Cover; Contents; Acknowledgments; Conventions in the Text; Map: Provinces of China Proper within the Qing Empire, circa 1800; Introduction; PART ONE: POLYANDRY; 1. "Getting a Husband to Support a Husband"; 2. Attitudes of Families, Communities, and Women toward Polyandry; 3. The Intermediate Range of Practice; PART TWO: WIFE-SELLING; 4. Anatomy of a Wife Sale; 5. Analysis of Prices in Wife Sales; 6. Negotiations between Men in Wife Sales; 7. Wives, Natal Families, and Children; 8. Four Variations on a Theme; PART THREE: POLYANDRY AND WIFE-SELLING IN QING LAW.

9. Formal Law and Central Court Interpretation from Ming through High Qing10. Absolutism versus Pragmatism in Central Court Treatment of Wife Sales; 11. Flexible Adjudication of Routine Cases in the Local Courts; Conclusion; Appendices A-E; APPENDIX A: QING DYNASTY REIGN PERIODS (1644-1912); APPENDIX B: PROFILES OF THE PROTAGONISTS IN WIFE SALES; APPENDIX C: PRICES IN WIFE SALES; APPENDIX D: THE QING PENAL SYSTEM; APPENDIX E: JUDICIAL REVIEW (AS SEEN IN XINGKE TIBEN); Character List; Notes; References; Index; A; B; C; D; E; F; G; H; I; J; K; L; M; N; O; P; Q; R; S; T; U; V; W; X; Y; Z.