A Study Of The Handmaiden In Qin And Han Dynasties

The problem of slave in the Qin and Han Dynasties,has been a hot topic of the academia.In previous studies,people often take this problem as an important basis for judging the nature of the society,Since 1980 s,with a large number of bamboo slips published,many scholars have been tried to research this problem from many different angels,it sparked new upsurge and achieved a series of research results.However,there are few systematic research about the handmaidens who are the important component of the slave.Therefore,based on the predecessors’ research results,and drawing lessons from history writings and unearthed text data,this paper will make further discussion about the related issues,details are as follows:The first Chapter is “the general situation of handmaidens ”.This part mainly deals with a series of basic problems.For specifying the scope of study,the first part introduces the concept of the handmaiden;With the help of unearthed text data and ancient writings,the second part analyzes the specific methods of the handmaiden generating;For the problem about the work and the types of the handmaiden,the writer divided the different types of handmaidens by the different characters of their work,in order to highlight the difference between the ordinary handmaidens and the special handmaidens.The second chapter is “The legal status of the handmaiden”.Based on elementary literature,this part combines with unearthed literal data,and discusses the criminal type,legal rule,the relationship between handmaidens and their owners,the legal protection about the handmaid.There are strict rules of law about the slave crime,the law reflects the owner’s rights constantly;No matter the handmaiden or the owner,if one side commits the crime,the other side may be affected,of course,It also has special cases.Although the law safeguards the rights and interests of the owners,it is still has some protective regulation about the handmaiden,which reflects the human side of the law.The third chapter is “the survival circumstances of the handmaiden”.This part introduces the normal life of the handmaid.In order to highlight the miserable life situation of the ordinary handmaiden,this paper compares ordinary handmaidens with the special handmaidens.By analyzing the viewpoints of the Qin and Han Dynasties handmaiden,it reveals the humble identity of handmaidens,And then reflects the lower social status of handmaidens.The fourth chapter is “The redeem of the handmaiden”.This part contains three part: self-redeem,handmaidens were released by their owners,the official pardon.The self-redeem means,with the help of their family or their own efforts,the handmaid get rid of their slave identify.In special cases,the owners would release the handmaidens actively.For the official pardon,the writer emphasizes the official edicts about the release of handmaidens,and analyzes the reason and the purpose of these edicts.In conclusion,with discussing and analyzing the problems of the handmaiden,this paper shows the particularity of the handmaiden,and tries to further reveal the living circumstances of handmaidens.It provides reference for further exploration of the social life about women who live at the bottom of the Qin and Han Dynasties.