Abstract
Beginning in the late nineteenth century, the question of whether concubinage violated the principle of monogamy arose in legal and public debates. Late imperial views of the concubine as a minor wife continued to influence popular views of the concubine in the Republic, leading many to condemn concubinage as bigamy. Hoping to circumvent the monogamy issue, Republican jurists who wished to continue the legal tolerance of concubinage created the new category of household member. The dual identities of the concubine— as minor wife and household member— reflect social and legal responses to the challenge posed by the new meaning of monogamy and reflect the tensions both within and between law and society.
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