Gender and Property Relations in Eighteenth-Century Inner Mongolia: Records of Marriage Transactions from Qanggin-Banner (Ordos)

Abstract

Abstract The study is based on a register of changes in household affiliation, which was compiled by local authorities in Inner Mongolia during the Qing dynasty (1636–1911). The records pertain to household divisions, economic compensation in case of divorce and death, and conditions under which divorced or widowed women could (or had to) return to their families of origin. The present article makes the argument that bride-wealth and dowry were both practiced, but the legal dimension of dowry was less prominent than that of bride-wealth. With regard to property relations, gender was intersecting with other factors of social distinction, namely seniority, wealth and status. The complexity of these interactions becomes most apparent when considering the position of widows.