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August/September VILLAGE
C
ONFUCIUS (d. BC) was an ethi-
cal teacher who laid down guiding
principles for intending mandarin
rulers in a feudal society. He stressed the
importance of observing traditional rites
to elicit harmonious responses from the
Will of Heaven. A central part of his teach-
ing was the duties of husbands towards
wives and the correct responsibilities of
wives towards their husbands, and the
practice of filial piety. He never intended
to found a religion and did not speculate
about the nature of deities or the origins
of the universe.
Notwithstanding his attachment to the
landowning, urban business and courtly
ruling classes Confucius’s teachings have
influenced the attitudes of all classes,
including the landless peasantry, over the
centuries. Confucianism as a body of philos-
ophy is studied by scholars today, but is not
officially taught to the masses. Communities
have made up for themselves packages of
beliefs blending elements of Buddhism,
Taoism and animism with ethical pointers
derived from Confucius.
Sun Yat-sen became modern China’s
first President briefly after the revolu-
tion of overthrew the Qing Dynasty.
He and his western-educated Christian
wife Soong Chingling abolished the feu-
dalist practice of female foot binding and
encouraged educational and health services
for girls and women. After the commu-
nist victory in the civil war against Jiang
Kai-shek’s Guomingtang in , the com-
munist government in moved to give
“socialist protection and dignity” to mar-
ried women. Mao Tse Tung’s Marriage Law
blended socialist gender equality ideas with
puritan Confucian ethical traditions.
In , the Chinese communist govern-
ment enacted China’s first marriage law. It
banned arranged marriages, concubine
relationships and child betrothal. It allowed
divorce but only after “mediation and coun-
selling” had failed. The s saw a surge of
politically driven divorces as many Chinese
women opted out of arranged marriages.
In the Marriage Law superseded
it, allowing divorce if one party was found
guilty of extramarital affairs, domestic vio-
lence, or addiction to drugs or gambling.
It also accepted “complete alienation of
mutual affection” as grounds for divorce
and allowed one party to ask get it, even if
the other party opposed. A husband may
not apply for divorce when his wife is preg-
nant or within one year after giving birth
to a child or within six months after abor-
tion. This restriction does not apply where
the wife applies for the divorce.
For many years, couples needed written
permission from employers or neighbor-
hood committees to end marriage. Many
unhappy couples stayed together just to
maintain privacy and standing. In ,
however, a revised marriage law simplified
procedures, enabling couples to get their
divorce certificates more discreetly.
In , the ‘Third Interpretation of
Several Issues concerning The Marriage
Law’ was promulgated, addressing the ques-
tion of property rights after divorce. One
section caused anxiety, especially among
married women. If a wife and her parents
purchase a lot of furniture and fittings for
Getting
married
in China
Paternalistic though
egalitarian marriage,
guided by Communism
and Confucianism,
embraces extended
family.
By Garreth Byrne
stirrings
of equality
in Maoist
propaganda
INTERNATIONAL
Also in this section:
UN Millennium Goals 71
ISIS 72
Gaza Strip 74
US immigration 76
VILLAGEAugust/September
INTERNATIONAL CHINA
the marital home these revert to the wife
after divorce, but the home remains the
property of the divorced husband. If par-
ents buy a dwelling for a young man before
he marries, and this is common among the
urban middle classes, an intending wife’s
name cannot be ‘inserted’ into the purchase
or lease documents without the likelihood
of formidable objections from in-laws.
The Marriage Law is intended to
strengthen “the socialist marriage system”,
maintain family harmony and promote
social unity. Gratifyingly it is based on
“freedom, monogamy and equality between
man and woman. The lawful rights and
interests of women, children and old peo-
ple shall be protected. Birth control shall
be practised”.
Either party may become a
member of the family of the
other, if this is agreed. So a
foreigner marrying a Chinese
person may as a bonus get an
extended family, with rights
and duties.
Marriage arranged by any
third party, mercenary mar-
riage (including via trafficking) and any
interference in the freedom of marriage
are prohibited.
Familial violence and maltreatment
or desertion of any family member are
prohibited.
Spouses shall be truthful to and respect
each other. Family members shall respect
the old, take good care of the underaged,
and help each other so as to maintain an
equal, harmonious and cultured matrimo-
nial and familial relationship.
The Confucian tradition and the Marriage
Law insist that familial peace is the impor-
tant foundation of social stability. It thus
encourages love and mutual help, cul-
tured matrimony and diligence and thrift
in running the household, between family
members.
The wife has equal rights and obligations
in every field, such as political, economic,
cultural, social and familial relations. In
the event of divorce, both husband and wife
must agree upon the disposal of the jointly
owned property; if they fail to reach agree-
ment, the People’s Court shall decide the
disposal thereof, following the principle of
favouring the children and the wife. This
has no equivalent in Western societies
Although the socialist system offers
women equality with men, due to ancient
Chinese customs many people still treat
women as inferior. Marriage Law offers
special protections to the rights and inter-
ests of women.
The Marriage Law stipulates that par-
ents shall be obliged to raise and educate
their children. The relationship between
parents and children does not end when
parents divorce. Both a Chinese father and
a foreign mother shall, after divorce, have
the right and the obligation to raise their
children.
Desertion is prohibited – of spouse, chil-
dren or even of elderly relatives in need.
Protection of old people is an important
family obligation and it is a Chinese ‘tra-
ditional virtue’ in conformity with the
teachings of Confucius. Filial piety is found
in most world cultures and is the Fourth
Commandment for Christians, for example.
Marriage Law, and the Confucian tradi-
tions, declare that children
shall look after their ageing
parents. If a grown child fails
in this matter, the dependent
and infirm parents may seek
a maintenance order in the
courts. Foreigner spouses may
find themselves surprised by
this socio-legal obligation.
Birth control is one of the
major principles of the Marriage Law in
China. It was included in the law and
then stressed in the law which enacted
the One-Child policy. Both husband and
wife are obliged to practise birth control.
The Marriage Law also stipulates that when
marrying, the man shall not be younger
than years old and the woman shall not
be younger than . Late marriage and late
child birth shall be encouraged.
Urban couples may have only one preg-
nancy, except – more recently – where each
partner is an only child, in which case they
may have two children. Farming couples
and members of the recognized ‘minor-
ity groups’ in China may have two children.
If twins are born this counts as one preg-
nancy and the married mother may try
for a second pregnancy. Where the couple
intend to live abroad the stipulation is often
breached.
One effect of the one-child policy is to
enhance low-wage growth as it encourages
citizens to migrate from the countryside,
where wage expectations are meagre, to
the higher-paying cities in pursuit of jobs
which the declining urban-born population
cannot fill.
Infanticide is of course illegal but devi-
ous concealment of baby girl births,
abandonment of newly-born baby girls,
ge nde r- sp ec i fic ab or t ion s (no w m ad e i m pos-
sible by the imposition of a ban on pre-natal
scanning), the sale of rural babies and chil-
dren to childless urban couples, and bribing
of officials to secure registration of illegal
second births have arisen over the years as
many couples juggled desperately with the
conflicts between man-made laws and the
pursuit of natural instincts.
The one-child policy has
drawn criticism from abroad.
Much domestic discussion has
taken place, diffidently reported
in the state-monitored media,
and the government in Beijing
may amend the family limita-
tion laws. Nevertheless a
Pew Center study reported that
% of the Chinese support the
policy which is enforced at the
provincial level through fines
that are imposed based pri-
marily on the income of the
family.
According to a survey by
Tsinghua University and life-
style magazine Xiaokang, a
total of . million marriages
ended in divorce in - a
. percent increase from the
previous year.
The state-run newspaper
People’s Daily cited a statistic
according to which . mil-
lion Chinese couples tied the
knot in , but in that same
year nearly million filed for a
divorce.
The Ministry of Civil Affairs has released
statistics showing an increase to . mil-
lion couples divorced in from.
million couples divorced in
Still, marital breakdown in China is not
nearly as prevalent as to percent in
some western societies. •
Although the
socialist system
offers women
equality with
men, due to
ancient Chinese
customs many
people still
treat women
as inferior.
Marriage Law
offers special
protections to
the rights and
interests of
women
“
modern
marriage
Garreth Byrne has lived
in five different cities
in China and taught
English in Chinese
universities and other
institutions for about
ten years.
