MARRIAGE LAW

1 December 1931
[Text] Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1

Marriage shall be based on the free choice of partners. The feudal marriage system which is based on arbitrary and compulsory arrangements and the exaction of money or gifts shall be abolished. Child betrothal shall be prohibited.

Article 2

Monogamy shall be put into effect. Polygamy shall be prohibited.

Chapter II Marriage

Article 3

Before a marriage can be contracted the man must have reached 20 years of age and the woman 18 years of age.

Article 4

Marriage shall be based on the complete willingness of the two parties. Neither party, nor a third party, shall use compulsion.

Article 5

Marriage between collateral relatives by blood, up to the fifth degree of relationship, shall be prohibited.

Article 6

Marriage shall not be allowed where one party is suffering from such dangerous and infectious diseases as venereal disease, leprosy, and tuberculosis. If a doctor gives his approval upon examination of the abovementioned diseases, the marriage shall be allowed.

Article 7

No man or woman who is suffering from mental disorder or paralysis shall be allowed to marry.

Article 8

In order to contract a marriage, both the man and woman shall register in person with the Soviet of a hsiang or municipality and obtain a marriage certificate. Betrothal money or gifts and dowry shall be done away with.

Chapter III Divorce

Article 9

Freedom of divorce shall be affirmed. Divorce shall be granted when husband and wife both desire it. When only one party insists on divorce, it shall also be granted.

Article 10

Husband and wife desiring to divorce shall register with the Soviet of a hsiang or municipality.

Chapter IV Bringing Up of Children After Divorce

Article 11

The father shall be responsible for all children born prior to the divorce and have the duty to bring them up. If both parents are willing to bring up the children, the mother is given custody of the children.

Article 12

The mother shall have custody of a baby still being breast-fed.

Article 13

Arable land allocated to the child or children shall be retained by the child or children.

Article 14

If the mother is given custody of a child, the father shall be responsible for two-thirds of the necessary cost of maintaining the child until the age of 16. Payment may be made in cash or by tilling the land allocated to the child.

Article 15

If the woman remarries and her husband is willing to assume the cost of maintaining the child by her former husband, the father of the child may be exempted from the duty to support the child.

Article 16

The new husband who is willing to support the child shall register with the Soviet of a township or municipality. Once he registers, he shall be responsible for maintaining the child until the maturity of age, and not stop halfway or maltreat the child.

Chapter V Settlement of Property After Divorce

Article 17

In case of divorce, the husband or wife may dispose such arable land, property, and debts as belong to him or her. When the marriage had lasted more than a year, the property jointly acquired by husband and wife shall be divided equally. If there are children, such property shall be divided equally according to the number of persons.

Article 18

After divorce, debts incurred by husband and wife during the period of their living together shall be paid off by the husband.

Article 19

After divorce, if both parties are unwilling to leave their home, the husband shall sell his share of the house to the wife so that she can go on living there.

Article 20

After divorce, if the wife has not remarried, the husband shall bear the cost of her maintenance or till the land for her until she remarries.

Chapter VI Maintenance of Children Born Out of Wedlock

Article 21

Where the paternity of a child born out of wedlock is established, the identified father shall bear two-thirds of the cost of maintaining the child. Articles 11 to 15 of Chapter IV shall also apply.

Chapter VII Supplementary Provisions

Article 22

Persons violating this Law shall be punished in accordance with the law.

Article 23

This Law shall come into force from the date of its promulgation.

Central Executive Committee of the
Chinese Soviet Republic

Chairman: Mao Tse-tung
Vice-chairmen: Hsiang Ying
Chang Kuo-t'ao

--- Notes

*"Marriage Law," Provisional Central Government, Chinese Soviet Republic, December 1931
*"Red China," No. 2, (Chapters 1-4, Article 12), 18 December 1931
*"Soviet China," Soviet Foreign Workers Press (Moscow), 1933