Until the Chinese communist party came to power in 1949, Chinese law mandated that a man could have only one wife but as many concubines as his wealth allowed.
This tradition, which can be traced back to the Han Dynasty of 25 AD to 220 AD, evolved over the years but remained a cornerstone of Chinese familial structure.
From slave markets in the ancient times to financially constrained families offering their daughters to wealthy households, the routes to becoming a concubine were numerous and, in many cases, soul-crushing.