As China becomes more prosperous, a custom inherited from imperial times is making a comeback -- concubines.
In China's old days, mistresses, second wives or concubines were known as "golden canaries" because they were kept in gilded cages and allowed out only at the pleasure of their masters, the Los Angeles Times reports. The custom apparently has its roots in the Confucian tradition, which assigns women a second-class status.
Signs of a mistress revival include public officials who have been charged with taking large bribes or embezzling public funds to provide for a string of mistresses. Neighborhoods are sprouting up called concubine villages where rich men set up their love nests.
Detective agencies also are profiting by getting evidence for aggrieved first wives. The divorce rate is shooting up.
"We are in a commodity economy," retired Shanghai University sociologist Liu Dalin told the Times. "Work, technology, love, beauty, power -- it's all tradable."
© Copyright 2005 by United Press International
