The history of marriage - Alex Gendler

Translator: yu ching leung Reviewer: Aubrey Cheng

There have been many different things

關於婚姻，

written and said about marriage.

有好多唔同記錄同講法

From the sweetly inspirational

由甜蜜勵志

to the hilariously cynical.

到幽默諷刺

But what many of them have in common

但佢哋都有共通點

is that they sound like they express

就係聽起嚟都表達緊

a universal and timeless truth,

一個普遍同永恆嘅真相

when in fact nearly everything about marriage,

事實上，所有關於婚姻嘅事情

from its main purpose

由佢嘅主要目的

to the kinds of relationships it covers

到佢所涵蓋嘅關係種類

to the rights and responsibilities involved,

再到涉及嘅權利同責任

has varied greatly between different eras,

喺唔同時代，文化同社會階級

cultures and social classes.

有好大差異

So, let's take a quick look at

所以，等我哋快啲睇睇

the evolution of marriage.

婚姻嘅演變

Pair bonding and raising children

形成配偶關係同養兒育女

is as old as humanity itself.

就同人類本身一樣咁古老

With the rise of sedentary agricultural societies

隨住定居農業社會嘅興起

about 10,000 years ago,

大約10,000 年前

marriage was also a way

婚姻都係一個方法

of securing rights to land and property

確保土地同財產權

by designating children born under certain circumstances

透過指定喺某啲情況下出世嘅小朋友

as rightful heirs.

作為指定繼承人

As these societies became larger and more complex,

隨住社會變得更大、更複雜

marriage became not just a matter

婚姻唔單止係一件

between individuals and families,

個人同家庭之間嘅事情

but also an official institution

仲係一個官方機構

governed by religious and civil authorities.

由宗教同民事管理

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

喺西元前2100年已經發展完善

when the earliest surviving written laws

喺最早嘅現存成文法律

in the Mesopotamian Code of Ur-Nammu

provided many specifics governing marriage,

提供咗好多婚姻嘅具體規定

from punishments for adultery

由通姦嘅懲罰

to the legal status of children born to slaves.

到奴隸所生嘅仔女嘅法律地位

Many ancient civilizations allowed some form of

好多古代文明都允許某種形式嘅

multiple simultaneous marriage.

多重同時婚姻

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

甚至今時今日，世界上幾百種唔同文化入面

hundreds of different cultures prohibit it.

只有不夠四分之一禁止噉做

But just because something was allowed

但僅僅因為事情被允許

doesn't mean it was always possible.

並唔代表佢係一直有可能嘅

Demographic realities,

人口現實狀況

as well as the link between marriage and wealth,

以及婚姻同財富之間嘅連結

meant that even though rulers and elites

意味住即使統治者同精英

in Ancient Mesopotamia,

喺美索不達米亞

Egypt and Israel

埃及同以色列

had multiple concubines or wives,

有多個妾侍或妻子

most commoners could only afford one or two

大多數平民都只可以負擔一至兩個

tending towards monogamy in practice.

喺實踐中傾向一夫一妻制

In other places, the tables were turned,

喺其他地方，情況啱啱調轉

and a woman could have multiple husbands

一個女人可以有多個丈夫

as in the Himalayan Mountains

好似喺喜馬拉雅山脈噉

where all brothers in a family

一個家庭嘅所有兄弟

marrying the same woman

娶咗同一個女人

kept the small amount of fertile land

保留一小部分肥沃嘅土地

from being constantly divided into new households.

以免不斷地被分成新嘅家庭

Marriages could vary

婚姻可能會有所不同

not only in the number of people they involved

唔單止喺涉及嘅人數上

but the types of people as well.

仲可能係人嘅類型

Although the names and laws for such arrangements

雖然叫法同法律嘅安排

may have differed,

可能有啲唔同

publicly recognized same-sex unions

公眾認可嘅同性結合

have popped up

突然出現

in various civilizations throughout history.

喺歷史上嘅各個文明入面

Mesopotamian prayers included blessings for such couples,

美索不達米亞祈禱包含對情侶嘅祝福

while Native American Two-Spirit individuals

而美洲原住民雙魂嘅個體

had relationships with both sexes.

同兩性都有關係

The first instances of such arrangements

呢類安排嘅首例

actually being called "Marriage"

其實被稱為「婚姻」

come from Rome,

嚟自羅馬

where the Emperors Nero and Elagabalus

尼祿皇帝同埃拉伽巴盧斯皇帝

both married men in public ceremonies

都舉行公開儀式同男人結婚

with the practice being explictly banned

呢種做法喺西元342年

in 342 A.D.

被明確禁止

But similar traditions survived

但類似嘅傳統

well into the Christian era,

直到基督教時代仍然存在

such as Adelphopoiesis,

例如契親

or "brother-making" in Orthodox churches,

或者東正教教堂中嘅「上契兄弟」

and even an actual marriage between two men

甚至兩個男人之間嘅實際婚姻

recorded in 1061 at a small chapel in Spain.

根據1061年一間西班牙嘅小教堂

Nor was marriage even necessarily

婚姻都唔一定

between two living people.

係喺兩個在生嘅人之間

Ghost marriages,

冥婚

where either the bride or groom were deceased,

即係新娘或新郎過咗身

were conducted in China

曾經喺中國進行過

to continue family lineages

為咗延續家族血統

or appease restless spirits.

或安撫不安嘅靈魂

And some tribes in Sudan maintain similar practices.

蘇丹嘅一啲部落都保留住類似嘅習俗

Despite all these differences,

儘管存在所有呢啲差異

a lot of marriages throughout history

但歷史上有好多婚姻

did have one thing in common.

都有一個共通點

With crucial matters

喺至關重要嘅事情

like property and reproduction at stake,

例如財產同生育等重大議題上

they were way too important

佢哋太過重要

to depend on young love.

不能依賴年輕嘅愛情

Especially among the upperclasses,

尤其係喺上層階級入面

matches were often made by families or rulers.

婚姻往往係由家族或統治者促成嘅

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

對普通人嚟講，就算叫做有得揀

the main concern was practicality.

主要關注嘅係實用性

The modern idea of marriage

現代嘅婚姻思想

as being mainly about love and companionship

主要係關於愛同陪伴

only emerged in the last couple of centuries.

是直到最近幾個世紀先出現

With industrialization,

隨著工業化嘅發展

urbanization

都市化

and the growth of the middle class

同隨住中產階級嘅成長

more people became independent

越來越多人變得獨立

from large extended families

嚟自大家庭

and were able to support

並且能夠獨立

a new household on their own.

養活一個新家庭

Encouraged by new ideas

受到啟蒙運動

from the Enlightenment,

新觀念嘅鼓舞

people began to focus

人類開始專注喺

on individual happiness and pursuits,

個人嘅幸福同追求上

rather than familial duty or wealth and status,

而唔係家庭責任或財富同地位

at least some of the time.

至少喺某啲時候

And this focus on individual happiness

呢種對個人幸福嘅關注

soon led to other transformations,

好快就導致其他轉變

such as easing restrictions on divorce

就好似放寬離婚限制

and more people marrying at a later age.

以及越來越多人遲婚

So, as we continue to debate the role and definition

所以，當我哋繼續爭論婚姻

of marriage in the modern world,

喺現今世界中嘅作用同定義嗰陣

it might help to keep in mind

請好好記住

that marriage has always been shaped by society,

婚姻一直係由社會塑造嘅

and as a society's

隨住社會嘅

structure, values and goals

結構、價值觀同目標

change over time,

隨着時間嘅推移而變化

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

婚姻觀念都會隨之不斷改變