FSC [QT] Chapter 20.1

The founding Empress Dowager Wen Shu of the Jin Dynasty was a strange woman.

She conquered the world with her reckless husband. But, when her husband was infatuated with the delicate and lovely concubine, and even wanted to depose the Prince for the concubine, she made a decisive decision and killed the concubine alive with a cane.

The Emperor at that time was so angry that he lingered at his bedside. Empress Dowager Wen Shu quickly took control of the government and listened to the affairs behind the curtain until the Prince could take charge of his own affairs.

During the period when Empress Dowager Wen Shu came to power, the status of women increased unprecedentedly. The laws of the Jin Dynasty also added many provisions that were beneficial to women based on the laws of the previous dynasties, and these laws are still in use today.

For example, there are a series of protections provided for female households. A son-in-law is not allowed to take the imperial examination, cannot do business, and cannot have any private property in his name. This ensures that the status of the female household head is higher than that of the son-in-law.

It has greatly reduced the situation in some previous dynasties where the surrogate son-in-law abandoned his wife and children after becoming famous with the help of his wife’s natal family, or the surrogate son-in-law colluded with outsiders to seek wealth and murder.

There is also the protection of women’s private property. The laws of the Jin Dynasty stipulated that a woman’s dowry is her private property and her husband’s family is not allowed to occupy it for any reason.

If a woman dies without any heirs, the dowry must be returned to her natal family. If there are any heirs, the dowry must be sealed and preserved until the heirs reach the age of hairpins¹When young girls reached the age of fifteen, they were allowed to take part in a rite of passage known as ji li (Chinese: 筓禮), or “hairpin initiation”. This ceremony marked the coming of age of young women.

Particularly, before the age of fifteen, girls did not use hairpins as they wore their hair in braids, and they were considered as children.  When they turned fifteen, they could be considered young women after the ceremony, and they started to style their hair as buns secured and embellished by hairpins. This practice indicated that these young women could now enter into marriage. and crowns²Crowning: After a man reaches the age of twenty, a “crowning” ceremony is held to indicate that he is an adult and can take the “word”.

This is an ancient saying. In modern times, it is a coming-of-age ceremony, usually at the age of 18..

The dowry list is made in two copies, one is kept by her husband’s family, and the other is kept by her natal family. The dowry list will be checked by the children, during the age of hairpins and crowns, and on the same day, the dowry will be given to the woman’s children.

Generally speaking, if a woman’s dowry is stamped and kept on file at the Yamen on the day of the ceremony, this will also be a very important document when dealing with dowry disputes in the future.

“There are two shops on the east street of Qingyang County, a second courtyard in Qingyang County, fifteen acres of high-quality paddy fields… A golden hairpin for birds, three strings of gemstones… A pair of mahogany chairs, a huanghuali dressing table…”

The singer’s mouth went dry while reciting, and the people around him were also shocked by the dowry.

Over the years, everyone had watched Jiang Baozong continue to sell off his family’s property, thinking that the Jiang family’s wealth had been almost wiped out. But now that Jiang Baozong had given his daughter a dowry, which one of the things was cheap?

Just for the shop on East Street in the county town, no matter where it was on East Street or what the size of the shop was, two to three hundred taels of silver could not go away. This shop was worth twenty or thirty acres of good farmland.

It could be seen that Jiang Baozong’s so-called selling off the land in recent years was just a cover-up. The person had already converted the most conspicuous land into other industries without making a sound.

Fortunately, everyone said privately that he was a scholar and had nothing to do with production. Now, it seems that he is the most skilled one.

On the surface, the reduction of property discouraged many people who were willing to marry his girls for money. At the same time, he could still make a living by renting the property into a shop yard. This business was not a loss at all.

In fact, Jiang Baozong was really stupid. He knew that a big tree attracted trouble, so he was unwilling to marry again for the sake of his daughter. If he kept too much family property, it would be troublesome for him to choose a son-in-law.

The most valuable thing in the eyes of the villagers was land. Over the years, he had sold off his land one after another, leaving only thirty acres of land that was enough to support the father and daughter in the eyes of the villagers.

*****

Translator’s Comment:

I think our Widow Xu will faint from regret after hearing these lists of dowries. Hahaha…

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