During the Ch`in Dynasty (221 BC to 24 AD) in China, there was a subset of the Confucian rules for concubines. These rules included that concubines had to leave bed after a sexual act, even if the woman was not present, and that concubines had to perform sexual activities with their husbands at least every five days. Concubines can participate in incestuous activities among the men in their family. [2] The Joseon monarchs had a harem that contained concubines of different ranks. Empress Myeongseong managed to have sons, which prevented the sons of concubines from coming to power. Polygyny and cohabitation were very common in Mongolian society, especially among powerful Mongolian men. Genghis Khan, Ögedei Khan, Jochi, Tolui and Kublai Khan (among others) all had many wives and concubines. Cohabitation has been common throughout history in different cultures. However, the social and legal status of concubines varied, ranging from sexual slavery to common-law marriage. These differences have continued to this day. For example, in a California court case concerning inheritance, Rosales v. A Mexican court had ruled that the plaintiff had been the deceased`s concubine, on the grounds that she had “publicly maintained a relationship comparable to marriage for about four or five years and had always behaved as if she were married, even if she had not entered into a legal marriage.” The account of the nameless Levite in Judges 19-20[52] shows that the abduction of concubines at the time of the judges was not reserved exclusively for kings or patriarchs in Israel, and that the rape of a concubine was totally unacceptable to the Israelite nation and led to civil war.
In the story, the Levite seems to be an ordinary member of the tribe, whose concubine was a woman from Bethlehem in Judah. This woman was unfaithful and eventually left him to return to his paternal family. However, after four months, the Levite, who is called her husband, decided to go to his father`s house to persuade his concubine to return. She is ready to come back with him, and the father-in-law is very hospitable. The father-in-law convinces the Levite to stay for several more days until the late evening party leaves the calendar behind. The group passes through a nearby non-Israelite town to arrive very late in the town of Gibeah, which is in the land of the Benjaminites. The group sits around the town square, waiting for a local to invite them for the evening, as was common for travelers. A local old man invites them to stay in his house, offers them directly by washing their feet and offering them food. A group of evil city dwellers attack the house and demand that the host send the Leviticus man so that they can have sex with him. The host offers to send his virgin daughter as well as the Concubine of the Levite so that they can rape her to prevent the guest from breaking directly in the direction of the Levite. To ensure his own safety and that of his host, the Levite finally gives the men his concubine, who is raped and abused all night until she collapses at dawn against the front door.
In the morning, the Levite finds her as he tries to leave. When she does not respond to her husband`s order to get up, probably because she is dead, the Levite puts her on his donkey and returns home. Once home, he dismembers his body and distributes the 12 pieces across the Land of Israel. The Israelites gather to learn why they received such horrible gifts and learn of the Sadistic rape of his concubine by the Levite. The crime is considered outrageous by members of the Israelite tribe, who then retaliate against the men of Gibeah and the surrounding tribe of Benjamin for supporting the Gibeans, killing them mercilessly and burning all their cities. The inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead are then massacred as punishment for not joining the eleven tribes in their war against the Benjaminites, and their four hundred unmarried daughters were forcibly married to the six hundred Benjamite survivors. Finally, the two hundred surviving Benjaminites, who did not yet have a wife, were granted a mass marriage by abduction by the other tribes. Polygyny was widespread among the Vikings, rich and powerful Viking men tended to have many wives and concubines. Amenhotep III kept his concubines in his palace at Malkata, which was one of the most opulent in Egyptian history. The king was considered to have many deserving wives as long as he also took care of his great royal wife. [36] In China, successful men often had concubines until the practice was banned when the Chinese Communist Party came to power in 1949.
The standard Chinese term translated as “concubine” was qiè 妾, a term used since ancient times, meaning “concubine”; I, your servant (disapproving of self-reference).” Cohabitation was similar to marriage in that concubines were recognized as sexual partners of a man and he was supposed to have children for him. Unofficial concubines (Chinese: 婢妾; pinyin: bì qiè) were of inferior status and their children were considered illegitimate. The English term concubine is also used for what the Chinese call pínfēi (Chinese: 嬪妃) or “concubines of emperors”, an official position that often has a very high rank. [8] Cohabitation, the state of cohabitation of a man and a woman without the full sanctions of legal marriage. The word is derived from the Latin con (“with”) and cubare (“lie”). Hong Kong officially abolished the Greater Qing Legal Code in 1971, making cohabitation illegal. Macau casino magnate Stanley Ho adopted his “second wife” as his official concubine in 1957, while his “third and fourth wife” have no official status. [19] In today`s State of Israel Hebrew, pilegesh is often used as the equivalent of the English word “mistress” – that is, the partner in extramarital affairs – regardless of legal recognition. Attempts have been made to popularize Pilegesh as a form of prenuptial, non-marital or extramarital relationship (which is permitted by Jewish law from the perspective of the person or persons acting). [58] [59] [60] Imperial concubines held by emperors in the Forbidden City had different ranks and were traditionally guarded by eunuchs to ensure that they could not be impregnated by anyone other than the emperor. [15] In Ming China (1368-1644), there was an official system of selecting concubines for the emperor. [15].
The age of the candidates was mainly between 14 and 16 years old. Virtues, behavior, character, appearance and body condition were the selection criteria. [16] In contemporary civil law, cohabitation is a legal term sometimes used to refer to an interpersonal and intimate relationship between a man and a woman or, depending on the jurisdiction, an unmarried couple[1],[2] in which the couple wants to live together but is unwilling or unable to enter into a full marriage. [3] Before monogamy was imposed by law in the Meiji period, cohabitation was common among the nobility. [20] Its purpose was to secure male heirs.
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