Why was a woman’s chastity more important than her life in ancient times? ?The detailed answer is as follows
No matter how cruel it is to bury women and kill "witches", it is always a treatment for a small number of women. The issue of chastity can be said to be a very common sexual oppression of ancient women. A kind of oppression and persecution without bloodshed, and this abnormal concept still exists to a greater or lesser extent in modern society.
In ancient society, keeping a woman’s chastity was often more important than saving her life. The so-called conservative chastity means that a woman either never has sexual intercourse with a man for the rest of her life, or only has sexual intercourse with her legal partner (the only husband), otherwise she has "lost her virginity". "Loss of virginity" includes premarital sex, extramarital sex, remarriage, rape, etc. This situation only applies to women, not men. If a man has sexual intercourse with a woman other than his wife, it can be said to be "immoral" at best, but no one calls it "unchaste." The concept of chastity is a law set by men specifically for women in ancient society.
From this point of view, the creation of the concept of chastity from scratch is a huge progress in human history. It is instrumental in breaking up the sexual relationship of group marriage, consolidating monogamous families, and enabling future generations to be healthy and normal. The reproduction of land has a historical role that cannot be underestimated. At the same time, it is a yoke unilaterally imposed on women. Since its formation, the concept of chastity has become increasingly concentrated and intensified, gradually becoming women's highest social responsibility, and at the same time, it has become a very cruel mental oppression and oppression of women. Physical abuse needs to be criticized and denied. This is just like the formation of private ownership and the subsequent oppression and exploitation, which is a huge progress in the development of human history compared with primitive society, but it will still be criticized and eliminated now and in the future.
After the establishment of monogamy, especially under the feudal system, the patriarchal individual family based on the self-sufficient small farmer economy finally became stereotyped. Because such a family is single and closed, it inevitably highlights the dominant position of the male patriarch in the family. Women further become men's "forbidden pets" and accessories, and are not allowed to be interfered with by others. At the same time, the establishment of the patriarchal system made people pay more attention to the continuation of incense and the inheritance of their children. In order to ensure that their children came from their own blood, the concept of chastity was further strengthened, even to a terrifying degree.
For some European countries, the introduction of Christianity had a great impact on the establishment of the concept of chastity. For example, the ancient Romans and Greeks originally adopted a free and indulgent attitude towards sex and regarded it as a matter of course. However, the continuous penetration and influence of Christianity gradually caused obvious changes in social customs and moral concepts. With the changes, the focus of the new Christian teachings is on the physical chastity and abstinence of men and women. This idea has a great influence on all aspects of social life, especially on sexual life. In fact, it is not just Christianity that promotes and implements chastity. Egypt and other Eastern countries already had the concept of chastity long before the birth of Christianity. However, since the Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire adopted Christianity as their official religion in the fourth century after the death of Christ, Christianity has spread rapidly. Coupled with people's awe and worship of the official religion, it will inevitably gain dominance throughout Europe. , which of course includes all its teachings and concepts.
However, the requirements for chastity in early Christian teachings were not as harsh and unreasonable as they were later. Augustine had a famous discussion about this. In 410 AD, the Visigoths who invaded from the south captured the city of Rome and raped, burned and killed many people. Many people who practiced devoutly in the monasteries were brutally raped by the invaders. At that time, many fierce ascetics in the church accused these nuns of losing their virginity, being "unclean people" and blaspheming God, and they should be expelled from the church as prostitutes. Augustine argued that the lust of others cannot cause a person to lose her virginity, because chastity is an inner virtue. As long as the person being raped has a chaste character in her heart, she cannot be considered to have lost her virginity due to rape; on the contrary, if her inner virtue If she does not have the character of chastity and regards sexual intercourse as a kind of carnal desire, then she has actually lost her virginity even if she has not been raped.
Augustine’s argument certainly has a lot of rationality. However, this is not because he has relaxed his requirements for women's chastity, but because he emphasizes using God's will of respect, faith, and hope to fully control one's worldly desires. He emphasized that morality is the comprehensive control of a person's will over himself. To be moral, one must despise carnal desires and the pursuit of material life. ——This series of his expositions became the theoretical basis of religious theology in later generations.
A woman's virginity is ultimately maintained for her husband (or future husband), and it can be divided into three aspects: chastity before marriage, chastity after marriage and chastity as a widow.
Abstinence and "circumcision"
Women should not be interested in sex. This is the foundation of chastity. "Sex is the devil", so men should also be vigilant about it. The Christian Church has always promoted abstinence and believed that the best tools for achieving this goal were the whip and the rod. Hermits, monks, and nuns often whipped each other crazily, believing that they could whip the devil out of their bodies. In some monasteries, if a monk is found alone with a woman and talking intimately, he will be punished by fasting for two days or being whipped with two hundred lashes.
The 16th-century historian St. Gregory wrote in the book "History of the Franks" that two senators in the Frankish region each had an only son and daughter and were engaged to each other. On the wedding day, the young couple were brought to the wedding bed. The bride faced the wall and cried, and according to custom, her husband thought it was all natural. He routinely asked her why she was crying, but the bride's answer surprised him. She said that even if she cried for a whole life, her tears could not wash away her sorrow, because she was determined to keep her "little, manless" child. She had dedicated her “defiled body” to Christ, and now she denounced her broken promise to become a mortal wife. She was extremely worried about her "tragic fate" and cried out these words. Finally, the groom was deeply moved and announced: "If she wants to give up carnal desires, I have no objection." The bride was extremely grateful, and they held hands with her. They fell asleep holding hands, thus preserving their virginity and enjoying the marriage bed until death. The story became legendary, and St. Gregory seems to have been convinced of it, describing it all in his book with great enthusiasm.
If the above are some "special cases", then "circumcision" on women was a common phenomenon in many regions and ethnic groups in ancient times. The purpose of "circumcision" is to seal a woman's vulva so that men cannot "enter", thereby maintaining the woman's chastity; or to cut off the woman's sexually sensitive parts, so that they lose their sexual desire, so as to maintain their chastity. This practice was widespread in ancient Arabia, Egypt, and East Africa.
For example, some tribes in East Africa practice a kind of chastity protection for girls who have reached puberty: they cut their labia majora on both sides, and then make them lie in a fixed position for a long time until the wounds on both sides heal. Together, the vagina is completely closed, but a small tube is inserted into it to drain urine and menstrual blood. A small part of it is cut open when getting married, and it is completely cut before giving birth, but once the delivery period is over, it is done again, sealing most of the vagina.
There is also a kind of "circumcision" that cuts off part of the female genitals, clitoris, and labia (mainly the labia minora). It is believed that this can dull their sexual sensitivity. Girls in these places are circumcised when they are eight to twelve or thirteen years old. Among the 15 ethnic groups in East Africa, about 9 have the custom of "circumcision". There are many methods of circumcision. Some tribes put a needle through the clitoris, pull it up with a thread, and cut it with a razor. As for the labia, they are stretched by force and cut off from their roots with a razor or glass fragments. Of course, being "circumcised" is as painful as being tortured, and some people even faint during the process. After circumcision, wash the wound with cold water and apply milk. They must sleep in another isolated hut until their wounds heal.
Of course women are forced to endure such tremendous pain. This is not at all out of their own needs, but out of men's need for women's chastity.
2. Pre-marriage virginity test and right of first night
Pre-marriage virginity test was popular in ancient times, that is, the husband or relatives and friends checked whether the newly married wife was healthy, that is, whether the husband had the "right of first use". Since a woman is an item used by men, she should be a "new item". If it is a "used item", even if it has only been used by others once, the price will be greatly "diminished". At the same time, this is not just an issue of the "value" of items, but also involves the fact that if a woman is unchaste before marriage, she will not be reliable after marriage; since she has had sexual intercourse with others before marriage, the first child born after marriage will A child is also likely to be a "bastard". In the process of human beings' transition from group marriage to individual marriage, some tribes had the practice of "killing the first son" because the remnants of group marriage still existed at that time. Women's premarital sex was not uncommon, but individual marriage and private ownership still existed. The inheritance of property requires that the children must come from the male bloodline. Therefore, in order to prevent the first child born after the wife marries from being a "bastard", the children are killed indiscriminately.
Since ancient times, there have been many methods of virginity testing and identification before marriage, many of which are absurd and unscientific.
For example, the groom of the Hungarian Zygner people will ask the bride to step barefoot on a small round plate made of the linden tree on the wedding night. There are pictures on both sides of the circular plate: the outer circle on one side is painted with a lock shape, which means that the wife is locked by her husband; the two cross towers represent misfortune, the middle circle symbolizes lust, the snake below symbolizes the tempter, and the bottom tower , indicating that the husband monitors his wife's chastity on the tower. The flower painted on the other side symbolizes love, and the two sticks below symbolize punishment for those who forget love and betrayal. They believe that if a girl who loses her virginity steps on this board, there will be disaster immediately.
There are also some Zygna people. On the wedding night, the groom will put the heads of three peeled magpies on boxwood branches and hide them under the bride's pillow. They think that if the wife is pure, she can sleep peacefully. He would confess his past infidelity in gibberish.
The method of virginity testing in the Bible is to "make the woman stand before the Lord with her hair disheveled" and let her hold a "vegetarian osprey mold" made of barley flour and other items in her hand. The gray courtyard is full of love and affection, and the poisonous skin is just right. 羰芪鏏洚簿琶琷⒄stop笸制娟! 妐 robbery 狠壣堁偗旗廾廖拗行mu穩笩禾皋?
Mexican Toto people at the engagement ceremony , the fiancée has to sit on a new chair to show that she is chaste and innocent.
After the ceremony of confession of chastity, the real marriage will soon take place. On the wedding night, the groom actually tests the bride's chastity. If she is proven to be chaste, the marriage will be finalized. If she is found to be "unchaste", the marriage will be aborted.
If a woman is not considered to be a good person when she is newly married, the end will often be very tragic.
"Old Testament·Deuteronomy" says: "If a newly married woman is not a woman, she should be stoned to death." "Old Testament·Leviticus" also stipulates: "Any daughter of a priest must be stoned to death." , If someone commits adultery, he should be burned to death."
In some areas of Afghanistan, the worship of "Luohong" has always been popular. If the "Luohong" is not seen during the first intercourse of a newlywed, it is regarded as a crime. If a woman is unchaste, the groom can divorce her or even put her to death. The woman's family must not raise any objections, and the bride's sister must be sent to replace her. If there is no sister to replace her, a large amount of property must be compensated. To express apology.
The Urattan tribe in Kerala, southern India, will lock the bride in a disgusting toilet for a night if it is proved that she is not a real person. The bride will often faint in the excrement pool, which is said to be It's the punishment she deserves.
Since women have been reduced to men’s vassals, playthings and private property, and since the “treasure” of chastity is so precious, some rich and powerful men not only want to possess their wives’ “ "treasures", and to possess more "treasures". Some people are keen to pay several times the price for prostitutes and "pregnant" them, which is a reflection of this mentality. The right of first night, which prevailed for a long period in ancient times, is also closely related to this. The issue of right of first night is relatively complex and needs to be analyzed in detail.
In ancient times, there was a custom that the bride must be enjoyed by a man other than the groom on the first night of her first marriage, and her body must be "broken" by other men. The Japanese scholar Nikaido Shikaku, who once wrote the book "The Right to the First Night", defined the right to the first night as: "When getting married, one or more men have the custom of sleeping with the bride first and then the groom." It also includes the custom of a woman who has reached the mastery stage or is about to reach the mastery stage to have her virginity tried by a specific person before getting married. "It is really a shame and shame for the bride to have her virginity done by a man other than the groom on the first night. , is a very typical oppression, possession and play of women. This is something that no modern person can tolerate. But this kind of thing was popular in many parts of the world for a long period of time; looking at European historical archives, several countries still did not eliminate this legacy until the 18th century, and some Russian landowners still exercised it until the end of the 19th century. The right of first night. Until now, this phenomenon still exists in a few uncivilized tribes in the world.
In the Middle Ages in Europe, enjoying the bride's first night became the right of the ruler, a means of possessing everything belonging to the serfs and playing with women. The nature of the "right of the first night" completely changed. . To feudal lords, young girls among serfs were equal to prostitutes and unspecified concubines. France calls the "right of the first night" the "right of spreading the thighs," and this custom has been preserved for centuries.
In the kingdom ruled by the German Emperor Charlemagne, young girls among the serfs lived in the lord's front room and were allowed to "break melons". In a proclamation issued by the Zurich Cantonal Assembly in 1538, it said: "The owner of the territory-the lord has the right to spend the night with the bride of the peasants (small tenants, serfs) in the territory who are about to marry, and the groom is also obliged to provide the bride. To the lord. If he is not willing, the groom has to pay the lord a compensation of about 4.3 marks. "In Bain, Germany, the compensation paid by the bride to the lord is a cauldron that can hold the buttocks." "as heavy as the hip" cheese, and the groom must pay the lord a fine tunic or blanket. This kind of compensation is the so-called "marriage tax". In Germany, this kind of "first night right" compensation is called "Kong Shou Qian", "New Bed Money", "Jiyin Gold", "Female Gold", "Navel Money". generation". If the above "obligations" are not fulfilled, the marriage cannot be recognized by the notary and the lord's permission cannot be obtained. This is really an ugly page in human history.
In addition, some transfers of first night rights are in the nature of exchange of interests. There is a record in the book "Black Sexuality": "African tribes living near the equator have a custom of publicly auctioning girls' first night rights. When their girls reach maturity, their first night rights must be sold to the buyer. Girls. The whole body is wrapped in clothes, and is carried around the tribe, and then kneels under the umbrella in the tribe's square. The onlookers can spend the night with the girl for an appropriate price. "In this way, the price for selling the right to the first night becomes. A girl's dowry. In addition, in order to avoid the invasion of neighboring tribes, tribes in southern Sudan give the right of first night to the elders of neighboring tribes.
3. Close the woman's heart and body
In ancient China, there was a saying that "men and women are not intimate when giving and receiving". The theory of "conferring" is also a common phenomenon in many ancient countries to prevent women from "losing their virginity".
For example, in ancient Persia, girls were not allowed to see any men after the age of seven; after getting married, they could only live in their husband's "back room" and were not allowed to be seen by any man other than her husband. When the wife has to go out, she must cover her whole body with clothes and cover her face with four layers of veil. If you are a lady, you have to sit in an airtight car.
The more tightly a husband restrains his wife, the more respected he is by people, because this is a noble sign that he cares about his wife's chastity and helps her keep it.
In ancient Greece, which is known as enlightened, in the city-state era, the status of women was still almost the same as that of slaves. It was a wife’s bounden duty to strictly observe chastity and be absolutely loyal to her husband. In order to keep her virginity, she could only be kept in the inner chamber, and could not interact with the opposite sex, nor could she participate in receiving her husband's guests, otherwise she would be regarded as a prostitute. Ancient Greek thinkers also gave admonitions: Whether she is a married woman, she should be careful at all times even in the boudoir. If a man peeks out of the window, she should feel infinite shame, retreat immediately, reflect on herself, and use the net Wash your face with water.
When the people of Tlaxcala in ancient Mexico got married, both men and women had to shave their heads to show that "from now on they would give up any activities that young people engage in."
In ancient India, male doctors were also strictly restricted from treating female patients. Women must wear masks, and doctors are not allowed to have direct contact with women. Especially when entering the palace to treat female patients, the doctor's head must be covered, and the concubines in the palace are never allowed to see male doctors. When treating a disease, the doctor must stand outside the curtain, and the condition must be diagnosed through a stethoscope connected outside the curtain, and a maid will place one end of the stethoscope on the concubine's chest and chest, which is a bit like pulling a string to diagnose the pulse. Of course, it is difficult to see a doctor well in this way.
Probably nothing that imprisons and locks up women to a cruel and absurd degree is the chastity belt. This is an extremely barbaric "invention" that appeared in the European Middle Ages and tortured women. Its purpose is also to force women to abide by their chastity for men.
The so-called chastity belt is mainly made of two pieces of iron, leaving a hole for urination and defecation, and is a shackle-like thing locked on a woman's lower body. The husband holds the key and can only have sexual intercourse by opening the lock of the chastity belt and removing the belt. In this way, when the husband is away, the wife can be "at ease". There is a section in Rabelais's "The Story of Pat Krul": "When I leave home, I will always ask my wife to wear a Bergamo lock, so as not to give the opportunity to perverts." This "Bergamot" The "Argamore Lock" is the chastity belt. It can also be called the "Venice Belt", "Florence Belt", "Italian Belt", "Vienna Belt", etc.
Researchers speculate that chastity belts appeared in Europe after the 12th century and were used until the 17th and 18th centuries. In other words, this item was popular in the dark Middle Ages in Europe. There are many different opinions about the origin of this product. Some people say that it was brought back from the Arab harem when the Crusaders invaded Arabia. Some people say that it was invented by Venetian and Bergamo merchants who were away from home for a long time to prevent their wives from being unfaithful. .
Is this kind of chastity belt effective in forcing women to "keep chastity" for their husbands? Many medieval novels and poems have described the story of this chastity belt. Many aristocratic women bribed locksmiths and arranged their own keys. When their husbands were not around, they could open the locks and have sex with their lovers at any time. In a copper engraving, there is a woman wearing a chastity belt and a man. The woman reaches out to a man with one hand and holds a money bag in the other hand in a supplication. The man is holding a key, presumably a locksmith. There was also a maid rummaging through clothes. There are four lines of poetry next to this picture, to the effect of: "No lock can lock a cunning woman, and there is no woman's loyalty without love; for this reason, I use your money to buy the key that I don't have." There is also a line. A French painting depicts a man who is about to travel and puts a chastity belt on his wife. In one corner of the picture, a man is shown holding a key and hiding behind a tent; in the other corner, a fool is shown covering a basket of lice with a cloth, implying that the man's behavior is the same as that of the fool who was unable to contain the lice. For some time, the "transfer of keys" has been one of the satirical themes of European satires and satirical paintings.