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��Home>>China Observer
Ten future transformations in Chinese marriages
www.chinanews.cn 2004-12-14 09:50:54
Chinanews, Dec 11 - Chen Xinxin, a specialist on marriage and family
issues and associate at the Research Institute of Chinese Women's
Federation, predicted Chinese marriages would grow more pluralistic in
the future. This would include a new focus on the quality of marriage,
respect for personal rights, and individuality in marital life.
Statistics from the Ministry of Civil Affairs showed that the divorce
rate in China grew threefold in twenty-three years, from 0.07% in 1980 to
0.21% in 2003. The increase was even more pronounced in big cities like
Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Guangzhou. Professor Wang Zhenyu, a
researcher on family and marriage issues at the Chinese Academy of Social
Sciences, conducted a survey along with her colleagues on the causes of
divorce, with the conclusion that extramarital affairs were responsible
for 70-80% of divorces in China.
Believing that marriage would become more diversified in China, Chen
Xinxin pointed out the ten changes that would transform Chinese marriages
in the future.
1. A smaller family structure, typically with three to four members.
Expectations on marriage will change with a higher standard of living.
Emphasis in a marriage will shift from bringing more income to the
household, housework distribution and childbearing to maintaining an
intimate relationship, adherence to the marital accord, mutual
understanding, and building a comfortable home.
2. An increasing population of late marriages and postponed childbirth.
Meanwhile, more people will choose to stay single and not have children.
3. More standard, scientific sex education. Casual sex encounters due to
curiosity among youth people will decrease, while young people will adopt
a more prudent attitude towards premarital sex.
4. Personality and compatible interests start to weigh more than economic
background when choosing a spouse. It is also important for people to
choose a spouse that belongs to the same social class. For a young woman,
humor, respect, and sense of fun in a man will gradually replace money
and family background as the most important qualities.
5. Marital quality will become a new pursuit. Most couples will place
more emphasis on compatibility and take initiatives to make adjustments
to their marriage, in order to build a happy family and enrich the family
environment. With more equality and less violence in the family, a couple
will share family responsibilities.
6. Couples go Dutch. Now couples are making the transition from one
person controlling the family finance to splitting costs between the two.
Couples will notarize their properties before marriage, hold individual
bank accounts, and manage their finances separately. Couples will fulfill
their economic obligations in the family according to their pre-nuptial
agreement.
7. Less conflict due to housework. As the labor intensity of housework
decreases and common household appliances shorten the amount of cleaning
time, couples will argue less about who should do the housework.
8. More rational divorces. Divorce by mutual consent and trial divorce
will become the principal choice for rational separation, with the
divorce rate still in an uptrend. People that are knowledgeable,
educated, and emotionally sensible also have higher expectations of love.
The social pressure on divorcees will reduce.
9. A rational attitude toward extramarital affairs. While society
maintains a rational attitude toward extramarital affairs, a sense of
responsibility in marriage should come from self-knowledge,
self-discipline and self-reproach, not external pressure. People will
stress marriage quality and emotional wellbeing and demand personal
rights and privileges, with more freedom of choice and self awareness.
10. Increasing freedom in choosing marriages. Marriage will no longer be
a simple act of following the public, but an individual cogitative
choice. The lifestyles of single people and dinks are among the
diversified choices available for married couples as well as single
people.
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