宋人笔记中,有许多资料记录了唐五代男女婚外两性关系,以及社会对婚外性关系的态度,这些可以弥补唐代资料的不足。唐代成年男女可以很自由地交往,社会环境是比较宽松的。在非婚性关系中,男性往往是主动者,但女性有时因为一些特殊的原因亦会同意发生婚外性关系。非婚性关系在各个阶层中都有,但社会上层发生的比例较高。城市中的市妓以出卖肉体作为谋身的手段,为男人提供性服务,冲击着正常的家庭关系。而社会礼俗宽容地对待婚外两性关系,对婚前性行为没有严格的限制。不过宽松的两性关系中,如乱伦等一些婚外性关系,虽十分多见,但社会上并不认可。从唐代法律层面上看,只要不对家庭、血缘和社会等级结构发生冲击,对男女的婚外性关系并没有太多的限制。因此只要有合适的氛围,相对奔放的两性关系就自然而然地出现。
Many notes by scholars in Song Dynasty record the extramarital sexual relationships and social attitudes toward them in Tang Dynasty and Five Dynasties,making up for the inefficiency of the records in Tang Dynasty. In Tang Dynasty,adult men and women could exchange with each other freely due to comparatively lenient social environment. Usually a male was the active initiator in an extramarital affair,but sometimes a female could also agree to have a relationship for some particular reasons. Extramarital relationships existed on various levels of the social hierarchy,but took place more frequently in the upper class. The market prostitutes in the town made a living by offering sexual services to men,infecting normal family relationship. Social etiquette and customs were very tolerant to extramarital relationships and had no strict regulations on premarital sex. However,despite the leniency,extramarital affairs like incest,though not a rare phenomenon,were disapproved. Judging from the laws in Tang Dynasty,extramarital relationship were not strictly prohibited or regulated so long as family,strain and social hierarchical structures were not affected. In view of this,if congenial environment permits,comparatively unrestrained sexual relations will occur naturally,as is shown in notes novels which take delight in the themes of extramarital affairs.