Part I. The issues -- Part II. Concubinage in Chinese law and society -- The meaning of T'sip in Qing law -- Judicial construction of T'sip in Chinese family law in East Asia : a comparative perspective -- Part III. Concubines and colonialism -- The origins of the Strickland Report and the search for the Chinese customary law and custom in Hong Kong -- The Colonial Office and the abolitionof concubinage -- The Marriage Reform Ordinance 1971 and its aftermath -- Part IV. Reflections -- Judicial approach : two cases in the Court of Final Appeal.