More Than Childbirth: Unveiling the Risks of Marriage on Women's Mortality in Tang Dynasty China.

objectivesThis study investigates how marital and maternal statuses influenced female mortality in the Tang Dynasty (618-907 ce), China. It challenges the focus on reproductive risks by exploring both biological and social factors affecting female mortality in reproductive and post-reproductive years. MATERIALS AND

methodsEpitaph data were analyzed from four female groups: bureaucrats' wives (married, reproductive), eunuchs' wives (married, nonreproductive due to husband's castration), never-married religious women (never married, nonreproductive), and widowed religious women (reproductive, later left marriage). Ages at death were illustrated using summary statistics and kernel density plots, analyzed using bootstrapped polynomial regression, pairwise comparisons with 9999 replicates, and Kaplan-Meier survival curves. Male bureaucrats and eunuchs were also included for contextual comparison.

resultsBureaucrats' wives had a significantly lower adjusted mean age at death than nonreproductive groups, eunuchs' wives (-7.43 years; p = 0.006), and never-married religious women (-7.07 years; p = 0.006). Survival curves support that reproductive risks shaped mortality. Among post-reproductive women, those who remained in marital roles had a significantly lower mean age at death than those who joined a religious order (-3.9 years; p = 0.003). The negative effects of remaining in marriage in later life were supported. DISCUSSION: Female mortality resulted from a complex interplay of biological and social factors. Reproductive risks primarily affected females during younger ages. During post-reproductive years, remaining in marriage and widowhood negatively affected survival, while entering religious orders was protective.