Same-surname marriage

Same-surname marriage is the marriage of two people of the same surname. Historically, same-surname marriage was considered a taboo or prohibited in China and other East Asian cultures influenced by China.

Same-surname marriage
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese同姓不婚
Literal meaningSame surname, no marriage
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabetMiễn là cùng họ
Korean name
Hangul동성동본
Hanja同姓同本
Literal meaningSame surname, same ancestor
Japanese name
Kanji同姓不婚

China

In ancient China, a policy against same-surname marriage was first instituted during the Western Zhou. In his interpretation of the Book of Rites, philosopher Zheng Xuan compared same-surname marriage to zoophilia, and called it blasphemous; this indicated the seriousness of the Zhou dynasty's opposition to it.[1] Confucianism opposed same-surname marriage because it thought that it would lead to weakness in reproduction of offspring. Both the Guoyu and the Zuo zhuan attributed the lack of same-surname couples to concerns with their offspring.[2]: 22–23 

Although Confucianism opposed same-clan name marriage, the taboo did not originate from Confucianism, and opposition to same-clan name marriage later gained support outside Confucianism. Same-surname marriage formed part of the system of opposite-sex marriage in traditional Chinese marriage, where men and women within the same extended family were not permitted to marry, just as is the case in many patriarchal societies.[3]

The Han dynasty did not have any statute prohibiting marriage between men and women of the same surname. Wang Mang's marriage to Empress Wang, the daughter of Wang Xian, indicates that same-surname marriage was not socially unacceptable during that period, if the couple do not share the same kin. Emperor Xiaowen reintroduced a law prohibiting same-surname marriage during the Northern Wei, with a usual penalty of capital punishment. Tang dynasty law continued to treat same-surname marriage as a crime, punishable by two years of imprisonment.[3] The Ming and Qing dynasties inherited the prohibition on same-surname marriage from Tang dynasty law; the prohibition was abolished towards the end of the Qing dynasty via judicial reforms, allowing men and women of the same surname and different kin to marry.[2]: 22  In 1950, the People's Republic of China passed its New Marriage Law, which reduced restrictions on same-surname marriage to lineal blood relatives.[4]

Korea
Main article: Article 809 of the Korean Civil Code

Taiwan

According to statistics from the Ministry of the Interior as of 2014, there are 174,350 same-surname couples in Taiwan, including one couple with the same surname and given name.[5]

Vietnam

Law during the early part of the Lê dynasty included a provision prohibiting same-surname marriage, similar to the legal provision in China.[6] The phrase Miễn là cùng họ ("as long as the same surname") is often used.[7]

References
  1. 牟潤孫 (1990). 海遺雜著 (in Chinese). Hong Kong: Chinese University Press. p. 166. ISBN 978-962-201-407-7.
  2. Ip, King Tak (2014). 儒家家庭價值的應用與生物科技倫理. International Journal of Chinese & Comparative Philosophy of Medicine (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). 12 (1). doi:10.24112/ijccpm.121554. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  3. 柳立言, ed. (2008-10-20). 中國史新論：法律史分冊 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 聯經出版事業公司. pp. 130–131. ISBN 978-957-08-3328-7.
  4. Croll, Elisabeth (1981-02-12). The Politics of Marriage in Contemporary China. Cambridge University Press. p. 80. ISBN 978-0-521-23345-3.
  5. 管婺媛. "真愛無禁忌 同姓結婚17萬對". China Times (in Chinese). Retrieved 2022-02-18.
  6. 法理学, 法史学 (in Chinese (China)). 中国人民大学书报资料中心. 2003. p. 71.
  7. ""Miễn là cùng họ" thì cả trăm đời vẫn không thể lấy nhau" (in Vietnamese). March 12, 2018.
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