ABSTRACT
Marriage is an institution based upon human nature ; but the original cause of its recognition by law must be sought for in Ancestor-worship. The Li Chi or “The Book of Rituals” (禮記) defines marriage as the “union of the affection of two persons bearing different clan-names, for the purpose of serving the ancestral mausoleum on the one hand, and of continuing future generations on the other.”(婚禮者將和二姓之好，上以事宗廟而下以繼後世也) 1 This old Chinese definition exactly tallies with the primitive notion of marriage.
