This book provides a comparative account of the abolition of concubinage in East Asia, offering a new perspective and revised analysis of the factors leading to - and the debates surrounding the introduction of a new Marriage Reform Ordinance in Hong Kong in 1971. It uses this law as a platform to examine how the existence of concubinage - long preserved in the name of protecting Chinese traditions and customs - crucially influenced family law reforms, which were in response to a perceived need to create a 'modern' marriage system within Hong Kong's Chinese community after the Second World War. This was, by and large, the result of continued pressure from within Hong Kong and from Britain to bring Hong Kong's marriage system in line with international marriage treaties. It represented one of the last significant intrusions of colonial law into the private sphere of Hong Kong social life, eliminating Chinese customs which had been previously recognised by the colonial legal system's family law. This book contextualizes the Hong Kong situation by examining judicial cases interpreting Chinese customs and the Great Qing Code, offering a comprehensive understanding of the Hong Kong situation in relation to the status of concubines in Republican China and other East Asian jurisdictions. It will be of particular interest to teachers and students of law, as well as researchers in gender studies, post-colonialism, sociology and cultural studies.
Contents
Part I The Issues
1 Introduction
1.1 Introduction
1.2 From Strickland Report 1953 to Marriage Reform Ordinance 1971
1.3 Literature Review
1.4 Outline of Chapters
1.5 The Sources
References
Part II Concubinage in Chinese Law and Society
2 The Meaning of T'sip in Qing Law
2.1 Introduction
2.2 The Reception of Chinese Law in Hong Kong
2.3 Difficulties in Identifying Qing Family Law Relating to a Concubine
2.3.1 The Meaning of Concubine in Qing Law.
2.4 The Institution of Concubinage: Qing Laws and Practices
2.4.1 Monogamous or Polygamous?
2.4.2 The Sources of a Concubine.
2.4.3 The Inferiority of a Concubine
2.4.4 The Second Wife or Concubine in Kim Tiu
2.4.5 Dissolution of the Institution of Concubinage
2.4.6 The Inheritance Right of the Children of a Concubine
2.4.7 Maintenance and the Appointment of a Posthumous Heir
2.5 Conclusion
References
3 Judicial Construction of T'sip in Chinese Family Law in East Asia: A Comparative Perspective
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Judicial Approaches to T'sip
3.2.1 The Application of Chinese Customary Law
3.2.2 The Status of T'sip in the GQC
3.2.3 The Elements of a Union of Concubinage
3.2.4 The Relationship Between the Principal Wife and the Concubine
3.2.5 Dissolution of a Union of Concubinage
3.2.6 Financial Support for the Concubine from Family Members After the Death of the Husband
3.2.7 Succession upon Intestacy
3.3 Conclusion
References
Part III Concubines and Colonialism
4 The Origins of the Strickland Report and the Search for the Chinese Customary Law and Custom in Hong Kong
4.1 Introduction
4.2 The Strickland Report
4.2.1 Origin
4.2.2 Discussions
4.2.3 Experts
4.2.4 Membership
4.2.5 Other Comments
4.2.6 Publication of the Report
4.2.7 Abolition of Concubinage
4.3 Post-strickland Report: Rejection of the Abolition of Concubinage in 1956
4.3.1 Submission to the Executive Council in 1952
4.3.2 Sir Man Kam Lo's Comments and the Executive Council's Decision
4.3.3 Publication of the Report and Public Consultation
4.3.4 The Disapproval of the Report in Executive Council 1956
4.3.5 Opinions from Hong Kong Council of Women
4.3.6 Opposition from Secretary for Chinese Affairs
4.4 Conclusion
References
5 The Colonial Office and the Abolition of Concubinage
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Opposition from Hong Kong Council of Women and Other Organisations
5.3 Six JPs
5.2.2 Hong Kong Council of Women
5.2.3 The YWCA in Hong Kong
5.3 The Colonial Office
5.4 Decision of the Executive Council in 1958
5.5 Ridehalgh/McDouall Report 1960
5.5.1 Social Organisations
5.5.2 Pressure from Colonial Office, Again
5.5.3 Submission of the 1960 Report to the Executive Council
5.5.4 Commentaries on the Ridehalgh/McDouall Report 1960
5.6 Final Decision: Abolition of Concubinage in 1965
5.6.1 The District Commissioner of New Territories
5.6.2 The United Nations Treaties
5.6.3 The Colonial Office, Again and Again
5.6.4 The Wind of Change in the Hong Kong Government
5.7 Conclusion
References
6 The Marriage Reform Ordinance 1971 and Its Aftermath
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Opposition from the Chinese Unofficial Members of the Executive and Legislative Councils in 1965
6.3 The International Obligations of the Hong Kong Government
6.4 Executive Council Paper 1965
6.5 McDouall/Heenan Report 1965 and White Paper on Chinese Marriages 1967
6.6 Executive Council Paper and Marriage Reform Bill 1969
6.7 Delay in London
6.8 Marriage Reform Bill 1970
6.9 Passage in the Legislative Council
6.10 Other Legislative Changes Relating to the Abolition of Concubinage
6.11 Conclusion
References
Part IV Reflections
7. Conclusion...
7.1 Conclusion.
7.2 Judicial Approach: Two Cases in the Court of Final Appeal
References
Glossary
