Chinese Family Problems: Research and Trends

Since the enactment of the marriage laws of 1950 and 1980 family life in the Peoples Republic of China has undergone several dramatic changes including more recently a raising of the legal marriage age less restrictions on divorce and official promotion of family planning and reduced fertility throughout the country. Because these policies and practices conflict with Chinese traditions inevitable problems have arisen. Contemporary China confronts a great deal of social and family problems as feudalistic influences; early marriage marriage to close relatives and the old idea of regarding sons as superior to daughters still prevail. Many family problems also come from political instability and economic difficulties; the financial difficulties of families cause quarrels between their members. Moreover social problems such as inflation unemployment or juvenile delinquency also perturb family life. In repsonse to both the problems and the changes China is developing its social and family research conducted by political and community groups as well as university-based sociology departments. These efforts reflect certain special characteristics: they serve the interests and aims of proletarian politics exercise a strong influence on policy-making and can be employed as powerful weapons to strengthen the education of the people. Chinese sociological research on the family has increased and institutions have been established. They focus on practical family and marriage issues instead of theoretical problems. The field of Chinese-family research is expected to grow and flourish and to attach primary importance to the practical side of population marriage family planning and family education.