用英語說中國家庭生活 第1期:傳統婚姻
Marriage in a Confucian Context
In Confucian thought, marriage is of grave significance both to families and to society.
儒家觀點認爲，婚姻對家族和社會有着舉足輕重的意義。Traditionally incest has been defined as marriage between people with the same surname.
傳統地說，近親聯姻是指同姓之間的婚姻。
From the perspective of a Confucian family ，marriage brings together families of different surnames and so continues the family line of the paternal clan.
從一個傳統家庭角度出發，婚姻能聯合異姓家族並且維繫父系家族的延續。This is generally why having a boy is More preferred than a girl when giving birth.
這就是爲什麼生男孩一般比生女孩更受喜愛的普遍原因。Therefore, the benefits and demerits of any marriage are important to the entire family，not just the individual couples.
因此，任何婚姻的好壞處都關乎整個家族的命運，不僅僅關乎一對夫婦的。Socially, the married couple is thought to be the basic unit of society.
社會角度出發，家庭是社會組成的基本單位。In Chinese history there have been many times when marriages have affected the country’s political stability and international relations.
中國歷史上發生過許多類似的例子，婚姻曾經影響國家的政治穩定和國際關係。From the Han Dynasty the rulers of certain powerful foreign tribes such as the Mongolians, the Manchus, the Huns, and the Turks demanded women from the Imperial family.
從唐代開始，蒙古、滿族、匈奴、突厥等各強大部落的統領都與皇室聯姻。Many periods of Chinese history were dominated by the families of the wife or mother of the ruling Emperor.
在中國史上的許多時期，家族的妻子或者統治者的母親曾統治過整個國家。Thus marriage can be related to politics.
所以婚姻和政治有聯繫。
