唐律“四十九以下无子,未合出之”规定新探

New Interpretation of the Regulation "Wife under 49 Years Old Shall not Be Discarded Due to Her Infertility" in the Code of Tang Dynasty

无子出妻为礼法关系演变诸多环节之一,其重要意义自不待言。古人基于医学理论的发展和对生命规律的重视,无子出妻一制至唐,吸收了医学中女性"七七之数"和易经中"大衍之数"以规定出妻年限,其所反映的"风险的分化与规律的尊重"、"基于善与恶的设想"、"生产的选择与淘汰"三层合理性,正是唐律一准乎礼,而礼又因人情的表现。

＂Discarding one＇s wife due to her infertility＂,as a regulation,it played a key role in the evolution of the relationship prescribed by the rules of etiquette.Great importance has been attached to it.In Tang Dynasty,based on the development of medical theories and the stress on the rule of life,our ancestors absorbed the medical theory about ＂seven times seven＂ and ＂the universal number of heaven and earth＂ in the Book of Change,hence prescribed the minimal age of the wife discarded by her husband.The prescription reflects the ideas such as ＂partaking the risk and respecting the rule＂,＂assumption based on the conception of good and evil＂,＂selection and elimination of procreation＂,and these rational ideas show that the Code of Tang Dynasty is based on the rules of etiquette,while etiquette depended upon human relationships.