Did you know that Lan Shu and Hou Li can still handle their dowry? Is this plot reasonable in ancient times?

In the play, Ming Lan strives for peace and separation for Lan Shu, and finally gets rid of the vampire husband Sun Xiucai, which is not wonderful. And drove Sun Xiucai to the ground, except for the last household registration book, which was Ming Lan's plan to take away the slaves and dowry property of the Sheng family to his daughter. In addition to accompanying Lan Shu's old woman and handmaid, there were manors, shops, etc ... until she was forced to wash dishes and wash clothes by herself, and there was no income at home, Sun Xiucai finally agreed to peace talks under the witness of her elders.

So many netizens will ask, in ancient times, married daughters were like spilled water. Do divorced wives have the right to get their dowry back? If the wife dies, whose dowry is this?

In ancient times, dowry was the woman's private property, not the husband and wife's property. Legally speaking, it is impossible for the husband's family to tamper with the bride's dowry. Of course, if this is really done, the weak daughter-in-law will not shake it out, but once it gets out, it will have a very bad influence on the reputation of her husband's family. No matter whether divorcing his wife or divorcing his wife, a woman can take away her dowry. If a woman dies unexpectedly, only her own children can inherit her dowry. If there are no children, her family will also take away the dowry.

How much is the dowry of women in Song Dynasty? In fact, the play "Know No" is not exaggerated at all. According to historical records, in the Song Dynasty, there were countless brides who used land as their dowry. Before the Song Dynasty, the bride price of the man was generally higher than the dowry of the woman, but by the early Song Dynasty, the society had developed the atmosphere of preparing luxury dowry for the daughter. When Fan Zhongyan worked out expenditure rules for Yizhuang, he set aside 30 yuan to marry and 20 yuan's son to marry. Sima Guang once wrote a poignant article criticizing the phenomenon that her husband's family covets a woman's dowry: "Now those who are greedy and cheap will ask themselves the thickness of their wealth before marrying a woman, and how much they will hire before marrying a woman." This is why in the TV series, we will see that Sun Xiucai doesn't even have a servant at home, and he can still enjoy the dowry brought by Sheng Shulan.

When the Song government registered the dowry, whether the male head of household was alive or not, it was registered in the name of the male head of household. However, the government will clearly mark this property to ensure the legitimacy of its inheritance. But what would happen if the man forced himself to use the dowry of the woman?

There is another case in the history of the Song Dynasty. A woman went back to her parents' house for a while. When she came back, she found that her husband had used up all her dowry. She has no choice but to rely on her widowed sister-in-law Because the husband was the legal representative of his wife at that time, the husband who used his wife's dowry would be criticized by the society at most. After all, up to now, we can't find a case where a wife accuses her husband of using dowry. However, in one case, Shu was sentenced to go to the riverside at Qingming Festival. A husband accused his wife of stealing his property, and the judge acquitted the woman, just protecting her dowry.

Therefore, in the Song Dynasty, women's dowry was private property, so they could choose how to dispose of it, and they could also clearly point out who would inherit it, which was protected by law. But during the marriage, if the husband encroaches on his wife's dowry, the wife has to admit it. After all, this kind of thing, today, as long as the husband and wife don't tear their faces, there is no solution.