Marriage Rural society in China

the marriage law of 1950 guaranteed freedom choose or marriage partner. nevertheless, in countryside, there few opportunities meet potential mates. rural china offered little privacy courtship, , in villages there little public tolerance flirting or extended conversation between unmarried men , women. introductions , go-betweens continued play major role in arrangement of marriages. in cases each of young people, , parents, had effective veto on proposed match.

in past, marriage seen concern of families of 2 parties match. families united marriage expected of equivalent status, or groom s family of higher status. aspect of marriage patterns has continued while definitions of status have changed. because inherited wealth eliminated significant factor, evaluation had been shifted estimates of earning power , future prosperity. desirable husbands have been administrative cadres, party members, , employees of large state enterprises. conversely, men poor villages have had difficulty finding wives. 1950s late 1970s, when hereditary class labels significant, counter-revolutionary background, is, identified landlord or rich peasant class, bad prospect marriage. such pariahs had no choice marry offspring of other families bad class backgrounds. @ other end of social scale, there appeared high level of intermarriage among children of high-level cadres.