Why did ancient women usually marry at the age of thirteen or fourteen? In some TV series, we can see ancient women being designated to marry at the age of 13.
Getting married or even giving birth at this age can cause great harm to a girl's body. Didn't the ancients know that marrying so early would hurt a girl? In fact, as early as the Western Zhou Dynasty, it was generally stipulated that women should marry at the age of 15 and men should marry at the age of 20. Although the customs of each vassal state were adjusted, they generally did not exceed this category. A 15-year-old girl is not yet a woman. In the Han Dynasty, restrictions on women were more stringent. The prescribed age is about 13 years. If the woman is not married, the family will have to bear heavy taxes. This can be said to be very unfair and cruel to girls. But why? The increase in the total population is the most important reason.
For only the total population can cope with wars and disasters of all kinds. From the Western Zhou Dynasty to the Han Dynasty, the world was in turmoil. The establishment of the Qin Dynasty was not easy, but the people's life was still bumpy. After Emperor Wu of Han ascended the throne, in order to change this situation, they wanted to force women to marry early. Because only a large population base can continuously provide an army. In ancient times there were frequent wars. In war, men are needed to fight. Every family had to send one man to fight. All men may be sacrificed at any time. Because of the poor medical environment in ancient times and the limited knowledge of treatment, the mortality rate remained high. Some small illnesses and injuries may take people's lives.
In addition, the ancients generally did not have a long lifespan, so it is very important to improve the population situation. The ancients could not wait until men and women were 18 years old and their physical and psychological conditions were fully matured after they married and had children. One of the easiest ways to perpetuate the family lineage and a larger reproductive population is to get married as soon as possible. Biologically speaking, a girl's thirteen or fourteen years of age is the age of menarche. When girls get married at this time, they will be able to add to each other immediately within one to two years of marriage. In fact, some ministers in ancient times wrote to the emperor about the dangers of women's early marriage.
But even if the emperor understood this, he would not make any changes, because the status of women in ancient times was very low, so the attitude and life of girls were irrelevant. For the better good, they don't think about the girl's ideas. In short, the early marriage of ancient women is not something we can understand, and the ancients did not understand the harm of early marriage, but there are certain historical reasons.