Matrimony. Following the Han dynasty (206 B.C.E.- 220 C.E.), Chinese society developed in distinctly aristocratic directions. Family status and dowries were two determining factors of the institution of marriage during the Tang dynasty (618-907). A relatively small number of families were preeminent in social and political life. People also celebrated the top-ranking families of the aristocracy, or Wang Zhu (esteemed families), in preceding dynasties. Even when descendants of these families were poor and of low political rank, they were esteemed for their pedigree of the past. In elite marriages, family status and pedigree became the basic criteria for the selection of a potential spouse.

Finance. Marriage in imperial China normally involved some financial outlay by both the husband's and wife's families and therefore caused some redistribution of wealth. Starting from the Han dynasty, but being well established...