唐宋時期有限的文獻材料反映了妾在中國傳統禮法中時時處於家庭地位的邊緣；非正式的禮聘關係、缺乏母家的後援、所生子以嫡母為母等因素，使妾在家庭中的地位相對薄弱。明代以後，多元化的材料反映了妾在禮法之外的不同面相，學界亦多相關研究成果。近年來，中國南方地區明代墓葬的發掘提供了妾與夫及元配合葬的證據，有助於理解長久以來未被正視的妾的葬法選擇問題。墓誌、家譜和墓葬是架構本文的三重線索，而本文對墓葬的理解主要基於墓誌和家譜交織的人際網絡。明代的墓誌和家譜在對妾的記錄上出現與前代不同的方式，反映禮法、人情和家庭觀念的改變，也暗示妾自身的主動性可能扭轉既有的家庭身分，而明代墓誌和家譜特有的書寫慣例也為妾的合葬提供了合理的歷史背景。

Resources related to concubines in Tang and Sung dynasties are limited, yet they still manage to reveal the fragile status of concubines as family members. In traditional Chinese convention, there is a noticeable lack of a formal marriage contract, weak support from their natal families, and the conventional and legal conviction that their biological children belonged to the first wives. In contrast with the scarce records of Tang and Sung, abundant materials in the form of novels and literati writing have helped us understand other aspects of the lives of Ming concubines.In recent years, the excavations of Ming tombs in Southern China provide more explicit evidence than in previous dynasties that concubines could be jointly-buried with their husbands and their other wives. This phenomenon, which is potentially of great significance, has not yet been studied. This article uses epitaphs, genealogical records and tombs to analyze the occurrence of joint-burial tombs of concubines in Ming dynasty. Ming concubines are portrayed differently than earlier concubines in terms of ritual, emotion, and even in terms of how the family is conceptualized. These sources also suggest that their participation in the domestic sphere softens the rigid definitions of their roles prescribed by society and the law. Careful analysis of these texts paints a logical and historical background for the joint-burial tombs of concubines in Ming.