妇女节烈旌表制度的建立与沿革及其影响

在中国历史上，女性曾经占据过生产和生活的主导地位。在由母系社会向父系社会的转变中，女性逐步由主导变为男性的附庸，与女性地位衍变相对应的是贞节观念的产生并逐步强化。妇女贞节旌表制度发展至宋元时期日趋完善。明清时期，旌表制度远比前代受到重视，明清节烈表彰有严格的程序，按涉及的行政级别可以分为中央和地方表彰，级别愈高，其程序和过程就愈复杂。明清时期，中央旌表的门槛不断降低，旌表对象的范围不断扩大，表明统治者在主观上利用贞节旌表来维护家庭乃至社会稳定的意识不断强化，但客观上旌表的功能在不断弱化。地方政府表彰程序较为简单，是中央朝廷旌表的有力补充。节烈旌表制度的建立与实施，对社会产生了双重影响。要对传统的贞节观加以改造，赋予其新的内涵，使其成为男女共同恪守的伦理道德。

Establishment and transformation of woman chastity recognition system

In the Chinese history, the female had occupied a dominant position in production and life. During the transformation from the matriarchal to patrilineal society, the female gradually became the appendage of the male, and corresponding with such a change the chastity idea came to be put forward and popularized. The woman chastity recognition system developed day by day and reached near perfection in the Song and Yuan Dynasties. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it was taken far more seriously than before. The chastity commendation had strict procedures, and according to the administrative rank involved, it may be divided into the central and the local government commendation. The higher rank, the more complex procedures and process would be. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the central government constantly reduced the standard of chastity commendation and expanded the population of chastity commendation, which was aimed at maintaining family and social stability yet saw the declining of the commendation function. Local commendation was simpler in procedure and acted as a powerful supplement to the central commendation. It is proposed that new connotations should be put into the traditional chastity view so that it can be transformed into a sexual morality which men and women scrupulously follow together.