The Current Status and Social Significance of the Mosuo "Azhu" Natolocal Marriage
This article examines the "azhu separate-residence marriage" (阿注异居婚) practiced by the Mosuo people of Lugu Lake, Yunnan, renowned as the "Kingdom of Daughters" for its matrilineal family structure. The author traces three historical Mosuo marriage/family forms—separate-residence azhu marriage, cohabiting azhu marriage, and patrilineal marriage—linking their emergence to the region's semi-nomadic, semi-sedentary economic mode, and situates this within broader comparative evidence of similar "walking marriage" customs among other southern Chinese ethnic groups. The study focuses on separate-residence azhu marriage because the other two forms have already converged toward monogamy. It argues that because sexual relations are prohibited among siblings within these matrilineal households, the practice eliminates the "sexual jealousy" that chronically troubles monogamous marriage, resulting in more free, flexible, and harmonious romantic relationships. The paper concludes by discussing implications this offers for rethinking contemporary monogamous marriage and family models.
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