Due to the development of society, the evolution of slavery in China and the appearance of the good and bad system, concubines began to refer to a kind of semi-free person: born in a good family and became a member of her husband's family through purchase. This behavior is called "concubinage", but she is not a slave, and her identity still belongs to a good citizen.
Although the laws at that time prohibited handmaids (young slaves, belonging to untouchables) from becoming concubines and concubines from becoming wives directly, in fact, these laws were often violated. After the death of the first wife, if you want to be a second wife, you have to go through a heavy ceremony called righting.
Historical background:
Traditionally, in China, a man can only have one wife at the same time (the first wife), and the others are concubines. But there are also examples of concubinage before marriage. For example, Zhang Taiyan lived with Wang at 1892. After the death of the king, he married Tang Guoli, but only called the king a concubine.
In Chinese mainland, the legality of concubines ended with the establishment of the National Government of the Republic of China, but it was strictly prohibited mainly after the establishment of People's Republic of China (PRC). It is also prohibited by law in Hong Kong and Macao, otherwise it is a crime of bigamy; More specifically, it was not until 197 1 that the laws of the Qing Dynasty were completely abolished and concubinage was banned in Hong Kong.