Insights from the ledgers of merit and demerit - indoctrination and marriage in ancient China

Abstract

Marriage assumes the responsibility of human survival and reproduction by means of indoctrination. In the pre-Qin period, taboo indoctrination in marriage became a guarantee for the basis of human survival, and gradually became a general, institutionalized social norm widely recognized and accepted by the people. In the course of history, the concept of chastity became an important factor in the changing status of women. Regarding the formation of the concept of “chastity”, the mainstream viewpoints of the current academic circles are the Western Zhou and the Warring States. In fact, however, the concept of chastity for women was already mentioned in the Spring and Autumn period in the records of the Zuo Zhuan.