[3], In the earliest records a man could have as many concubines as he could afford to purchase. All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. [6], During the Qing dynasty (1644–1911), the status of concubines improved. The English term concubine is also used for what the Chinese refer to as pínfēi (Chinese: 嬪妃), or "consorts of emperors", an official position often carrying a very high rank. Concubines could not get a bill of divorce like a wife could. [citation needed], Emperors' concubines and harems are emphasized in 21st-century romantic novels written for female readers and set in ancient times. Though we tend to associate the word “concubine” with sex, the role of a royal concubine (妾, qiè) in Tang China was far more complex. 224 pgs. A concubine’s status arises from the permanent cohabitation of a man and a woman as husband and wife although without the benefit of marriage. First, the traffic in concubines as a means for d … Casino magnate Stanley Ho of Macau took his "second wife" as his official concubine in 1957, while his "third and fourth wives" retain no official status.[14]. Despite the limitations imposed on ancient Chinese concubines, history and literature have examples of concubines achieving great power and influence. From the Eastern Han period (AD 25–220) onward, the number of concubines a man could have was limited by law. Mao Xiang, a seventeenth-century Chinese artist and calligrapher, left behind paintings and scripts that, today, sell for large sums of money at auction houses like Christie’s and Sotheby’s. The Romance of a Literatus and his Concubine in Seventeenth-century China is an annotated translation of Reminiscences of the Plum-shaded Convent (Yingmeian Yiyu 影梅庵憶語), written by China’s prominent essayist and poet Mao Xiang冒襄 (1611-1693) in memory of his concubine Dong Xiaowan 董小宛 (1624-1651). All women living in … Question: "What is a concubine? Among the early Jews, from various causes, the difference between a wife and a concubine was less marked than it would be amongst us. The term can refer simply to a woman who lives with a man without being married, although it usually specifically refers to a contracted state that establishes the woman as a lesser member of a household, which may already include other wives. The origins for a male to hold a concubine were for sexual pleasure and to ensure numerous children. Since the opening of China's borders in the 1970s, businessmen from Hong Kong and Taiwan started setting up "secondary wives" (二奶, er nai) in the Mainland. concubine: 1 n a woman who cohabits with an important man Synonyms: courtesan , doxy , paramour Types: odalisque a woman slave in a harem Type of: fancy woman , kept woman , mistress an adulterous woman; a woman who has an ongoing extramarital sexual relationship with a man In China specifically, in cases where the primary wife fails to have sons to preserve the male lineage, i.e. When the husband has to live away from his family, however, she has to stay with her in-laws and take care of them. Although this practice is condemned throughout society many men still have 二奶 and 小三, which can cause conflict and trauma, just as it would in western countries. ISBN: 9789888491629 (paper). in the Bible denotes a female conjugally united to a man, but in a relation inferior to that of a wife. Due to the geographical separation, the second woman often regards herself as a full wife for all practical matters, yet legally this marriage is not recognized, and she is treated as a concubine. The sultan's wives and concubines live in the harem. Concubines’ situation ranged from well-treated pseudo-wives to poorly treated prostitutes. Hong Kong: Proverse Hong Kong, 2019. Mingdai Yanjiu 明代研究 (Ming Studies) 11.2008:58. : a woman with whom a man cohabits without being married: such as. Why did God allow men to have concubines in the Bible?" Save up to 80% by choosing the eTextbook option for ISBN: 9781442245907, 1442245905. On the death of his third wife Charles lived with no less than three concubines who bore him numerous children There is An online Chinese second-wife ‘contract’, posted at www.timesonline.co.uk and which I found these words very disturbing. [6] Many of the concubines of the emperor of the Qing dynasty were freeborn women from prominent families. [10] Concubines of men of lower social status could be either freeborn or slave. [13], Hong Kong officially abolished the Great Qing Legal Code in 1971, thereby making concubinage illegal. kŏng'kyə-bīn', kŏn'- The definition of a concubine is a woman who is a mistress to a man with a wife or who cannot be married to her because of a difference in social status. 4. This book is about a woman who's family is poor, and becomes a concubine for the Emperor of China at the time to get money for her family. It is the story of the woman who ruled China for almost 50 years, from concubine to empress, and who brought staggering changes to the country … /VCG. Concubines in the patriarchal age and beyond held an inferior rank—they were “secondary” wives. The Romance of a Literatus and His Concubine in Seventeenth-Century China. Define concubine. [8], There are early records of concubines allegedly being buried alive with their masters to "keep them company in the afterlife". Shi Fengyi 史凤仪 (1987): Zhongguo gudai hunyin yu jiating 中国古代婚姻与家庭. Moreover, the prohibition against forcing a widow to remarry was extended to widowed concubines. - Volume 79 Issue 3 Even though the practice is banned by law in modern China, as are all forms of prostitution, it is so widespread that wives of civil servants have set up their own secret association known as the “Alliance against Concubines in the People’s Republic of China”, to wage their own battle. The English term concubine is also used for what the Chinese refer to as pínfēi (Chinese: 嬪妃), or "consorts of emperors", an official position often carrying a very high rank. In China, successful men often had concubines until the practice was outlawed when the Chinese Communist Party came to power in 1949. Empresses in the Palace, a gong dou type novel and TV drama, has had great success in 21st-century China. Concubines synonyms, Concubines pronunciation, Concubines translation, English dictionary definition of Concubines. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Starting out as a penniless monk wandering China, he grew to be one of the most powerful warlords in Asia. "Farewell to My Concubine" is a powerful film a landmark It successfully merges the commercialism of HK moviedom with the artistic purity of China's "Fifth-generation" directors 17. L'homme pouvant posséder une ou plusieurs concubines. 224 pp. [9] In Ming China (1368–1644) there was an official system to select concubines for the emperor. 51 sentence examples: 1. n. 1. See more. Traditional China before 1949 had always practices polygamy allowing (and often encouraging) one man marrying multiple women as wives. The sultan's wives and concubines lived in the harem. China’s economic boom has turned the ancient role of the concubine into a lucrative career option. 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