Description
Book SynopsisThese thirteenth-century legal cases from the classic compendium
Yuan dianzhang reveal the complex, contradictory inner workings of the Mongol-Yuan legal system, as seen through the prism of divorce, adultery, rape, wife-selling, and other marital disputes. Bettine Birge offers a meticulously annotated translation and analysis.
Trade Review[An] exciting addition to the scholarship on the Mongol Yuan empire…An indispensable source for both specialist and general readers who are interested in the social, legal, and gender history of the Mongol empire. -- Daigengna Duoer * Religious Studies Review *
Birge has been working on Song and Yuan marriage law for more than two decades and is better qualified than anyone else to do the translation. This is a pleasure to read; she writes lucidly and gracefully. The subjects—law in China, marriage law, the Yuan period—are all ones that will draw readers to the work. Birge’s translation will be used not only by historians of China, but also by scholars and students interested in comparative law, social life and marriage, plus the Yuan dynasty and the Mongols more generally. -- Patricia Buckley Ebrey, author of
Emperor HuizongBased on painstaking research on legal decisions concerning marriage during the Yuan dynasty, this work illuminates the contradictions and difficulties the Mongols faced in attempting to develop a consistent approach to marital law. Birge’s descriptions of the Mongol government and the lawmaking process are informative, and her translations accurate and readable. The book offers many revealing insights, including that women instituted many of the legal cases, an indication that they were not as secluded or powerless as commonly thought. -- Morris Rossabi, author of
Khubilai Khan: His Life and Times
