The Practice of Child Marriage in Contemporary Rural China - Xi'an Jiaotong University School of Population and Development. Academic Library

Author: Li Shuzhuo
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-05-01
Features: The preference for male children is rooted in traditional patriarchal family systems and marriage practices, leading to abnormally high birth sex ratios and female mortality rates under long-term low fertility conditions, which in turn triggers a series of severe population and social issues. With population aging and the continuous increase in the proportion of childless households in low fertility areas, rural society's demand for marriage by adoption () will rise significantly, and its social and demographic impacts will become increasingly evident. Based on survey data from Sanyuan County, Shaanxi Province, Lueyang County, and Songzi County, Hubei Province, this book systematically examines marriage by adoption and its social and demographic consequences. The study finds that the prevalence of marriage by adoption fosters relatively egalitarian family systems and marital/fertility cultures, fundamentally weakening the preference for male children. Marriage by adoption is beneficial for stabilizing low fertility rates, reducing birth sex ratios, improving women's survival conditions, and alleviating the elderly's difficulties in old-age support without sons. The research and findings in this book contribute to a comprehensive understanding of marriage by adoption and its population and social impacts in contemporary rural China, reveal the spread and evolution of the preference for male children culture, depict the transformation of marriage and family systems in rural China, and provide new insights and opportunities for addressing population and social issues related to the preference for male children under low fertility conditions.