Marriage Ancient China

In recent years, marriage has become not only a relationship with one man and one woman, but in America same sex couples and men who have multiples wives are able to wed as well. Indian and Japanese men and women are able to wed through an arrangement of both families. In ancient China, Chinese couples also had arranged marriages, but in modern times the tradition has faded. Although the way people get married is different a woman’s role in the marriage is similar culture to culture throughout ancient India, China, and Japan, divorce is a common practice in American now, but thousands of years ago there were still laws and criticisms among couples in Indian and Chinese Civilizations preventing such action, and life after a death of a husband was nonexistent to women in Chinese Civilizations. A woman’s role in marriage does not only include: cooking, cleaning, bearing children, but also respecting their husbands. Respect can mean many different things and can be show in many different ways. The Laws of Manu, Manu being a sole survivor of a flood, are not legal, but more of an Indian culture for dummies type of book. People read and learn from the law instead of abiding by them. Not only does the Law of Manu say, “Let the husband employ his wife…in keeping everything clean…” (38), but also “if a wife obeys her husband, she will for that reason alone be exalted in heaven.”(38) Indian women must still do the house work, but also they must obey their husbands and in return heaven awaits them. If obedience is not accomplished women according to Law of Manu will be “tormented by diseases as punishment for her sin” (38). A woman, Ban Zhao, wrote an advice manual for Chinese women called Lessons for Women. Zhao writes about husbands and wives and describes their relationship together like Yin and Yang. The couple is opposite forces bound together and creates each other. Not only does a woman have to serve her husband, but a husband must control his wife as