“嫁卖生妻”现象在清代底层社会大量存在。以往研究过于强调该现象产生的经济原因,对由家庭关系不睦所引发的“嫁卖”现象未作探讨。本文从婚约“发生”的角度,将“嫁卖生妻”予以动态的考察,尝试对旧婚姻关系解除和新婚姻关系缔结整个过程进行分析,阐释卖妻习俗在清代底层社会的实践逻辑:从经济上看,婚姻基于财礼交付而建立,亦可由财礼的转移而予以解除;从实践上看,“嫁卖生妻”简省了休妻归宗和离异告官的环节,但因为妻子母家的参与、媒人担保、书面契约等使得此类婚姻关系获得民间社会的承认。 “Marry a living wife ” phenomenon in the Qing Dynasty there is a lot of the underlying society. In the past, the study emphasized too much on the economic reasons for this phenomenon and did not discuss the phenomenon of “married-sale” caused by the discord of family relationships. This article from the perspective of the contract of marriage “to ”, “to marry a living wife ” to be dynamically investigated, trying to lift the old marriage and the conclusion of the new marriage the whole process of analysis to explain the practice of selling his wife in the Qing society Practice logic: From an economic point of view, the establishment of marriage based on financial delivery, but also by the transfer of financial gifts and be lifted; in practice, However, such marriage has been recognized by civil society because of the participation of wives and mothers, sponsorship of a matchmaker and written contracts.