After a period of Mongolian rule during the Yüan Dynasty (1279–1368), the first Ming emperor, T'ai-tsu, tried to build a new empire on a solid footing. From the start, he paid a lot of attention to legislation as a means of guaranteeing stability in the empire. The emperor's concern for stability resulted in an imperial decree stipulating that the Ming Code, established and adapted under his supervision, had to remain unchanged for the remainder of the dynasty. As social and economic evolutions called for modifications in the Ming legislation, a way had to be found to introduce these changes. This article examines how a number of so-called “precedents,” relating to dissolution of marriage and engagement on the initiative of women and their natal families, were proposed and adopted during the mid-Ming period. By looking into the individual proposals, we will try to find the specific problems that threatened a consistent application and enforcement of these precedents.