Restitution of Dowry in Tang Code
GAO Nan
Abstract：During the Tang Dynasty,same-status marriages were deemed legal,while marriages between individuals of different social statuses were considered illegal.In legal same-status marriages,if the woman arbitrarily sought to annul the marriage,or the man initiated the annulment,or the woman was betrothed twice,or there was a false claim of marriage,the restitution of dowry followed the principle of the party at fault bearing the corresponding economic losses.The restitution of dowry in marriages of different social statuses generally adhered to the same principle.The distinction lies in cases where a false claim of marriage occurred in a marriage between individuals of different social statuses,and the dowry equaled or exceeded the legally specified lower limit.In such cases,if the sentencing is more severe than two years of penal servitude,the offense is categorized as"maidservant's embezzlement",prosecuted under charges of"fraud"and quasi-larceny,with the severity of the sentence increasing progressively based on the dowry amount.The highest penalty is penal servitude with hard labor,second only to the death penalty.The Tang Code's regulations on the restitution of dowry in same-status and different-status marriages highlight the code's class attributes,aiming to uphold established social hierarchies and maintai
Keywords：Tang Codesame-status marriagedifferent-status marriagedowry restitution
Publication Date：2024-09-20
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-15(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：8( 27-34 )