借妻（典妻）wife lending

 借妻（典妻）wife lending

● 字源

「借妻」是現代通稱，古代更常見的說法是典妻、押妻、租妻：丈夫因貧困，把妻子在約定期限內交給他人，換取錢財，期滿歸還。多半是買方無子，要她生子。

英文 wife lending 較常指另一類習俗，例如部分因紐特社群把借妻當作待客或結盟的方式，與清末民初江浙一帶因債務而典妻不同。本例句取後者，並以柔石《為奴隸的母親》（1930）為文學對照。

● 例句（80 字）

Although historians, who have studied poverty in rural Zhejiang, often describe dianqi, namely a husband's pawning his wife to a childless buyer for a fixed term, as a commercial contract between two households, the leftist writer Rou Shi, who exposed the custom in his 1930 story A Slave Mother, showed readers that a poor woman, once she had borne the buyer a son, was sent back at last to the husband who had pledged her, leaving the newborn child behind.

● 排列為比較容易閱讀的方式

Although historians,

who have studied poverty in rural Zhejiang,

often describe dianqi,

namely a husband's pawning his wife

to a childless buyer

for a fixed term,

as a commercial contract

between two households,

the leftist writer Rou Shi,

who exposed the custom

in his 1930 story A Slave Mother,

showed readers

that a poor woman,

once she had borne the buyer a son,

was sent back at last

to the husband

who had pledged her,

leaving the newborn child behind.

● 分解為原初的短小句

Historians have studied poverty in rural Zhejiang.

（who 引導的關係子句，現在完成式表長期研究。）

They often describe dianqi as a commercial contract.

（describe A as B：把 A 描述為 B。）

A husband pawns his wife to a childless buyer for a fixed term.

（namely 同位語，解釋 dianqi；所有格 + 動名詞，意義主詞是 husband。）

The contract is between two households.

（between two households 修飾 contract。）

Rou Shi was a leftist writer.

（the leftist writer 是 Rou Shi 的同位語。）

He exposed the custom in his 1930 story.

（the custom 指 dianqi。）

The story is A Slave Mother.

（作品名直接接在 story 後，是同位語。）

He showed readers something.

（主句骨架，showed 後接 that 名詞子句。）

A woman was poor.

（poor 是形容詞，修飾 woman。）

She had borne the buyer a son.

（過去完成式，發生在被送回之前；bear 後接間接受詞 + 直接受詞。）

She was sent back at last to the husband.

（被動式，at last 表經過漫長期限之後。）

The husband had pledged her.

（who 子句，過去完成式，抵押在先。）

She left the newborn child behind.

（leaving 引導的分詞構句，表伴隨結果。）

● 文法解析

Although 讓步子句 + 長主詞：

Although 子句講史家的看法，主句主詞 the leftist writer Rou Shi 後面又掛著 who 子句。要讀到 showed 才看到謂語。

namely 同位語：

namely a husband's pawning his wife... 解釋 dianqi。「所有格 + 動名詞」中，意義主詞是 husband，不是 pawning。

describe A as B：

often describe dianqi ... as a commercial contract 中，兩個長修飾語把 describe、dianqi、as 隔得很遠，要自己接回來。

that 名詞子句 + 插入的 once 子句：

showed readers 後的 that 子句主詞是 a poor woman，謂語是 was sent back。中間 once she had borne the buyer a son 是插入的時間子句，容易讓人找不到主詞。

分詞構句：

leaving the newborn child behind 的意義主詞是 woman，表示她被送回時，同時留下了孩子。

時態安排：

have studied（現在完成）講史學研究的累積；often describe（現在式）講慣常說法；exposed / showed / was sent back（過去式）敘述作品與情節；had borne / had pledged（過去完成）表示發生在被送回之前。

● 參考譯文

雖然研究浙江農村貧困的史家常把典妻，也就是丈夫把妻子在一定期限內典給無子的買主，描述為兩戶人家之間的商業契約；但左翼作家柔石在1930年的小說《為奴隸的母親》中揭露了這種習俗。他向讀者表明：一位貧苦的婦人為買主生下兒子後，終於被送回當初把她典出去的丈夫身邊，而剛出生的孩子則被留了下來。

● 補充說明

史實對照：

典妻流行於清末至民國的江浙一帶，起因多是貧窮、債務與買方無子。柔石的小說以此為背景，寫婦人被丈夫典出，為秀才生子，期滿後被迫與兒子分離。

核心字彙：

pawn（典當）、pledge（抵押）、childless（無子的）、contract（契約）、household（家戶）、expose（揭露）、borne（bear 的過去分詞，生育）、newborn（新生的）。

提醒：

典妻不是兩廂情願的契約，女性幾乎沒有自主權，今天已被視為陋俗。寫作時宜用過去式敘述，避免寫成現況。

另外，我逐字計數，全句剛好 80 字（所有格 husband's 算一字，A Slave Mother 算三字，1930 算一字）。