Social Change and Changes in Marriage and Family

Author: Wang Yuesheng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: This book selects the period from the 1930s to the 1990s and elaborates on the interrelationships between major social system reforms and changes in farmers' marriage and fertility behaviors, family structures, scales, and living conditions, according to different time periods. It reveals the characteristics of changes in different eras, connecting causes and effects, systems and policies, and environmental issues, providing an excellent discussion. It not only holds practical value but also represents an important theoretical exploration. The focus of the book is on rural areas in North Hebei, but the changes in social systems are the same as those in North China and even the entire country. Therefore, through an analysis of this specific point, it holds universal significance for examining North China and the nation as a whole. Combining historical and realistic issues, as well as historical and demographic methods to study marriage and family behaviors is a distinctive feature of Wang Yuesheng's academic approach. The book divides its subjects into four periods chronologically: before the Land Revolution, from the Land Reform to the Advanced People's Societies, from the Advanced People's Societies to the People's Communes, and since the Household Responsibility System. This periodization is appropriate, fully showcasing and reflecting the process of social transformation and each related stage. The conclusions drawn are highly persuasive and are believed to withstand historical scrutiny.