would set an example and be conducive to the implementation and development of the new concubinage system.

"We have been discussing it for so long, why don't Yu Shangshu say a few words of conclusion?"

Huang Huai, the left minister of the Ministry of Rites, took a sip of hot tea, looked at Yu Yanzhao who was sitting at the head of the main hall and said.

Hearing this, Yu Yanzhao smiled slightly at Huang Huai, then raised his hands and cupped his fists, cupped his hands towards Fang Xiaoru next to him, and said, "Mr. Zhengxue is here, how dare Yu dare to do whatever he wants to do?"

Fang Xiaoru knew clearly that this was the sixth special discussion meeting held by senior officials of the Ministry of Rites on improving and perfecting the concubine system.

Moreover, the Ministry of Rites has already begun to prepare for the crown prince Zhu Zhanyu to take a concubine, although all formalities will remain as usual.

But at this time, their Emperor asked them to find ways to perfect and improve the concubine system that had been passed down for several years in the name of the Prince of Han's selection of concubines and the selection of concubines by King Jingjiang affecting the folk customs.

Obviously, His Majesty the Emperor intended for the prince to take the lead in taking concubines by perfecting and improving the concubinage system.

"The system of concubinage is derived from the ancestral law."

After Fang Xiaoru pondered for a moment, he slowly said: "First, there are three types of unfilial piety. The greatest is not having children. The history of allowing concubines is a sign of compassion for those who are old and have no children."

"The purpose of marrying a wife is to serve the ancestral temple and to inherit the descendants. Taking concubines is a supplement to achieve this purpose. The main wife has no children, and the sons of concubines can make up for this shortcoming."

"Secondly, concubinage can be used as a support for the human desire of those who marry early and whose parents are the solemnizer of the marriage. For those who marry early and have older wives, concubinage can relieve the pain of human desire."

"Because of this, concubinage has been practiced by sages and sages since ancient times and has been passed down by classics. It is a system allowed by the laws of all dynasties. Even the Song Confucians who 'preserve the laws of nature and destroy human desires' do not object to concubinage, although they mostly advocate it. Quit sleeping with prostitutes.”

In fact, concubinage is a very complex system. The reason why it has been passed down for thousands of years is that it is supported by a complete set of ethical customs.

In addition to the two reasons mentioned by Fang Xiaoru, there is another one, that is, ancient times were reserved and etiquette. Traditional etiquette did not encourage the expression of emotions between husband and wife. Concubinage can also satisfy an emotional need of men.Although ancient men's motivations for taking concubines were relatively complex, most of them were closely related to the traditional concept of valuing parental rights and the discord between husband and wife and their unwillingness to divorce their wives.

"But the system of taking concubines also has its drawbacks. Taking concubines and buying maidservants is close to slavery."

Fang Xiaoru changed the topic and said with a solemn expression: "The so-called wife is hired as a concubine. Due to various reasons, many women become concubines, and most of them are from poor families. As the saying goes, 'It is better to mend the gap with the poor' Clothes, don't be a partial wife of a rich man. Because wives and concubines have different statuses, there is a distinction between concubine and concubine."

"From high-ranking officials to wealthy merchants and middle peasants, the distinction between concubines and concubines is most likely to cause unrest in the family. Tragedies often occur where concubines and concubines compete for favor and harm each other."

"A son may be reluctant to speak to his father to avoid suspicion, or he may not dare to speak out because of taboos. The relationship between father and son is filled with estrangement, and there is little kindness or resentment. What kind of family relationship is there? So much so that in some families, even in the daytime, At night, I only hear the sounds of scolding, scolding, crying, and sighing!"

When he reached this point, he considered his words and said: "Therefore, in my opinion, to improve the system of concubinage, we can start from the following two points."

When Yu Yanzhao and others heard this, they immediately cheered up and acted like they were listening.

"First, in terms of power and status, the distinction between concubines and concubines should be clarified, and family tragedies such as concubines destroying wives and concubines taking concubines for concubines should be clarified. For example, the status of concubines should be slightly lower than that of wives and not equivalent to slaves. "

"Secondly, in terms of age, the elderly and infirm are prohibited from taking concubines to avoid the endless hidden dangers caused by old husbands and young wives."

"I think it can be tentatively stated that 'men over the age of 65 are prohibited from taking concubines', otherwise they will be punished for disobeying the emperor's edict."

Fang Xiaoru specifically explained: "According to the system of this dynasty, men become adults at the age of 16. As for the age of marriage, it continues the Song Dynasty's rule of '16 for men and 14 for women.'"

"In the tenth year of Yongle, the Supreme Emperor issued an edict to change the age of marriage, stipulating that men should not be earlier than seventeen years old, and women should not be earlier than fifteen years old. In the Han Dynasty, the age of marriage for women was 15 years old, and there was no requirement for men. During the Zhenguan period of the Tang Dynasty, men were stipulated The age of marriage is 20 years old and 15 years old for girls. In my opinion, if a man has been married for five years and his wife has no children, he is allowed to take concubines."

Yu Yanzhao was a Jinshi after participating in the imperial examination system. He has the innovative spirit that Zhu Gaoxu preached in his bones.

After listening to what Fang Xiaoru said, he first complimented and expressed his agreement, but then added: "In my humble opinion, we can refer to the laws of the past dynasties to re-establish our Ming Dynasty, from the princes and nobles to the The number and status of the concubines of the common people."

Everyone in the hall was reluctant to say more after hearing this. Only Huang Huai answered solemnly: "According to the rules set by Emperor Taizu, the prince can have ten concubines, the prince can have up to four concubines, and the general who governs the country can have up to four concubines. The captain of Yufu Kingdom can have up to three concubines, and the lieutenant of Fengguo can have up to two concubines. But the common people can only have one concubine when they are 40 years old and have no children. Can we still overthrow the ancestral system?"

"How dare Yu dare to disobey the ancestral system?"

Yu Yanzhao quickly clasped his fists and cupped his hands towards the direction of the Qianqing Palace in the north, and then said: "The meaning of this is to establish the title and position. Let's not talk about His Majesty and His Royal Highness, we are only talking about other things."

"Although the prince has ten concubines, he can re-define the titles of these ten concubines. In addition to marrying the main wife first as the prince's concubine, the two subsequent concubines can be designated as the concubines whose status is second only to the princess. The concubines are all beauties and their status is inferior to that of the concubines. The king of the county can also follow this example. In this way, the names and positions of the concubines of the principal wife are established, and the distinction between the concubine and the concubine is clear at a glance."

"Of course, Yu believes that if we can get the support of His Majesty or His Highness the Crown Prince and follow this new concubinage system, then who in the world would dare to violate the "Order on Marrying Wife and Concubinage" promulgated by His Majesty?"

(End of this chapter)