There have been many different things written and said about marriage.
已经有各种不同文字记录和讨论着关于婚姻的话题。
From the sweetly inspirational to the hilariously cynical.
从甜蜜励志的，到诙谐讽刺的。
But what many of them have in common is that they sound like they express a universal and timeless truth,
但是他们的共同点是他们听上去像在表达着一个横贯中西，纵横古今的真理。
when in fact nearly everything about marriage,
而事实上，几乎所有关于婚姻，
from its main purpose to the kinds of relationships it covers to the rights and responsibilities involved,
从它的主要意图，到其中牵涉的各种关系，再到与之相关的义务，
has varied greatly between different eras, cultures and social classes.
在不同的时代、文化和社会阶级间都大相径庭。
So, let's take a quick look at the evolution of marriage.
那么，就让我们快速浏览一下婚姻的演变。
Pair bonding and raising children is as old as humanity itself.
成家立室和养育子女就和人类本身一样历史悠久。
With the rise of sedentary agricultural societies about 10,000 years ago,
大约一万年前，随着定居型的农耕社会的兴起，
marriage was also a way of securing rights to land and property
婚姻也是一种确保土地权和财产权的方式，
by designating children born under certain circumstances as rightful heirs.
（这种方式）通过指定在某些情况下出生的孩子为合法继承人（来实现）。
As these societies became larger and more complex,
随着这些社会变得更大更复杂，
marriage became not just a matter between individuals and families,
婚姻已不仅仅成为个人和家庭间的事情，
but also an official institution governed by religious and civil authorities.
它也成为了由宗教和民事行政机构管辖的一种官方制度。
And it was already well established by 2100 B.C.
至公元前2100年，这种制度已经被完善地建立起来。
when the earliest surviving written laws in the Mesopotamian Code of Ur-Nammu provided many specifics governing marriage,
那个时候订立了现存最早的成文法并记录在美索不达米亚的乌尔纳姆法典中，该法律规定了许多细节来制约管理婚姻，
from punishments for adultery to the legal status of children born to slaves.
从对通奸的处分到出身于奴隶家庭孩子的合法身份。
Many ancient civilizations allowed some form of multiple simultaneous marriage.
许多古代文明允许多重婚姻制度。
And even today, less than a quarter of the world's hundreds of different cultures prohibit it.
甚至到今日，在全世界几百种不同的文化中，只有四分之一的文化是禁止多重配偶制。
But just because something was allowed doesn't mean it was always possible.
但是，有些事情存在并不代表它总是可行的。
Demographic realities, as well as the link between marriage and wealth,
人口的现实问题以及婚姻和财富的连带关系，
meant that even though rulers and elites in Ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt and Israel had multiple concubines or wives,
意味着即使在古代的美索不达米亚、埃及和以色列的统治者和精英贵族妻妾成群，
most commoners could only afford one or two tending towards monogamy in practice.
但大部分的老百姓只负担得起一个或者两个妻子，所以实际情况是更趋向于一夫一妻制。

In other places, the tables were turned,
在其他一些地区，情况正好相反，
and a woman could have multiple husbands as in the Himalayan Mountains
一位女性可以有多位丈夫，比如在喜马拉雅山地区，
where all brothers in a family marrying the same woman
那里一个家庭中的所有男性与同一名女性结了婚，
kept the small amount of fertile land from being constantly divided into new households.
他们用婚姻保护着一小片有限而肥沃的土地，以防止它被新成立的家庭不断分割。
Marriages could vary not only in the number of people they involved but the types of people as well.
婚姻可以多种多样，不仅是其参与其中的人数，也包括人的性别类型。
Although the names and laws for such arrangements may have differed,
虽然关于同性婚姻的名称和法律可能有所不同，
publicly recognized same-sex unions have popped up in various civilizations throughout history.
但是公开承认同性婚姻已经在历史长河中的各种文明里出现。
Mesopotamian prayers included blessings for such couples,
美索不达米亚的祷文中包括了为同性夫妻进行祝福，
while Native American Two-Spirit individuals had relationships with both sexes.
而美洲印第安的双灵人与两种性别的人都会发生关系。
The first instances of such arrangements actually being called 'Marriage' come from Rome,
首例同性婚姻被实际称作为“婚姻”的情况出现在罗马，
where the Emperors Nero and Elagabalus both married men in public ceremonies
皇帝尼禄和埃拉伽巴路斯二人都以公开典礼的形式与男性结婚，
with the practice being explictly banned in 342 A.D.
这种行为在公元342年被明令禁止。
But similar traditions survived well into the Christian era,
但是，类似的传统在进入公元后幸免于难，
such as Adelphopoiesis, or 'brother-making' in Orthodox churches,
比如滴血为盟，或者传统教会中的兄弟结拜，
and even an actual marriage between two men recorded in 1061 at a small chapel in Spain.
甚至是两个男人之间实质的婚姻，在1061年西班牙某个小礼堂的记录中都有所记载。
Nor was marriage even necessarily between two living people.
婚姻甚至都不一定需要发生在两个活人之间。
Ghost marriages, where either the bride or groom were deceased,
冥婚，就是新娘或新郎已经过世，
were conducted in China to continue family lineages or appease restless spirits.
它曾在中国出现过，主要是为了延续家族香火或者安抚死不瞑目的灵魂。
And some tribes in Sudan maintain similar practices.
另外，苏丹的一些部落延续了相似的情况。
Despite all these differences, a lot of marriages throughout history did have one thing in common.
尽管有这些五花八门的差异，但古今历史中的许多婚姻也的确有一个共同点。
With crucial matters like property and reproduction at stake,
一些决定性的因素，比如财产和至关重要的传宗接代的问题，
they were way too important to depend on young love.
这些因素都太重要了，以致于婚姻无法只取决于脆弱的爱情。
Especially among the upperclasses, matches were often made by families or rulers.
尤其在上流社会，配偶的人选常常由家庭或者统治者来决定。
But even for commoners, who had some degree of choice, the main concern was practicality.
即使对于有一定选择权的普通百姓，主要的考量还是实用性。
The modern idea of marriage as being mainly about love and companionship only emerged in the last couple of centuries.
现代婚姻的理念，主要围绕着爱和友谊，这种观念仅仅是在过去的几个世纪才出现的。
With industrialization, urbanization and the growth of the middle class
随着工业化、城市化以及中产阶级的涌现，
more people became independent from large extended families and were able to support a new household on their own.
越来越多的人从庞大的家族中独立出来，并且有能力自己负担一个新的家庭。
Encouraged by new ideas from the Enlightenment,
受到来自于启蒙运动中新思想的鼓舞，
people began to focus on individual happiness and pursuits,
（对于婚姻）人们开始更加注重个人的幸福和诉求，
rather than familial duty or wealth and status, at least some of the time.
而不是家庭责任或财富地位，至少有些时候是这样的。
And this focus on individual happiness soon led to other transformations,
而这种对个人幸福的放大很快导致了其他方面的转变，
such as easing restrictions on divorce and more people marrying at a later age.
比如放宽对离婚的束缚以及晚婚率的增加。
So, as we continue to debate the role and definition of marriage in the modern world,
所以，当我们进一步讨论婚姻在现代社会的角色和定义时，
it might help to keep in mind that marriage has always been shaped by society,
也许我们应谨记婚姻始终都是社会的产物，
and as a society's structure, values and goals change over time,
而随着社会的结构，价值观和目标的不断改变，
its ideas of marriage will continue to change along with them.
其对于婚姻的定位也会随之不断进行着调整。