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List of amendments to the United States Constitution
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This article is about the 33 constitutional amendments approved by Congress and sent to the states for ratification since 1789. For proposals to amend the United States Constitution introduced in but not approved by the U.S. Congress, see List of proposed amendments to the United States Constitution.
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Thirty-three amendments to the United States Constitution have been proposed by the United States Congress and sent to the states for ratification since the Constitution was put into operation on March 4, 1789. Twenty-seven of these, having been ratified by the requisite number of states, are part of the Constitution. The first ten amendments were adopted and ratified simultaneously and are known collectively as the Bill of Rights. Six amendments adopted by Congress and sent to the states have not been ratified by the required number of states. Four of these amendments are still technically open and pending, one is closed and has failed by its own terms, and one is closed and has failed by the terms of the resolution proposing it.
Article Five of the United States Constitution detailed the two-step process for amending the nation's frame of government. Amendments must be properly Proposed and Ratified before becoming operative. This process was designed to strike a balance between the excesses of constant change and inflexibility.[1]
An amendment may be proposed and sent to the states for ratification by either:
The United States Congress, whenever a two-thirds majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives deem it necessary;
OR
A national convention, called by Congress for this purpose, on the application of the legislatures of two-thirds (currently 34) of the states.
To become part of the Constitution, an amendment must be ratified by either (as determined by Congress):
The legislatures of three-fourths (currently 38) of the states, within the stipulated time period—if any;
OR
State ratifying conventions in three-fourths (currently 38) of the states, within the stipulated time period—if any.
Upon being properly ratified, an amendment becomes an operative addition to the Constitution.
Approximately 11,539 proposals to amend the Constitution have been introduced in Congress since 1789 (as of December 2014).[2] Collectively, members of the House and Senate typically propose around 200 amendments during each two–year term of Congress.[3] Most, however, never get out of the Congressional committees in which they were proposed, and only a fraction of those that do receive enough support to win Congressional approval to go through the constitutional ratification process. Beginning in the early 20th century, Congress has usually, but not always, stipulated that an amendment must be ratified by the required number of states within seven years from the date of its submission to the states in order to become part of the Constitution. Congress' authority to set ratification deadline was affirmed by the United States Supreme Court in Coleman v. Miller, 307 U.S. 433 (1939).
The thirty-three amendments to the United States Constitution—both ratified and unratified—are listed and detailed in the tables below.
Contents
[hide]
1 Ratified amendments
1.1 Synopsis of each ratified amendment
1.2 Summation of ratification data for each ratified amendment
2 Unratified amendments
2.1 Synopsis of each unratified amendment
2.2 Summation of ratification data for each unratified amendment
3 See also
4 References
5 External links
Ratified amendments[edit]
Synopsis of each ratified amendment[edit]
No.
Subject
Date submitted for Ratification[4]
Date ratification completed[4]
Ratification time span
1st Prohibits Congress from making any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances. September 25, 1789 December 15, 1791 2 years
2 months
20 days
2nd Protects the right to keep and bear arms. September 25, 1789 December 15, 1791 2 years
2 months
20 days
3rd Places restrictions on the quartering of soldiers in private homes without the owner's consent, prohibiting it during peacetime. September 25, 1789 December 15, 1791 2 years
2 months
20 days
4th Prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures and sets out requirements for search warrants based on probable cause as determined by a neutral judge or magistrate. September 25, 1789 December 15, 1791 2 years
2 months
20 days
5th Sets out rules for indictment by grand jury and eminent domain, protects the right to due process, and prohibits self-incrimination and double jeopardy. September 25, 1789 December 15, 1791 2 years
2 months
20 days
6th Protects the right to a fair and speedy public trial by jury, including the rights to be notified of the accusations, to confront the accuser, to obtain witnesses and to retain counsel. September 25, 1789 December 15, 1791 2 years
2 months
20 days
7th Provides for the right to trial by jury in certain civil cases, according to common law. September 25, 1789 December 15, 1791 2 years
2 months
20 days
8th Prohibits excessive fines and excessive bail, as well as cruel and unusual punishment. September 25, 1789 December 15, 1791 2 years
2 months
20 days
9th Protects rights not enumerated in the Constitution. September 25, 1789 December 15, 1791 2 years
2 months
20 days
10th Reinforces the principle of federalism by stating that the federal government possesses only those powers delegated to it by the states or the people through the Constitution. September 25, 1789 December 15, 1791 2 years
2 months
20 days
11th Makes states immune from suits from out-of-state citizens and foreigners not living within the state borders; lays the foundation for sovereign immunity. March 4, 1794 February 7, 1795 11 months
3 days
12th Revises presidential election procedures by having the President and Vice President elected together as opposed to the Vice President being the runner up. December 9, 1803 June 15, 1804 6 months
6 days
13th Abolishes slavery, and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. January 31, 1865 December 6, 1865 10 months
6 days
14th Defines citizenship, contains the Privileges or Immunities Clause, the Due Process Clause, the Equal Protection Clause, and deals with post–Civil War issues. June 13, 1866 July 9, 1868 2 years
0 months
26 days
15th Prohibits the denial of the right to vote based on race, color or previous condition of servitude. February 26, 1869 February 3, 1870 11 months
8 days
16th Permits Congress to levy an income tax without apportioning it among the states or basing it on the United States Census. July 12, 1909 February 3, 1913 3 years
6 months
22 days
17th Establishes the direct election of United States Senators by popular vote. May 13, 1912 April 8, 1913 10 months
26 days
18th Prohibited the manufacturing or sale of alcohol within the United States.
(Repealed December 5, 1933, via 21st Amendment.) December 18, 1917 January 16, 1919 1 year
0 months
29 days
19th Prohibits the denial of the right to vote based on sex. June 4, 1919 August 18, 1920 1 year
2 months
14 days
20th Changes the date on which the terms of the President and Vice President (January 20) and Senators and Representatives (January 3) end and begin. March 2, 1932 January 23, 1933 10 months
21 days
21st Repeals the 18th Amendment and makes it a federal offense to transport or import intoxicating liquors into US states and territories where such transport or importation is prohibited by the laws of those states and territories. February 20, 1933 December 5, 1933 9 months
15 days
22nd Limits the number of times that a person can be elected president: a person cannot be elected president more than twice, and a person who has served more than two years of a term to which someone else was elected cannot be elected more than once. March 24, 1947 February 27, 1951 3 years
11 months
6 days
23rd Grants the District of Columbia electors (the number of electors being equal to the least populous state) in the Electoral College. June 16, 1960 March 29, 1961 9 months
12 days
24th Prohibits the revocation of voting rights due to the non-payment of a poll tax or any other tax. September 14, 1962 January 23, 1964 1 year
4 months
27 days
25th Addresses succession to the Presidency and establishes procedures both for filling a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, as well as responding to Presidential disabilities. July 6, 1965 February 10, 1967 1 year
7 months
4 days
26th Prohibits the denial of the right of US citizens, eighteen years of age or older, to vote on account of age. March 23, 1971 July 1, 1971 3 months
8 days
27th Delays laws affecting Congressional salary from taking effect until after the next election of representatives. September 25, 1789 May 5, 1992[5] 202 years
7 months
10 days
Summation of ratification data for each ratified amendment[edit]
" Y " indicates that the state ratified the amendment.
" N " indicates that the state rejected the amendment and has not ratified it.
" Y(‡) " indicates that the state's ratification of the amendment came after the state had officially rejected it.
" Y(×) " indicates that after officially ratifying the amendment the state rescinded that ratification, but later re-ratified it.
" — " indicates that the state did not complete action on the amendment.
" … " indicates that the amendment was ratified before that state joined the Union.
State
(in order of statehood)
1–10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
· Delaware Y Y N Y(‡) Y(‡) Y(‡) Y Y(‡) Y Y(‡) Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
· Pennsylvania Y — Y Y Y Y — Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y —
· New Jersey Y — Y Y(‡) Y(×) Y(‡) Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
· Georgia Y Y Y Y Y(‡) Y Y — Y Y(‡) Y — Y — — — Y Y
· Connecticut Y Y N Y Y Y N Y N Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
· Massachusetts Y Y Y(‡) Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y Y Y Y —
· Maryland Y Y Y Y Y(‡) Y(‡) Y Y Y Y(‡) Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
· South Carolina Y Y Y Y Y(‡) Y Y — Y Y(‡) Y N Y — — Y Y Y
· New Hampshire Y Y Y Y Y Y Y(‡) Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
· Virginia Y Y Y Y Y(‡) Y N — Y Y(‡) Y Y Y — Y Y Y Y
· New York Y Y Y Y Y Y(×) Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y —
· North Carolina Y Y Y Y Y(‡) Y Y Y Y Y Y — Y — Y Y Y Y
· Rhode Island Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y N Y Y Y — Y Y Y Y Y
· Vermont Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
· Kentucky … Y Y Y(‡) Y(‡) Y(‡) Y — Y Y Y Y — — Y Y — Y
· Tennessee … … Y Y Y Y(‡) Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
· Ohio … … Y Y Y(×) Y(‡) Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
· Louisiana … … … Y Y(‡) Y Y Y Y Y(‡) Y — Y — — Y Y Y
· Indiana … … … Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
· Mississippi … … … Y(‡) Y Y Y — Y Y(‡) Y — Y — N Y — —
· Illinois … … … Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
· Alabama … … … Y Y Y Y Y Y Y(‡) Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
· Maine … … … Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
· Missouri … … … Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
· Arkansas … … … Y Y Y Y(‡) Y Y Y Y Y Y N — Y Y Y
· Michigan … … … Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
· Florida … … … Y Y Y — — Y Y Y Y Y — Y Y — Y
· Texas … … … Y Y(‡) Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y — Y Y Y Y
· Iowa … … … Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
· Wisconsin … … … Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
· California … … … Y Y Y(‡) Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
· Minnesota … … … Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
· Oregon … … … Y Y(×) Y(‡) Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
· Kansas … … … Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y — Y Y Y Y Y Y
· West Virginia … … … Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y — Y Y Y Y Y
· Nevada … … … Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y — Y
· Nebraska … … … … Y Y Y Y Y Y Y — Y Y Y Y Y Y
· Colorado … … … … … … Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
· North Dakota … … … … … … Y Y Y Y Y — Y Y Y — — Y
· South Dakota … … … … … … Y Y Y Y Y — Y Y Y — — Y
· Montana … … … … … … Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
· Washington … … … … … … Y Y Y Y Y Y — Y Y Y Y Y
· Idaho … … … … … … Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
· Wyoming … … … … … … Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y — Y Y Y
· Utah … … … … … … N N Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y — Y
· Oklahoma … … … … … … Y Y Y Y Y — N Y — Y Y Y
· New Mexico … … … … … … Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y — Y
· Arizona … … … … … … Y Y Y Y Y Y — Y — Y Y Y
· Alaska … … … … … … … … … … … … … Y Y Y Y Y
· Hawaii … … … … … … … … … … … … … Y Y Y Y Y
State
(in order of statehood)
1–10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
Unratified amendments[edit]
Synopsis of each unratified amendment[edit]
Title
Subject
Status
Congressional Apportionment Amendment Would strictly regulate the size of congressional districts for representation in the House of Representatives. Pending since September 25, 1789
Titles of Nobility Amendment Would strip citizenship from any United States citizen who accepts a title of nobility from a foreign country. Pending since May 1, 1810
Corwin Amendment Would make the states' "domestic institutions" (slavery) impervious to the constitutional amendment procedures established in Article V and immune to abolition or interference from Congress. Pending since March 2, 1861
Child Labor Amendment Would empower the federal government to limit, regulate, and prohibit child labor. Pending since June 2, 1924
Equal Rights Amendment Would have prohibited deprivation of equality of rights by the federal or state governments on account of sex. Initial ratification period ended March 22, 1979, and extension period ended June 30, 1982; amendment failed
District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment Would have treated the District of Columbia as if it were a state regarding representation in the United States Congress (including repealing the 23rd Amendment), representation in the Electoral College and participation in the process by which the Constitution is amended. Ratification period ended August 22, 1985; amendment failed
Summation of ratification data for each unratified amendment[edit]
" Y " indicates that the state ratified the amendment.
" N " indicates that the state rejected the amendment and has not ratified it.
" Y(‡) " indicates that the state's ratification of the amendment came after the state had officially rejected it.
" Y(×) " indicates that after officially ratifying the amendment the state rescinded that ratification.
" ⋈ " indicates that the state did not complete action on the amendment during the stated ratification period.
" " An empty cell indicates that the state has not completed action on the pending amendment.
State
(in alphabetical order)
· Alabama ⋈ ⋈
· Alaska Y ⋈
· Arizona Y ⋈ ⋈
· Arkansas Y ⋈ ⋈
· California Y Y ⋈
· Colorado Y Y ⋈
· Connecticut N N N Y Y
· Delaware N Y N Y Y
· Florida N ⋈ ⋈
· Georgia N Y N ⋈ ⋈
· Hawaii Y Y
· Idaho Y Y(×) ⋈
· Illinois Y Y ⋈ ⋈
· Indiana Y(‡) Y ⋈
· Iowa Y Y Y
· Kansas Y(‡) Y ⋈
· Kentucky Y Y Y Y(‡) Y(×) ⋈
· Louisiana N ⋈ Y
· Maine Y(‡) Y Y
· Maryland Y Y Y(×) N Y Y
· Massachusetts N Y N Y Y
· Michigan Y Y Y
· Minnesota Y(‡) Y Y
· Mississippi ⋈ ⋈
· Missouri N ⋈ ⋈
· Montana Y Y ⋈
· Nebraska Y(×) ⋈
· Nevada Y Y ⋈
· New Hampshire Y Y Y(‡) Y ⋈
· New Jersey Y Y Y Y Y
· New Mexico Y(‡) Y ⋈
· New York Y N Y ⋈
· North Carolina Y Y N ⋈ ⋈
· North Dakota Y Y ⋈
· Ohio Y Y(×) Y Y Y
· Oklahoma Y ⋈ ⋈
· Oregon Y Y Y
· Pennsylvania Y(‡) Y Y(‡) Y ⋈
· Rhode Island Y N Y Y Y
· South Carolina Y N ⋈ ⋈
· South Dakota N Y(×) ⋈
· Tennessee Y N Y(×) ⋈
· Texas N Y ⋈
· Utah Y(‡) ⋈ ⋈
· Vermont Y Y N Y ⋈
· Virginia Y N ⋈ ⋈
· Washington Y Y ⋈
· West Virginia Y Y Y
· Wisconsin Y Y Y
· Wyoming Y Y ⋈
Number of ratifications:
11
12
5(×2)
28
35(×5)
16
See also[edit]
History of the United States Constitution
Convention to propose amendments to the United States Constitution
References[edit]
Specific
Jump up ^ England, Trent & Spalding, Matthew. "Essays on Article V: Amendments". The Heritage Foundation. Retrieved July 31, 2014.
Jump up ^ "Measures Proposed to Amend the Constitution". Statistics & Lists. United States Senate.
Jump up ^ "C-SPAN's Capitol Questions". Archived from the original on May 9, 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-29.
^ Jump up to: a b U.S. Congress, House. The Constitution of the United States of America, As Amended, H. Doc. 102-188, 102nd Cong., 2nd sess., (Washington: GPO, 1992).
Jump up ^ The U.S. Constitution and Constitutional Law. Britannica Educational Publishing. 2012. pp. 105–108. ISBN 9781615307555.
General
Congressional Research Service. (1992). The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation. (Senate Document No. 103–6). (Johnny H. Killian and George A. Costello, Eds.). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Amendments to the United States Constitution.
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
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The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation is available at:
FindLaw – FindLaw's version of the official document; incorporates 1996, 1998, and 2000 supplements into text, but does not include prefatory material included in official version.
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Chinese marriage
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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A Qing Dynasty wedding. The groom's parents are seated. The bride is the one in the centre wearing a red dress and blue headpiece, presenting tea to her mother-in-law. The groom usually wears a sash forming an "X" in front of him. Sometimes the "X" includes a giant bow or flower, though not in this picture.
Traditional Chinese marriage (Chinese: 婚姻; pinyin: hūnyīn), as opposed to marriage in modern China, is a ceremonial ritual within Chinese societies that involve a union between spouses, sometimes established by pre-arrangement between families. Within Chinese culture, romantic love and monogamy was the norm for most citizens. Wedding rituals and customs often varied by region because of China's extensive and rich history and because of the numerous different cultures and ethno-linguistic groups that have been subsumed into modern Chinese culture.
Contents
[hide]
1 Etymology
2 Marriage in a Confucian context
3 Ancient Chinese marriages
3.1 Marriages in early societies
3.2 Mythological origin
3.3 Historic marriage practices
3.4 Maternal marriage and monogamy
3.5 Marriage Matters in Xinjiang (1880-1949)
3.6 Marriage During the Han Dynasty (202 BCE-220 CE)
4 Traditional marriage rituals
4.1 Six etiquettes
5 Modern practices
6 Traditional divorce process
7 Divorce in contemporary China
8 Monogamy
8.1 Sororate marriage
8.2 Multiple wives with equal status
8.3 Concubinage
8.4 Polyandry
9 See also
10 Notes
11 Further reading
Etymology[edit]
In more ancient writings for the word 婚姻, the former has the radical 昏 (pinyin: hūn, literally " dusk, nightfall, twilight, dark") beside the radical 女 (pinyin: nǚ, literally "a female"). This implies that the wedding ceremony is performed in the evening, which is deemed as a time of fortune. Similarly, 姻 (pinyin: yīn) has the same pronunciation as 因 (pinyin: yīn). According to Zhang Yi's (張揖) Guangya Shigu (廣雅•釋詁), a dictionary of ancient Chinese characters, 因 (pinyin: yīn) means "friendliness", "love" and "harmony", indicating the correct way of living for a married couple.
Marriage in a Confucian context[edit]
Main article: Confucian view of marriage
In Confucian thought, marriage is of grave significance both to families and to society as well as being important for the cultivation of virtue. Traditionally incest has been defined as marriage between people with the same surname. From the perspective of a Confucian family, marriage brings together families of different surnames and so continues the family line of the paternal clan. This is generally why having a boy is preferred over a girl when giving birth. Therefore, the benefits and demerits of any marriage are important to the entire family, not just the individual couples. Socially, the married couple is thought to be the basic unit of society. In Chinese history there have been many times when marriages have affected the country’s political stability and international relations. During the Han Dynasty, the rulers of the powerful Xiongnu tribe demanded women from the imperial family. Many periods of Chinese history were dominated by the families of the wife or mother of the ruling emperor.
Ancient Chinese marriages[edit]
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Marriages in early societies[edit]
In modern Chinese thinking, people in "primitive" societies did not marry, but had sexual relationships with one another indiscriminately.[citation needed] Such people were thought to live like animals, and they did not have the precise concept of motherhood, fatherhood, sibling, husband and wife, and gender, not to mention match-making and marriage ceremony. Part of the Confucian "civilizing mission" was to define what it meant to be a Father or a Husband, and to teach people to respect the proper relationship between family members and regulate sexual behavior[citation needed].
Mythological origin[edit]
The story about the marriage of Nüwa and Fu Xi, who were once sister and brother respectively, told about how they invented proper marriage procedures after becoming married. At that time the world was unpopulated, so the siblings wanted to get married but, at the same time, they felt ashamed. So they went up to Kunlun Shan and prayed to the heavens. They asked for permission for their marriage and said, "if you allow us to marry, please make the mist surround us." The heavens gave permission to the couple, and promptly the peak was covered in mist. It is said that in order to hide her shyness, Nüwa covered her blushing face with a fan. Nowadays in some villages in China, the brides still follow the custom and use a fan to shield their faces.
Historic marriage practices[edit]
Marriage ceremony, Prosperous Suzhou by Xu Yang, 1759
Endogamy among different classes in China were practiced, the upper class like the Shi class married among themselves, while commoners married among themselves also, avoiding marriage with slaves and other ordinary people. This practice was enforced under the law.[1]
Maternal marriage and monogamy[edit]
In a maternal marriage, a male would become a son-in-law who lived in the wife’s home. This happened in the transformation of antithetic marriage into monogamy, which signified the decline of matriarchy and the growing dominance of patriarchy in ancient China.
Marriage Matters in Xinjiang (1880-1949)[edit]
Even though Muslim women are forbidden to marry non-Muslims in Islamic law, from 1880-1949 it was frequently violated in Xinjiang since Chinese men married Muslim Turki (Uyghur) women, a reason suggested by foreigners that it was due to the women being poor, while the Turki women who married Chinese were labelled as whores by the Turki community, these marriages were illegitimate according to Islamic law but the women obtained benefits from marrying Chinese men since the Chinese defended them from Islamic authorities so the women were not subjected to the tax on prostitution and were able to save their income for themselves. Chinese men gave their Turki wives privileges which Turki men's wives did not have, since the wives of Chinese did not have to wear a veil and a Chinese man in Kashgar once beat a mullah who tried to force his Turki Kashgari wife to veil. The Turki women also benefited in that they were not subjected to any legal binding to their Chinese husbands so they could make their Chinese husbands provide them with as much their money as she wanted for her relatives and herself since otherwise the women could just leave, and the property of Chinese men was left to their Turki wives after they died.[2] Turki women considered Turki men to be inferior husbands to Chinese and Hindus. Because they were viewed as "impure", Islamic cemeteries banned the Turki wives of Chinese men from being buried within them, the Turki women got around this problem by giving shrines donations and buying a grave in other towns. Besides Chinese men, other men such as Hindus, Armenians, Jews, Russians, and Badakhshanis intermarried with local Turki women.[3] The local society accepted the Turki women and Chinese men's mixed offspring as their own people despite the marriages being in violation of Islamic law. Turki women also conducted temporary marriages with Chinese men such as Chinese soldiers temporarily stationed around them as soldiers for tours of duty, after which the Chinese men returned to their own cities, with the Chinese men selling their mixed daughters with the Turki women to his comrades, taking their sons with them if they could afford it but leaving them if they couldn't, and selling their temporary Turki wife to a comrade or leaving her behind.[4]
Marriage During the Han Dynasty (202 BCE-220 CE)[edit]
Marriages during this time included a number of mandatory steps, of which the most important of them was the presentation of betrothal gifts from the groom and his family to the bride and her family. The bride's family then countered with a dowry. Sometimes the bride's family would buy goods with the betrothal money. Using a betrothal gift for family financial needs rather than saving it for the bride was viewed as dishonorable because it appeared as though the bride has been sold. A marriage without a dowry or a betrothal gifts was also seen as dishonorable. The bride was seen as a concubine instead of a wife. Once all the goods were exchanged the bride was taken to the ancestral home of the groom. There she was expected to obey her husband and his living relatives. Women continued to belong to their husband's families even if they had passed. If the widow's birth family wanted her to marry again, they would often have to ransom her back from her deceased husband's family. If they had any children they stayed with his family.[5]
Traditional marriage rituals[edit]
Further information: Chinese pre-wedding customs
A modern wedding held in a Ming Dynasty format
Chinese marriage became a custom between 402 and 221 BC. Despite China's long history and many different geographical areas, there are essentially six rituals, generally known as the three letters and six etiquettes (三書六禮). Unfortunately for some traditional families, the wife's mother cannot go to her son-in-law's family until one year (according to the Chinese lunar calendar or Chinese Lunar New Year) after the wedding has elapsed. However, during this one year the daughter can go back at any time.
Six etiquettes[edit]
Proposal: After an unmarried boy's parents found a potential daughter-in-law, they located a matchmaker whose job was to assuage the conflict of interests and general embarrassments when discussing the possibility of marriage on the part of two families largely unknown to each other. Marriages were chosen based upon the needs of reproduction and honor, as well as the need of the father and husband.
Birthdates: If the selected girl and her parents did not object to the proposal, the matchmaker would match the birthdates (Chinese: 秊庚八字; pinyin: niángēng bāzì; literally: "the 8 cyclic characters for year, month, day and hour of birth of a man, which determine his fate") in which suan ming (Chinese fortune telling) is used to predict the future of that couple-to-be. If the result of suan ming was good, they then would go to the next step, submitting bride price.
Bridewealth (betrothal gifts): At this point the bridegroom's family arranged for the matchmaker to present a bride price (betrothal gifts), including the betrothal letter, to the bride's family.
Wedding gifts: The groom's family would then send an elaborate array of food, cakes, and religious items to the bride's family.
Arranging the wedding: Before the wedding ceremony, two families would arrange a wedding day according to Chinese tung shing. Selecting an auspicious day to assure a good future for the couple is as important as avoiding what is believed to be an unlucky day. In some cases there may be no auspicious dates and the couple will have to review their potential date range.
Wedding ceremony: The final ritual would be the actual wedding ceremony where bride and groom become a married couple, which consists of many elaborate parts (see below):
Wedding procession: Before the meeting party's arrival, the bride would be helped by a respectable old woman to tie up her hair with colorful cotton threads. She would wear a red skirt because the Chinese believed red symbolised happiness. When the party arrived, the bride must cry with her mother to symbolize her reluctance to leave home. She would then be led or carried by her elder brother to the sedan. From here, the wedding procession from the bride's home to the groom's home consists of a traditional band, the bride's sedan, the maids of honor's sedans (if there are maids of honor), and bride's dowry in the forms other than money. The most common dowries included scissors like two butterflies never separating, rulers indicating acres of fields, and vases for peace and wealth.
Welcoming the bride: The wedding procession of the bride's family stops at the door of the groom's home. In the meeting party the groom would meet a series of difficulties intentionally set in his path. Only after coping with these could he pass to see his wife-to-be.
Actual wedding ceremonies: On the arrival of the sedan at the wedding place, there would be music and firecrackers. The bride would be led along the red carpet in a festive atmosphere. The groom, also in a red gown, would kowtow three times to worship the heaven, parents and spouse. Equivalent to exchanging vows in the west, the couple would pay respect to the Jade Emperor, the patron family deities (or patron buddhas and bodhisattvas), paying respect to deceased ancestors, the bride and groom's parents and other elders, and paying respect to each other. Then, the new couple would go to their bridal chamber and guests would be treated to a feast.
Wedding banquets In Chinese society, the wedding banquet is known as xǐ-jǐu (喜酒, lit. joyful wine), and is sometimes far more important than the actual wedding itself. There are ceremonies such as the bride presenting wines or tea to parents, spouse, and guests. In modern weddings, the bride generally picks red (following Chinese tradition) or white (more Western) for the wedding, but most will wear the red traditional garment for their formal wedding banquet. Traditionally, the groom is not responsible for the cost of the wedding invitation sweet treats (often pastries), the banquet invitations, and the wedding itself. Wedding banquets are elaborate and consist usually of 5-10 courses, with ingredients such as shark fin, abalone, lobster, squab, sea cucumber, swift nests or fish roe in soup or as decoration on top of a dish to symbolize fertility, and local delicacies. Traditionally, the father of the bride is responsible for the wedding banquet hosted on the bride's side and the alcohol consumed during both banquets. The wedding banquets are two separate banquets: the primary banquet is hosted once at the bride's side, the second banquet (smaller banquet) at the groom's side. While the wedding itself is often based on the couple's choices, the wedding banquets are a gesture of thanks and appreciation, to those that have raised the bride and groom (such as grandparents and uncles). It is also to ensure the relatives on each side meet the relatives on the other side. Thus out of respect for the elders, wedding banquets are usually done formally and traditionally, which the older generation is thought to be more comfortable with. On the night of the wedding day, there was a custom in some places for relatives or friends to banter the newlyweds. Though this seemed a little noisy, both of them dropped shyness and got familiar with each other. On the third day of the marriage, the new couple would go back to the bride's parents' home. They would be received with also a dinner party including relatives.
Modern practices[edit]
A collective wedding in Chungking in 1941 (Harrison Forman)
A couple, with the bride in a traditionally red dress, being photographed at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing
Since the late 1990s [clarification needed], it has become popular to create an elaborate wedding album, often taken at a photography studio.[6] The album usually consists of many pictures of the bride and groom taken at various locations with many different outfits. In Singapore, these outfits often include wedding outfits belonging to different cultures, including Arab and Japanese wedding outfits. In contrast to Western wedding pictures, the Chinese wedding album will not contain pictures of the actual ceremony and wedding itself.
In Mandarin Chinese, a mang nian "盲年“, or 'blind year', when there are no first days of spring, such as in year 2010, a Year of the Tiger, is considered an ominous time to marry or start a business.[7] In the preceding year, there were two first days of spring.
In recent years, Confucian wedding rituals have become popular among Chinese couples. In such ceremonies, which are a recent innovation with no historic antecedent, the bride and groom bow and pay respects to a large portrait of Confucius hanging in the banquet hall while wedding attendants and the couple themselves are dressed in traditional Chinese robes.[8]
Before the bride and groom enter the nuptial chambers, they exchange nuptial cups and perform ceremonial bows as follows:[9]
first bow - Heaven and Earth
second bow - ancestors
third bow - parents
fourth bow - spouse
Traditional divorce process[edit]
In traditional Chinese society, there are three major ways to dissolve a marriage.
The first one is no-fault divorce. According to the legal code of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), a marriage may be dissolved due to personal incompatibility, provided that the husband writes a divorce note.
The second way (義绝) is through state-mandated annulment of marriage. This applies when one spouse commits a serious crime (variously defined, usually more broadly for the wife) against the other or his/her clan.
Finally, the husband may unilaterally declare a divorce. To be legally recognized, it must be based on one of the following seven reasons (七出):
The wife lacks filial piety towards her parents-in-law (不順舅姑). This makes the parents-in-law potentially capable of breaking a marriage against both partners' wills.[citation needed]
She fails to bear a son (無子).
She is vulgar or lewd/adulterous (淫).
She is jealous (妒). This includes objecting to her husband taking an additional wife or concubine.[citation needed]
She has a vile disease (有惡疾).
She is gossipy (口多言).
She commits theft (竊盜).
There are, however, three clearly defined exceptions (三不去), under which unilateral divorce is forbidden despite the presence of any of the seven aforementioned grounds:[citation needed]
She has no family to return to (有所取無所歸).
She had observed a full, three-year mourning for a parent-in-law (與更三年喪).
Her husband was poor when they married, and is now rich (前貧賤後富貴).
The above law about unilateral divorce was in force from Tang Dynasty up to its final abolition in the Republic of China's Civil Code (Part IV) Section 5, passed in 1930.[10]
Divorce in contemporary China[edit]
After the establishment of the People's Republic in 1949, the country's new Marriage Law also explicitly provided for lawful divorces. Women were permitted to divorce their husbands and many did, sparking resistance from rural males especially. Kay Ann Johnson reported that tens of thousands of women in north central China were killed for seeking divorces or committed suicide when blocked from doing so.[11]
During the Mao era (1949–1976) divorce was rare, but in the reform era, it has become easier and more commonplace. A USC U.S.-China Institute article reports that the divorce rate in 2006 was about 1.4/1000 people, about twice what it was in 1990 and more than three times what it was in 1982. Still, the divorce rate in China is less than half what it is in the United States.[12] One of the most important breakthroughs in the marriage institution were amendments added to the Marriage Law in 2001, which shortened the divorce-application procedure and added legitimate reasons for divorce, such as emphasizing the importance of faithfulness within a married couple,a response to rising failure of marriages due to unfaithful affairs during marriage that have come into public knowledge.[13] With the rising divorce rates nowadays, public discussions and governmental organs often criticize the lack of effort in marriage maintenance which many couples express. This is evident, for example in the new 'divorce buffer zones' established in the marriage registration offices in certain provinces, which is a room where the couples wait, as a stage within the divorce application procedure, and are encouraged to talk things over and consider giving their marriage another chance.[14] However, such phenomena don't contradict the increasing permissiveness of the systems and of married couples which lead to the constant growth in divorce rates in China.
Amendments have also been made to Article 32 of the revised 2001 Marriage Law. Parties to a marriage can apply for Divorce under, and by showing, the following grounds:
Bigamy or a married person cohabiting with a third party;
Domestic violence or maltreatment and desertion of one family member by another;
Bad habits of gambling or drug addiction that remain incorrigible despite repeated admonition;
Separation caused by incompatibility, which lasts two full years;
Any other circumstances causing alienation of mutual affection.
Monogamy[edit]
In ancient China, women did not have social status. A woman could only obey and rely on her husband; even if her husband was dead, she was still not allowed to remarry. While the man could have many wives and many concubines, the emperor had imperial harems. The general dignitaries also had many wives and concubines. A man could marry many women and not be held to legal restrictions.
Sororate marriage[edit]
Sororate marriage is a custom in which a man marries his wife's sister(s). Later it is expanded to include her cousins or females from the same clan. The Chinese name is 妹媵 (妹=younger sister,媵=co-bride/concubinage). It can happen at the same time as he marries the first wife, at a later time while the wife is still alive, or after she dies. This practice occurred frequently among the nobility of the Zhou Dynasty (1045 BC – 256 BC), with cases occurring at later times.
Multiple wives with equal status[edit]
Emperors of some relatively minor dynasties are known to have multiple empresses.
Created by special circumstances. For example, during wartime a man may be separated from his wife and mistakenly believe that she had died. He remarries, and later the first wife is found to be alive. After they are reunited, both wives may be recognized.
Qianlong Emperor of Qing dynasty began to allow polygamy for the specific purpose of siring heirs for another branch of the family (see Levirate marriage). Called "multiple inheritance" (兼祧), if a man is the only son of his father 單傳, and his uncle has no son, then with mutual agreement he may marry an additional wife. A male child from this union becomes the uncle's grandson and heir. The process can be repeated for additional uncles.
Beside the traditional desire for male children to carry on the family name, this allowance partially resolves a dilemma created by the emperor himself. He had recently banned all non-patrilineal forms of inheritance, while wanting to preserve the proper order in the Chinese kinship. Therefore, a couple without son cannot adopt one from within the extended family. They either have to adopt from outside (which was regarded by many as passing the family wealth to unrelated "outsiders"), or become heirless. The multiple inheritance marriages provided a way out when the husband's brother has a son.
Concubinage[edit]
Women in concubinage (妾) were treated as inferior, and expected to be subservient to the wife (if there was one). The women were not wedded in a whole formal ceremony, had less right in the relationship, and could be divorced arbitrarily. They generally came from lower social status or were bought as slaves. Women who had eloped may have also become concubines since a formal wedding requires her parents' participation.
The number of concubines was sometime regulated, which differs according to the men's rank. In ancient China, men of higher social status often supported several concubines, and Chinese emperors almost always have dozens of, even hundreds of royal concubines.[15]
A European painting of an emperor of China inspecting his fantasy fishing fleet with his concubines
Despite the limitations imposed on ancient Chinese concubines, history and literature have examples of concubines achieving great power and influence. For example, in one of the Four Great Classical Novels of China, The Dream of the Red Chamber (believed to be a semi-autobiographical account of author Cao Xueqin's own family life), three generations of the Jia family are supported by one favorite concubine of the emperor.
Imperial concubines, kept by emperors in the Forbidden City, were traditionally guarded by eunuchs to ensure that they could not be impregnated by anyone but the emperor.[15] Lady Yehenara, otherwise known as Empress Dowager Cixi, was arguably one of the most successful concubines in China’s history. Cixi first entered the court as a concubine to the Xianfeng Emperor and gave birth to an illegitimate male heir, who would become the Tongzhi Emperor. The emperor passed over many legitimate male heirs and named Cixi's son the crown prince. She would eventually become the de facto ruler of the Manchu Qing Dynasty in China for 47 years after her son's death.[16]
A somewhat different form of it is the so-called "two primary wives" (兩頭大). Traditionally, a married woman is expected to live with her husband's family. When the husband has to live away from his family, however, she has to stay with her in-laws and take care of them. A man who thus suffers chronic separation from his wife, such as a traveling merchant, may "marry" another woman where he lives and set up a separate household with her. 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. In China specifically, in cases where the primary wife fails to have sons to preserve the male lineage, i.e. family name, a secondary wife is allowed by law via the sing-song girls concept.
Although modern Chinese law explicitly prohibits polygamy, there has been a recent surge of polygamy in mainland China. 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. Since then the practice has spread to local affluent men.[17] Someone considered as 二奶 would receive more privileges than another woman regarded as 小三 (xiao san), a term reserved for a mere mistress rather than a role more akin to second wife or concubine. 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.
Some juries in China consider married people who leave home to live with their lovers to have committed bigamy.[18]
However most law cases filed were before 2000, and as of 2014[update] the situation does not really differ from that in western countries. People will not get prosecuted for "bigamy" for out-of-marriage relationships as long as they do not register another marriage, but might be required to cede more possessions in divorce cases involving a former wife.
Polyandry[edit]
Polyandry, the practice of one woman having multiple husbands, is traditionally considered by Han as immoral, prohibited by law, and uncommon in practice. However, historically there have been instances in which a man in poverty rents or pawns his wife temporarily. However amongst other Chinese ethnicities polyandry existed and exists, especially in mountainous areas.
In a subsistence economy, when available land could not support more than one family, dividing it between surviving sons would eventually lead to a situation in which none would have the resources to survive; in such a situation a family would together marry a wife, who would be the wife of all the brothers in the family. Polyandry in certain Tibetan autonomous areas in modern China remains legal. This however only applies to the ethnic minority Tibetans of the region and not to other ethnic groups.
See also[edit]
Chinese culture
Chinese social relations
Confucian view of marriage
New Marriage Law
Red envelope
Shanghai marriage market
Southern Chinese wedding
Wedding reception in Chinese societies
Notes[edit]
Jump up ^ Rubie Sharon Watson, Patricia Buckley Ebrey, Joint Committee on Chinese Studies (U.S.) (1991). Marriage and inequality in Chinese society. University of California Press. p. 225. ISBN 0-520-07124-7. Retrieved 2011-05-12. CS1 maint: Multiple names: authors list (link)
Jump up ^ Ildikó Bellér-Hann (2008). Community Matters in Xinjiang, 1880-1949: Towards a Historical Anthropology of the Uyghur. BRILL. pp. 83–. ISBN 90-04-16675-0.
Jump up ^ Ildikó Bellér-Hann (2008). Community Matters in Xinjiang, 1880-1949: Towards a Historical Anthropology of the Uyghur. BRILL. pp. 84–. ISBN 90-04-16675-0.
Jump up ^ Ildikó Bellér-Hann (2008). Community Matters in Xinjiang, 1880-1949: Towards a Historical Anthropology of the Uyghur. BRILL. pp. 85–. ISBN 90-04-16675-0.
Jump up ^ 1952-, Wiesner, Merry E., (2011). Gender in history : global perspectives (2nd ed.). Malden, Mass: Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 9781405189958. OCLC 504275500.
Jump up ^ Davis, Edward (2005). Encyclopedia of Contemporary Chinese Culture. Taylor & Francis. pp. 897–899. ISBN 9780415241298.
Jump up ^ Jennifer 8. Lee, The New York Times, Sunday 8 January 2010 p. ST-15 (Sunday Styles)
Jump up ^ Yang, Fenggang; Joseph Tamney (2011). Confucianism and Spiritual Traditions in Modern China and Beyond. BRILL. pp. 325–327. ISBN 9789004212398.
Jump up ^ Li Wenxian (2011). "Worshipping in the Ancestral Hall". Encyclopedia of Taiwan. Taipei: Council for Cultural Affairs. Archived from the original on 1 May 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
Jump up ^ law.moj.gov.tw
Jump up ^ Kay Ann Johnson, Women, the Family, and Peasant Revolution in China http://www.press.uchicago.edu/presssite/metadata.epl?mode=toc&bookkey=76671[permanent dead link]
Jump up ^ USC US-China Institute, "Divorce is increasingly common" "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-02-19. Retrieved 2009-10-11.
Jump up ^ Romantic Materialism (the development of the marriage institution and related norms in China), Thinking Chinese, October 2011
Jump up ^ 江苏将推广设立离婚缓冲室 (Chinese), sina.com, May 23, 2011
^ Jump up to: a b "Concubines in Ancient China". Beijing Made Easy.
Jump up ^ Sterling Seagrave; Peggy Seagrave (1993). Dragon Lady: The Life and Legend of the Last Empress of China. Vintage Books.
Jump up ^ "China's New Concubines". Archived from the original on 2005-12-30.
Jump up ^ China.org.cn criminal law
18. Gender in History, Global Perspectives, Second Edition. Written by Merry E.Wiesner-Hanks.(p29-33)
Further reading[edit]
Guide to China Divorce and Separation
spousal interests in real properties and corporate equities in China
Wolf, Arthur P. and Chieh-shan Huang. 1985. Marriage and Adoption in China, 1845-1945. Stanford University Press. This is the most sophisticated anthropological account of Chinese marriage.
Diamant, Neil J. 2000. Revolutionizing the Family: politics, love and divorce in urban and rural China, 1949-1968. University of California Press.
Wolf, Margery. 1985. Revolution Postponed: Women in Contemporary China. Stanford University Press.
Alford, William P., "Have You Eaten, Have You Divorced? Debating the Meaning of Freedom in Marriage in China", in Realms of Freedom in Modern China (William C. Kirby ed., Stanford University Press, 2004).
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