Changing Patterns of Marriage and Divorce in Today’s China

Abstract

While marriage has long been universal in Chinese society, things are changing and there is a gradual diversification of marriage and family behaviours, in urban areas especially. Mate-selection—and therefore the vast majority of marriages—is now increasingly the result of individual choice, and the role of parents in this process is declining. While marriage behaviours in China are still influenced by various individual factors, and vary between regions, first marriage is increasingly delayed for both men and women, and the proportion of unmarried people is growing, partly due to social change arising from the globalization process. This chapter describes recent trends in marriage and divorce as evidenced by the latest population censuses and civil registration data. It highlights the generalization of marriage postponement in the youngest cohorts, with a focus on the fact that men remain single until later ages, on average, than women. In the last section, factors influencing marriage and divorce behaviours are discussed.

Discussion

Since the launch of its market-oriented economic reform in 1978, China has experienced rapid economic growth and significant socio-demographic changes, including changes in marriage and divorce patterns (Wang and Zhou 2010). The changes are twofold: first, marriage is increasingly delayed for both men and women, and, second, divorces are increasingly common. Indeed, while divorce rates were extremely low in China in the 1960s and 1970s, they have increased dramatically since then, in particular in the 2000s. Marriage and divorce patterns in China are therefore becoming increasingly similar to those in some neighbouring countries, where the fertility transition has been accompanied by a striking trend toward delayed marriage and, in many cases, a failure to marry at all (Jones 2007).

In China, these changes must be viewed in relation to various factors associated with the social liberalization that accompanied the economic reforms. For instance, the development of higher education and the subsequent increase in the average length of schooling in the youngest generations (see Chap. 4 in this book), tend to play in favour of marriage postponement. Also, China’s rapid economic development in the past decades, with increased urbanization and rural-to-urban migration, has greatly altered people’s aspirations and lifestyles (Zhang and Gu 2007). As China’s society is becoming increasingly competitive, young women and men, in urban areas especially, tend to be more self-centred and focused on their professional carrier than in the past and are therefore more likely to delay their marriage (Zhao 2008; Wang 2010; Cui 2011). More generally speaking, people are now giving increasing priority to their personal achievement and individual wellbeing, so marital dissolution is becoming a socially acceptable alternative when a marriage is no longer satisfying (Gao and Wu 2012). For instance, using data from surveys conducted in Shanghai, Shaanxi, and Hebei, Zeng et al. (2002) analysed the association between the risk of divorce and various socio-demographic factors. Interestingly, the study showed that the risk of divorce after an arranged marriage was about 2.6 times higher than for non-arranged marriages. It also demonstrated that the risk of divorce for women who had three or more daughters but no son was 2.2 times higher than that of women who had three or more children with at least one son, indicating that the absence of a male heir in a context of strong preference for sons (see Chap. 5 in this book) can also be a justification for a divorce among Chinese men.

Another important issue underlying marriage postponement is the increasing overall cost of marriage. As most of these costs are borne by grooms and their family, young men often have to wait longer before saving enough to pay for their marriage, and these ruinous costs exert a heavy burden on young people and their family (Wang 2010). They include the wedding ceremony itself, the bride-price — a practice that remains prevalent in rural areas, but is now rare in urban China (Anderson 2007) –, and last but not least, the purchase of a house or an apartment that is becoming a pre-condition for attracting a potential wife in urban areas (Attané 2011).

On the whole, attitudes toward marriage and childbearing are changing (Wang 2010; Cui 2011). Chinese society is becoming more individualist and tolerant, with greater acceptance of divorce, in both laws and public attitudes, and of non-marital cohabitation (Wang and Zhou 2010; Zhao 2008). The wider range of inter-personal relationships and living arrangements in today’s society is a sign that the concept of family is becoming more fluid and changeable (Chambers 2012).