Banning concubines/buying women

Gender Reforms Within the
​​​​​​​Taiping Rebellion

Banning concubines and the buying of women

The Taipings banned concubinage and the buying of women to enforce their Christian moral beliefs about monogamous marriage and to promote stricter social equality between genders.

Traditional China

In traditional China, men often bought concubines, and arranged marriages treated women as property exchange between families. These practices reinforced a patriarchal system in which women had little control over their lives or social status.

"I have seen comely young maidens from twelve to twenty years of age, offered for sale...from 6 to 30 dollars."                                                                  Augustus Lindley, Ti-Ping Tien-Kwoh: The History of the Ti-Ping Revolution, Including a Narrative of the Author's Personal Adventures, 1866

"The most convenient source of concubines, either could be purchased in the market or could be the daughter of one of the household servants...female bondservants could be sexually used by their masters."                                      Yifeng Zhao, Concubinage in Seventeenth-Century Chinese Literature: A Historical Study of Xing-shi gin-yuan zhuan, University of Alberta, 2008

Lam Qua, The Fourth Concubine of Hexing of Hong Kong, 1864

Heavenly Kingdom reforms

The Taiping viewed concubinage and the buying of women as morally corrupt practices. Their reforms sought to reshape family life by eliminating practices that treated women as property.

Augustus Lindley, Sale of a Chinese Girl as Witnessed by the Author on the River Yang-Tse-Kiang, London Day & Son, 1866

"The prohibition of adultery and prostitution, as well as the abolition of slavery, were beneficial to women and undoubtedly helped to improve their status."                                                                                                             Yuh-Chen, The Position of Women in Taip'ing Tien-kuo, The University of British Columbia, 1971 ​​​​​​​         

When the Taiping army marched into Hupei, commander Shih Feng-kuei said:

"Prostitution should by all means be prohibited...should anyoneone indulge in immoral conduct...they shall be punished."                                                          Shih Feng-kuei in Chang Te-chien, Tse-ching hui-tsuan, 1855, in Yuh-Chen, The Position of Women in Taip'ing Tien-kuo, The University of British Columbia, 1971 ​​​​​​​    

"The Taiping prohibited adultery and prostitution mainly because of their religious doctrine."                                                                                                Yuh-Chen, The Position of Women in Taip'ing Tien-kuo, The University of British Columbia, 1971 ​​​​​​​       

Property Rights