Women, Property, and Confucian Reaction in Sung and Yüan China

This book argues that the Mongol invasion of the thirteenth century precipitated a transformation of marriage and property law in China that deprived women of their property rights and reduced their legal and economic autonomy. It describes how after a period during which women's property rights were steadily improving, and laws and practices affecting marriage and property wer...

This book argues that the Mongol invasion of the thirteenth century precipitated a transformation of marriage and property law in China that deprived women of their property rights and reduced their legal and economic autonomy. It describes how after a period during which women's property rights were steadily improving, and laws and practices affecting marriage and property were moving away from Confucian ideals, the Mongol occupation created a new constellation of property and gender relations that persisted to the end of the imperial era. It shows how the Mongol-Yuan rule in China ironically created the conditions for radical changes in the law, which for the first time brought it into line with the goals of Learning the Way Confucians and which curtailed women's financial and personal autonomy. The book re-evaluates the Mongol invasion and its influence on Chinese law and society

柏清韵（Bettine Birge），美国南加州大学（USC）副教授，研究领域涉及传统中国的法律与性别文化、宋元史、儒学思想等，已出版专著《宋元时代中国的妇女、财产及儒学应对》《忽必烈汗时代的婚姻与法律：〈元典章〉案例》。