Making women martyrdom and killing "witches", no matter how cruel, always treat a few women. The problem of chastity can be said to be a very common sexual oppression of ancient women, a kind of oppression and persecution of killing people without seeing blood. This deformed concept still exists more or less in modern society.

In ancient society, women's chastity was often more important than saving their lives. The so-called conservative chastity means that women never have sex with men or only have sex with legal relationship (the only husband), otherwise it is "losing their virginity". "Infidelity" includes premarital sex, extramarital sex, remarriage and rape. This situation only applies to women, not to men. A man having sex with a woman other than his wife can only be described as "immoral" at best, but no one calls it "infidelity". The concept of chastity is a stipulation made by men to women in ancient society.

From this point of view, the concept of chastity from scratch is a great progress in human history, which plays an important historical role in breaking the sexual relationship between group marriage and hybridization, consolidating monogamous families and enabling future generations to reproduce healthily and normally. At the same time, it is a shackle unilaterally imposed on women. Since its formation, the concept of chastity has become increasingly concentrated and intensified, gradually becoming the highest social responsibility of women, and at the same time becoming a very cruel mental oppression and physical abuse of women, which needs to be criticized and denied. This is just like the formation of private ownership and the subsequent oppression and exploitation. Compared with primitive society, it is a great progress in the development of human history, but it will still be criticized and eliminated now and in the future.

After the establishment of monogamy, especially under the feudal system, patriarchal individual families based on self-sufficient small-scale peasant economy finally formed. Because such a family is single and closed, it will inevitably highlight the status of male-dominated parents in the family, and women have further become the "forbidden" and accessories of men, and no one can get their hands on them. At the same time, the establishment of patriarchal clan system makes people pay more attention to the continuation of incense and the inheritance of future generations. In order to ensure that children come from their own blood, the concept of chastity has been further strengthened and even reached an alarming level.

For some European countries, the introduction of Christianity has a great influence on the establishment of chastity concept. For example, the ancient Romans and the ancient Greeks took a free and indulgent attitude towards sex and took it for granted. However, the constant infiltration and influence of Christianity has gradually changed social customs and moral concepts. The new Christian doctrine focuses on chastity and abstinence of men and women, which has great influence on all aspects of social life, especially sexual life. In fact, it is not Christianity that advocates and practices chastity. As early as before the birth of Christianity, eastern countries such as Egypt already had the concept of chastity. However, since the fourth century after the death of Christ, after the Roman Empire and Byzantine Empire adopted Christianity as the official religion in the later period, Christianity spread rapidly. With people's awe and worship of the official religion, it will inevitably gain a dominant position in the whole of Europe, including all its doctrines and concepts.

However, the requirement of chastity in early Christianity was not as harsh and unreasonable as it was later. In this regard, Augustine had a famous exposition. In 4 10, the invading visigoths captured Rome, raped and plundered it wantonly, and many religious practitioners in monasteries were brutally raped by the invaders. At that time, many fierce ascetic monks in the church accused these nuns of losing their virginity, being "unclean people" and blaspheming God. They should be excommunicated as prostitutes. Augustine believes that the lust of others cannot make a person lose chastity, because chastity is an internal moral quality. As long as the raped person has a virtuous character in her heart, she can't be considered to have lost her virginity because of rape. On the contrary, if she has no virtue of chastity in her heart and regards sexual intercourse as a kind of sensuality, then even if she is not raped, she has actually lost her chastity.

Augustine's argument certainly has many reasonable elements. However, this is not because he relaxed the requirement of female chastity, but emphasized the overall control of his secular desires with God's respect, faith and will of hope. He emphasized that morality is a person's overall control over himself with his will. If he has morality, he must despise sensuality and the pursuit of material life. -His series of expositions became the theoretical basis of later religious theology.

In the final analysis, a woman's chastity is reserved for her husband (or future husband), which can be divided into three aspects: premarital chastity, marital chastity and widowed chastity.

Abstinence and "circumcision"

Women should not be interested in sex appeal, which is the basis of observing chastity. "Sex is the devil", so men should also be vigilant about it. The Christian church has always advocated abstinence, believing that the best tools to achieve this goal are whips and sticks. Hermits, monks and nuns often whip each other crazily. They think that only in this way can the devil be driven away from themselves. In some monasteries, once monks and women are found alone and in intimate conversation, they will be punished by fasting for two days or flogging for 200 times.

/kloc-Santigregori, a historian in the 0/6th century, wrote in his book "The History of Frank" that two senators in Frank area each had an only son and were engaged to each other. On their wedding day, the young couple were taken to the wedding bed. The bride's face was full of tears, and according to custom, the husband thought it was all natural. He asked her why she was crying as usual, but the bride's answer surprised him. She said that even if she cried all her life, tears could not wash away her sadness, because she was determined to dedicate her "small, unpolluted body" to Christ. Now she accuses herself of breaking her promise and becoming an ordinary wife. She was very worried about her "tragic fate" and said these words loudly. Finally, she moved the groom and announced, "If she wants to give up lewdness, I have no objection." The bride was so grateful that they fell asleep hand in hand, so that they kept their virginity and enjoyed the wedding bed until their death. This incident was passed down as a much-told story, and Santigregori seemed to be convinced of it and described it vividly in the book.

If the above are some "special cases", then female circumcision is a common phenomenon in many ancient regions and nationalities. The purpose of "circumcision" is to close women's vulva so that men can't "enter", thus maintaining women's chastity; Or cut off the sensitive parts of women to make them lose their sexual desire, thus maintaining chastity. This practice was widely popular in ancient Arabia, Egypt and East Africa.

For example, some tribes in East Africa practice such chastity protection for adolescent girls: cut both sides of their labia majora, and then let them lie in a fixed position for a long time until the wounds on both sides heal together, completely closing the vulva, but insert a small tube into it to discharge urine and menstrual blood. Cut a small part when you get married, and cut it completely before giving birth, but after the delivery period, you will close most of the vulva again.

Another kind of "circumcision" is to remove a part of the clitoris and labia minora (mainly labia minora) of female genitalia, which is considered to make her sexually sensitive and dull. Women in these places will be circumcised when they are eight to thirteen years old. Of the 15 races in East Africa, about 9 have the custom of "circumcision", and there are many ways to cut them off. Some tribes stick needles in the clitoris, then pull them up with thread and cut them off with a razor. As for the labia, it is stretched hard and cut off from the root with a razor or broken glass. Of course, being circumcised is as painful as being tortured, and some people even pass out in the process. After "circumcision", wash the wound with cold water and apply milk. They had to sleep in another isolated hut until the wound healed.

Of course, women have to endure such great pain, not because of their own needs, but because of men's need for female chastity.

2. The right to be a virgin before marriage and to have their first night.

In ancient times, virginity examination before marriage was popular, that is, whether the newly married wife had been examined by her husband or relatives or friends, that is, whether her husband had the "preemptive right". Since women are articles used by men, they should be "new". If it is "second-hand", even if it is only used once by others, it will be greatly "fall in price". At the same time, this is not only the "value" of goods, but also involves that if a woman is unfaithful before marriage, she will be unreliable after marriage; Since you have had sexual relations with others before marriage, the first child born after marriage is likely to be an illegitimate child. In the process of the transition from group marriage to individual marriage, some tribes have a tendency to "kill the leader" because the remnants of group marriage and hybridization still exist at that time, and women's premarital sex is also common, but the inheritance of individual marriage and private property requires that their children must come from male descent, so in order to prevent their wives from marrying their first children as "illegitimate children", they kill their children indiscriminately.

In ancient times, there were many methods of virginity examination and identification before marriage, many of which were absurd and unscientific.

For example, the groom in Cigna, Hungary, wants the bride to step barefoot on a small round board made of bodhi trees on their wedding night. There are pictures on both sides of this round plate: the outer ring of one side is painted with a lock, indicating that the wife is locked by her husband; The two cross towers indicate misfortune, the circle in the middle symbolizes lust, the snake below symbolizes seducer, and the bottom tower indicates that the husband is monitoring his wife's chastity on the tower. The flowers on the other side symbolize love, and the two sticks below symbolize the punishment for those who forget love and ingratitude. They think that when a girl who has lost her virginity sets foot on this board, there will be disaster immediately.

Cigna also has some people. On their wedding night, the groom put boxwood branches on the heads of three peeled magpies and hid them under the bride's pillow, thinking that if his wife was pure, she could sleep peacefully, otherwise she would confess the past infidelity in nonsense.

The method of virginity test in the Bible is to "ask a woman to stand before the Lord with her hair disheveled", let her hold a vegetarian meal made of barley flour and other items, force her to die in a gray yard, let her recognize her father's bridle, hold her eyes high and protect her eyes, and solemnly swear to miss her uncle and daughter. It's only a matter of time. Sorry to hang up! Close the door, rob Meng, get pregnant.

At the engagement ceremony of Toto in Mexico, the fiancee will sit in a new chair to show chastity and innocence. After the chastity confession ceremony, they will really get married soon. On the wedding night, the groom is actually testing the bride's chastity. If she is proved to be chaste, the marriage will finally be reached. If she is found to be "not chaste", the marriage will be ruined.

If a woman is considered not when she is newly married, the final result is often very tragic.

Deuteronomy in the Old Testament says, "Newly married women should be stoned to death." The Old Testament Leviticus also stipulates: "Any daughter of a priest who commits adultery should be burned to death."

In some parts of Afghanistan, the worship of "falling in love" has always been popular. Newly married women are considered unfaithful if they don't see "falling in love". The groom can divorce her and even put her to death. The woman's family must not object, and the bride's sister must be sent instead. If there is no sister instead, you must compensate a large amount of property as an apology.

The Ulatan tribe in Kerala, southern India, will put the bride in a disgusting toilet for one night. If it is proved that she is not, the bride will often faint in the cesspool, which is said to be her due punishment.

Since women have become vassals, playthings and private property of men, and since "treasure"-chastity is so precious, some rich and powerful men will not only occupy their wives' "treasure", but also occupy more "treasure". Some people are keen to spend several times the price of prostitutes, and "budding" for these prostitutes is a reflection of this psychology. The long-standing popularity of the first night right in ancient times is also closely related to this. The issue of first night's right is complicated and needs specific analysis.

There is an ancient custom that the first night of the bride's first marriage must be enjoyed by men other than the groom, and her body must be "virginized" by other men. The definition of the first night right given by Japanese scholar Yoshihito Akihisa, who once wrote the book "The First Night Right", is: "When getting married, one or more men are used to sleeping with the bride first. It also includes the habit that women who have reached or will reach the mastery period are tried by specific people before marriage. " It's a pity that the bride's first night was broken by a man other than the groom. It is a typical oppression, possession and playing with women, which any modern person can't stand. But this kind of thing has been popular in many parts of the world for a long time; Looking up the historical archives of Europe, several countries still did not eliminate this heritage until the18th century, and some Russian landlords still exercised their first night rights until the end of19th. Until now, this phenomenon still exists in a few uncivilized tribes in the world.

In the Middle Ages in Europe, enjoying the bride's first night became the right of the rulers, and it became a means to possess all serfs and play with women. The nature of "first night right" has completely changed. For feudal lords, girls among serfs were equal to prostitutes and unspecified concubines. In France, the "first night right" is called "the right to open your thighs", and this custom has been preserved for centuries.

In the kingdom ruled by Charlemagne in Germany, young girls among serfs lived together in the front hall of the Lord and let them "break the melon". In the announcement issued on 1538, the parliament of zurich state said: "The owner of the territory-the Lord has the right to spend the night with the bride who is about to get married by the farmers (tenants and serfs) in the territory, and the groom is also obliged to provide the bride to the Lord. If you don't want to, the groom will pay the Lord about 4.3 marks. " In Bonn, Germany, the bride pays the Lord a big pot that can hold her ass and cheese as heavy as her ass, while the groom must pay the Lord a high-grade coat or blanket. This compensation is the so-called "marriage tax". In Germany, the compensation for this "first night right" is called "Kong Shouqian", "new bed money", "extreme gold", "female gold" and "umbilical generation". If the above-mentioned "obligations" are not fulfilled, the marriage can neither be recognized by the notary office nor by the Lord. This is really a very ugly page in human history.

In addition, the transfer of some first night rights also has the nature of interest exchange. There is a book "Black Sex" which records: "African tribes living near the equator have the custom of publicly auctioning girls' first night rights. When their girls come of age, their first night rights will be sold to buyers. The girl wrapped in clothes, raised in the tribe, patrolled, and then knelt under the umbrella of the tribe square. Onlookers can spend the night with girls at a proper price. "In this way, the price of selling the first night's rights becomes a girl's dowry. In addition, in order to avoid the invasion of neighboring tribes, the tribes in southern Sudan gave the girl's first night rights to the elders of neighboring tribes.

3. Lock a woman's heart and body

In ancient China, there were sayings that "men and women don't give and receive", "men and women don't sit, don't wear cangue, don't wear towel bars and don't give", which is also a common phenomenon in many ancient countries to prevent women from "losing their virginity".

For example, in ancient Persia, girls can't see any men after they are seven years old; After marriage, she can only stay in her husband's "secret room" and is not allowed to be seen by any man other than her husband. When a wife has to go out, she should cover her whole body with clothes and cover her face with four layers of gauze. If you are a lady, you must sit in a sealed car. The more tightly a husband imprisons his wife, the more respected he is, because it is a noble performance of caring for his wife's chastity and helping her keep it.

Known as enlightened ancient Greece, in the city-state era, the status of women was still almost the same as that of slaves. It is a wife's bounden duty to strictly observe chastity and be absolutely loyal to her husband. In order to keep her virginity, she can only be kept in the inner room, and she can't associate with the opposite sex, nor can she participate in receiving her husband's guests, otherwise she will be regarded as a prostitute. Ancient Greek thinkers also warned: whether married women or married women, even in the boudoir, they should be careful everywhere. If a man peeks out of the window, she should feel infinite shame, retreat immediately, reflect wholeheartedly and wash her face with clean water.

In ancient Mexico, when people in Tlaxcala got married, both men and women had to shave their heads to show that they would "give up any activities that young people engaged in".

In ancient India, male doctors were also strictly restricted to treat female patients. Women must wear masks, and doctors are not allowed to contact women directly, especially when they go to the palace to see female patients. They must cover the heads of all doctors, and concubines in the palace are never allowed to see male doctors. When treating a disease, the doctor must stand outside the curtain and diagnose the condition through a stethoscope connected outside the curtain. A maid puts one end of the stethoscope on the queen's chest and other parts, which is a bit like pulling a string to feel the pulse. Of course, it is difficult to see a doctor like this.

There may be nothing more cruel and absurd than a chastity belt to imprison and lock up women. This is an "invention" that brutally destroyed women in the Middle Ages in Europe. Its purpose is also to force women to keep chastity for men.

The so-called chastity belt is mainly made of two pieces of iron with holes for defecation and a shackle-like thing locked in a woman's lower body. The husband holds the key, and only by undoing and taking off the chastity belt can he have sexual intercourse. In this way, when the husband goes out, he can "rest assured" his wife. There is a passage in rabelais's "The Story of patrice": "When I leave home, I will definitely let my wife wear a bergamot lock so as not to give the satyr a chance." This "bergamot lock" is a chastity belt. It can also be called Venice Belt, Florence Belt, Italy Belt and Vienna Belt.

Researchers speculate that chastity belt appeared in Europe after12nd century and continued to be used until17-18th century, that is, this kind of logistics was in the dark middle ages of Europe. There are different opinions about the origin of this thing. Some people say it was copied from the Arab harem when the Crusaders invaded Arabia. Some people say that it has been invented by Venetian and Bergamo businessmen for a long time to prevent their wives from being unfaithful.

Is this chastity belt effective in forcing women to "keep chastity" for their husbands? Many medieval novels and poems describe the story of this chastity belt. Many aristocratic women use money to buy locksmiths and configure their own keys. When their husbands are not around, they can unlock the locks at any time and have sex with their lovers. In a copper coin, there is a woman and a man wearing a chastity belt. The woman held out her hand to a man with one hand and a wallet with the other. The man is holding a key, probably a locksmith, and a maid is rummaging through clothes. There are four poems next to this picture to the effect that "there is no lock to lock a cunning woman, and there is no loyalty of a woman without love;" To this end, I use your money to buy keys that I don't have. "There is a picture of France, describing a man going to travel and putting a chastity belt on his wife. In a corner of this photo, a man is hiding behind a tent with a key; In another corner, a fool covered a basket of lice with a piece of cloth, suggesting that the man's behavior is the same as that of the fool who can't keep lice away. "Turn-key" was once one of the themes of European satire and caricature.