In fact, in ancient times, it was not uncommon or even very common to abolish the concubines and establish the concubines, which violated the traditional inheritance order, but it was extremely difficult and could cause great disasters. Under the patriarchal system at that time, under the tradition of adhering to the primogeniture system, if you really wanted to abolish the long and young and abolish the concubine, it would have to pay a price, after all, this was an act that violated the rules of the patriarchal etiquette. With the change of the times, the qualifications of Shuzi for the inheritance of the family business are also changing, and in general, the more relaxed they are.
First, before the Song Dynasty, it was extremely difficult to let Shu chu inherit the family property, because it was necessary to be guilty; second, if the concubine was guilty or seriously ill, the concubine had the opportunity to inherit the family property; third, after the Song Dynasty, especially in the Ming and Qing dynasties, the concubine could legitimately participate in the division of the family property.
"Lizi is not long to be long, and li concubine is not to be virtuous", which is the core of the ancient patriarchal inheritance rules, the specific meaning is that if there is a concubine, it must be given priority to let the concubine inherit, more than one concubine is divided according to the eldest and youngest, if there is no concubine, a group of heirs first consider their birth mother status, and then consider the age. Under the patriarchal system, no one can challenge the inheritance qualifications of the eldest son, even if the eldest son is dimwitted and incompetent, even if the eldest son is not suitable for inheriting the family property in terms of personal qualifications, he is still the highest priority heir.
"Tang Law Neglect Discussion"
In order to maintain the inheritance qualifications of the eldest son, not only did there be a ceremonial tradition such as a patriarchal system, but successive dynasties also clarified relevant laws and regulations to protect this. For example, the Tang Dynasty's "Tang Laws and Regulations" clearly stated that "those who break the law will be punished for one year." In ancient times, unless the wife was over fifty years old and could no longer have children, it was allowed to be a concubine. The order of succession is the eldest son, the eldest grandson, the eldest son of the concubine, the brother of the mother, the son of the eldest son, the son of the firstborn son of the same mother, and the grandson. Before the Song Dynasty, not only was the order of succession clearly stipulated, but if the relevant rules of inheritance order were violated, it was punishable and criminalized.
The distinction between concubines and heirs is mainly derived from their mothers, whose mother is the right wife, and whose mother may be a concubine, a side chamber, a slave, or even a concurrence. No matter what the identity of the mother of the heir, it cannot be compared with the right wife, taking the concubine room as an example, the main wife needs three books and six ceremonies to marry the media, and the concubine entry only needs to be "accepted", that is, it only costs money. In a family, the status of concubines is indeed the master relative to other servants, but relative to the master and the wife, they are still slaves, and the status of the heirs cannot be compared with that of the concubines.
Under the ancient system of inheritance of the eldest son who only recognized the ability of the body, even if the eldest son himself had a big problem, it could not negate his absolute priority inheritance, for example, when Sima Yan wanted to come and go, he finally passed the throne to Sima Zheng, who "why not eat meat", because Sima Zheng was the eldest son born to the empress of the palace, even if his intelligence was worrying. However, the concubine may also lose the right to inherit, such as the concubine is seriously ill, the incurable serious illness and has no heirs, or the concubine commits a felony, in which case it is naturally the turn of the concubine.
Sima Yan
In ancient times, the honor and inferiority of concubines were clear, regardless of status or property, it had always been the exclusive use of concubines, and it was difficult to eat meat and drink soup, and during the Wei and Jin dynasties, the heirs were not even allowed to call their fathers "fathers", but could only be called "adults" and other honorific titles. Some people think that if the owner of the house loves Shu out, then wouldn't it be better to depose the right wife and then help the right wife out? Don't even think about it. In ancient times, even if the right wife was divorced, it was also another wife, the concubine room could not be straightened out, and the concubine was still a concubine in terms of heirs. In the five dynasties and two Song dynasties, the situation of the shu out, which had been harshly treated for thousands of years, began to change, and the heirs of the shu out began to participate in the division of family property, but the proportion that could be divided was not much.
After the Song Dynasty, especially in the Ming and Qing dynasties, this series of regulations was basically inherited, and in addition to the fact that the heirs could not inherit titles and preside over the rituals of sacrifice, such as property inheritance, they could legitimately participate. Even at that time, illegitimate heirs born out of wedlock were able to share a certain amount of property. In ancient times, it was not that it was impossible to abolish the concubines and abolish the long and young, but that the cost was too high. For example, King You of Zhou abolished Lishu and Western Zhou perished; the rebellion of Li Ji of the Jin Dynasty was also related to the abolition of Lishu, and so on. Even in the Ming and Qing dynasties, no matter how favored the concubine was, no matter how much the owner of the family had the heart, it was basically impossible to replace the concubine's inheritance qualification while the concubine was still there.