The history of marriage - Alex Gendler

婚姻的历史－艾里克思 亨德勒（Alex Gendler）

翻译人员: SiYan Yao 校对人员: Liang Chen

There have been many different things

已经有各种不同文字

written and said about marriage.

记录和讨论着关于婚姻的话题。

From the sweetly inspirational

从甜蜜励志的

to the hilariously cynical.

到诙谐讽刺的。

But what many of them have in common

但是他们的共同點

is that they sound like they express

是他们听上去像在表达着

a universal and timeless truth,

一个横贯中西，纵横古今的真理。

when in fact nearly everything about marriage,

而事实上，几乎所有关于婚姻

from its main purpose

从她的主要意图，

to the kinds of relationships it covers

到其中牵涉的各种关系，

to the rights and responsibilities involved,

再到与之相关的义务，

has varied greatly between different eras,

在不同的时代、

cultures and social classes.

文化和社会阶级间都大相径庭。

So, let's take a quick look at

那么，就让我们快速浏览一下

the evolution of marriage.

婚姻的演变。

Pair bonding and raising children

成家立室和养育子女

is as old as humanity itself.

就和人类本身一样历史悠久。

With the rise of sedentary agricultural societies

随着定居型的农耕社会的兴起，

about 10,000 years ago,

大约一万年前，

marriage was also a way

婚姻也是一种

of securing rights to land and property

确保土地权和财产权的方式，

by designating children born under certain circumstances

（这种方式）通过指定在某些情况下出生的孩子

as rightful heirs.

为合法继承人（来实现）。

As these societies became larger and more complex,

随着这些社会变得更大更复杂，

marriage became not just a matter

婚姻已不仅仅成为

between individuals and families,

个人和家庭间的事情，

but also an official institution

她也成为了

governed by religious and civil authorities.

由宗教和民事行政机构管辖的一种官方制度。

And it was already well established by 2100 B.C.

至公元前2100年，这种制度已经被完善地建立起来。

when the earliest surviving written laws

那个时候订立了现存最早的成文法

in the Mesopotamian Code of Ur-Nammu

并记录在美索不达米亚的乌尔纳姆法典中，

provided many specifics governing marriage,

该法律规定了许多细节来制约管理婚姻，

from punishments for adultery

从对通奸的处分

to the legal status of children born to slaves.

到出身于奴隶家庭孩子的合法身份。

Many ancient civilizations allowed some form of

许多古代文明允许

multiple simultaneous marriage.

多重婚姻制度。

And even today, less than a quarter of the world's

甚至到今日，在全世界几百种不同的文化中，

hundreds of different cultures prohibit it.

只有四分之一的文化是禁止多重配偶制。

But just because something was allowed

但是，有些事情存在

doesn't mean it was always possible.

并不代表它总是可行的。

Demographic realities,

人口的现实问题，

as well as the link between marriage and wealth,

以及婚姻和财富的连带关系，

meant that even though rulers and elites

意味着即使

in Ancient Mesopotamia,

在古代的美索不达米亚，

Egypt and Israel

埃及和以色列的

had multiple concubines or wives,

统治者和精英贵族妻妾成群，

most commoners could only afford one or two

但大部分的老百姓只负担得起一个或者两个妻子，

tending towards monogamy in practice.

所以实际情况是更趋向于一夫一妻制。

In other places, the tables were turned,

在其他一些地区，情况正好相反，

and a woman could have multiple husbands

一位女性可以有多位丈夫，

as in the Himalayan Mountains

比如在喜马拉雅山地区，

where all brothers in a family

那里有一个家庭中的所有男性

marrying the same woman

与同一名女性结了婚，

kept the small amount of fertile land

他们用婚姻保护着一小片有限而肥沃的土地，

from being constantly divided into new households.

以防止它被新成立的家庭不断分割。

Marriages could vary

婚姻可以多种多样，

not only in the number of people they involved

不仅是其参与其中的人数

but the types of people as well.

也包括人的性别类型。

Although the names and laws for such arrangements

虽然关于同性婚姻的名称和法律

may have differed,

可能有所不同，

publicly recognized same-sex unions

但是公开承认同性婚姻

have popped up

已经在

in various civilizations throughout history.

历史长河中的各种文明裡出现。

Mesopotamian prayers included blessings for such couples,

美索不达米亚的祷文中包括了为同性夫妻进行祝福，

while Native American Two-Spirit individuals

而美洲印第安的双灵人

had relationships with both sexes.

与两种性别的人都会发生关系。

The first instances of such arrangements

首例同性婚姻

actually being called "Marriage"

被实际称作为“婚姻”的情况

come from Rome,

出现在罗马，

where the Emperors Nero and Elagabalus

皇帝尼禄和埃拉伽巴路斯

both married men in public ceremonies

二人都以公开典礼的形式与男性结婚，

with the practice being explictly banned

这种行为在公元342年

in 342 A.D.

被明令禁止。

But similar traditions survived

但是，类似的传统在进入公元后

well into the Christian era,

幸免于难，

such as Adelphopoiesis,

比如滴血为盟，

or "brother-making" in Orthodox churches,

或者传统教会中的兄弟结拜，

and even an actual marriage between two men

甚至是两个男人之间实质的婚姻，

recorded in 1061 at a small chapel in Spain.

在1061年西班牙某个小礼堂的记录中都有所记载。

Nor was marriage even necessarily

婚姻甚至都不一定需要

between two living people.

发生在两个活人之间。

Ghost marriages,

冥婚，

where either the bride or groom were deceased,

就是新娘或新郎已经过世，

were conducted in China

它曾在中国出现过，

to continue family lineages

主要是为了延续家族香火

or appease restless spirits.

或者安抚死不瞑目的灵魂。

And some tribes in Sudan maintain similar practices.

另外，苏丹的一些部落延续了相似的情况。

Despite all these differences,

尽管有这些五花八门的差异，

a lot of marriages throughout history

但古今历史中的许多婚姻

did have one thing in common.

也的确有一个共同点。

With crucial matters

一些决定性的因素

like property and reproduction at stake,

比如财产和至关重要的传宗接代的问题，

they were way too important

这些因素都太重要了

to depend on young love.

以致于婚姻无法只取决于脆弱的爱情。

Especially among the upperclasses,

尤其在上流社会，

matches were often made by families or rulers.

配偶的人选常常由家庭或者统治者来决定。

But even for commoners, who had some degree of choice,

即使对于有一定选择权的普通百姓，

the main concern was practicality.

主要的考量还是实用性。

The modern idea of marriage

现代婚姻的理念，

as being mainly about love and companionship

主要围绕着爱和友谊，

only emerged in the last couple of centuries.

这种观念仅仅是在过去的几个世纪才出现的。

With industrialization,

随着工业化，

urbanization

城市化

and the growth of the middle class

以及中产阶级的涌现，

more people became independent

越来越多的人

from large extended families

从庞大的家族中独立出来，

and were able to support

并且有能力自己负担

a new household on their own.

一个新的家庭。

Encouraged by new ideas

受到来自于启蒙运动中

from the Enlightenment,

新思想的鼓舞，

people began to focus

（对于婚姻）人们开始更加注重

on individual happiness and pursuits,

个人的幸福和诉求，

rather than familial duty or wealth and status,

而不是家庭责任或财富地位，

at least some of the time.

至少有些时候是这样的。

And this focus on individual happiness

而这种对个人幸福的放大

soon led to other transformations,

很快导致了其他方面的转变，

such as easing restrictions on divorce

比如放宽对离婚的束缚

and more people marrying at a later age.

以及晚婚率的增加。

So, as we continue to debate the role and definition

所以，随着我们进一步讨论

of marriage in the modern world,

婚姻在现代社会的角色和定义时，

it might help to keep in mind

也许我们应谨记

that marriage has always been shaped by society,

婚姻始终都是社会的产物，

and as a society's

而随着社会的

structure, values and goals

结构，价值观和目标的

change over time,

不断改变，

its ideas of marriage will continue to change along with them.

其对于婚姻的定位也会随之不断进行着调整。