old article we read: politics and culture of divorce and marriage in Urban China

[Rob_Hugo@PortNW]

Hi all,
I know it's been a while since we read the article, but since my research topic has to do with urban China, i just thought about bringing it up.
The article focuses on a new attempt to study history through a different perspective, as new resources are becoming more readily available. The article describes the dynamics of marriage and divorce in China, especially among the working class. Due to the economic stresses, many chose their marriage partner solely on material basis. If one seems to have a good economic standing, then he or she is likely to find a partner. Thus, marriage and divorce became something of an economic strategy. Through some example cases, the article also discusses how the state is not as influential on these issues as expected. On the othe hand, the changing attitudes with respect to marriage adn divorce of the working class and the people in society are what shape the politics of those days.
It's interesting how economic status play such a major role in mate selection. Even today, I think economic status is still very important in mate selection, but perhaps maybe not to that extreme where it's more of a strategy. To what extent do you guys think economic status or potential effect mate selection today?

[Anonymous]

I'm doing my paper on the transition from arranged marriage to free marriage in the urban as well as rural areas of China, and during my research, I found a few topics that related to this phenomenon of choosing a mate based on economic status. One journal article that I read stated that love and romance were very important to Chinese youth (mostly after the 1950s), but the Chinese brand of romance is quite different from the American kind. For example, instead of following the American sayings of "love at first sight" or "love conquers all" to the extent that most Americans did, the Chinese often very seriously considered factors such as economic status, work, and family as well. Many were often torn between an average factory worker that they loved very much and a rich well-to-do individual that they did not care for. This just shows how important factors such as economic status were to Chinese singles.

Another thing I learned was that for villagers, those who were from wealthy families or villages often married earlier than those who were not. This contrasts with marriage patterns in most Western countries, where higher class individuals often married later. The reason for this in China was that those wealthy villagers were seen as more desirable mates and thus their parents were tempted to marry them off sooner.

I agree that nowadays, probably in any country, economic status plays an important role in spousal selections. It's probably not as important in nations such as the United States however.

[Anonymous]

i think economic status is still an important factor to consider because lets face it, we live in a competitive environment, not to mention materialistic. so the higher we are in economic status, the more financially stable we are. however, nowadays, girls are more independent and less dependent on their partners, so when choosing a partner, it's more about compatability rather than economic standing. i really hope i'm not off topic. 😛

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