A free person cannot contract a valid marriage with a slave.
A mother and daughter must not marry father and son.
Marriage is absolutely forbidden to a Buddhist or Taoist priest.
An official must not marry a wife or buy a concubine within his jurisdiction.
It is unlawful for a person of official rank to take as his secondary wife or concubine an actress, singing woman or a prostitute.
No one must marry a female fugitive from justice.
Marriage of a deceased brother’s widow is against the law.
It should be remembered that it is a criminal offence to contract an invalid marriage. For example, not very long ago a prince of the Imperial family purchased a singing girl as his secondary wife or concubine. The marriage was declared null and he was sentenced to receive sixty blows for attempting to contract an illegal secondary marriage.
Widows.—A widow or divorced woman can contract a new marriage, but she must first obtain consent of her parents and wait until the customary period of mourning is completed.
Divorce.—As an institution divorce is almost as ancient in China as marriage. Marriage is not considered as in any respect a religious contract, but as a status created principally for the comfort of man and the continuance of the race. As woman is considered an inferior creature to man she has not the same rights in or out of a court of law. However, she can obtain, against her husband’s will, an absolute divorce on the following grounds: