WUNRN
Marriage Practices Evolve in a Changing China
China
National News
9th December, 2008
(IANS)
Beijing, Dec 9 (Xinhua) The
far-reaching social changes in China over the past four decades are nowhere
seen more clearly than in the evolution of marriage practices in the country.
In 1971, Wang Shan and his bride Yang Ying walked into a local marriage office
in the central Henan province with letters of reference issued by their
respective work unit, proving they had approval to get married.
There were no photographs and no wedding gowns. Instead, they bowed to Chairman
Mao Zedong's portrait, worshipped at home, and visited their parents.
With a monthly salary of 30 yuan ($4.4), Wang borrowed a door panel from his
work unit to be used as their 'new' bed. They gave candies to colleagues and
relatives and in return, got tea cups and paintings as gifts.
'For most newly-weds in the 1970s, the dream was to own a bicycle, a sewing
machine, a watch and a radio,' said Yang.
The 1980s were an age of conservative ideas, but winds of change were blowing.
'Naughty friends forced us to kiss at the wedding in front of parents and
relatives,' recalled Han Tong, who got married in 1988. 'It was very
embarrassing indeed.'
'The 1980s were still a time when people took love and marriage very seriously.
We barely kissed or hugged in public,' added the 46-year-old man.
Sun Shuangding, 58, now a librarian at Nanjing University of Science and Technology,
had a different story to tell.
'My wife's parents strongly objected to our marriage though we had been in love
for three years. All we could do was to get married secretly at the marriage
registrar's office and live apart.'
In 1983, Sun's wife finally persuaded her family to solemnise the marriage, but
due to 'tight economic condition' the couple was unable to hold a wedding
ceremony. 'We only went to nearby Zhenjiang city for a trip.'
The 1970s' modest dreams of a bicycle and a radio were not difficult to realise
now.
'But we still could only manage to live frugally. Home-made furniture was
popular and basic electric appliances such as a TV and refrigerator became
common in urban families,' Sun said.
Zhi Ying, 38, recalled how she fought to be a fashionable bride in 1995. She
insisted on wearing a western bridal veil on the freezing cold day, despite
strong objections from her mother.
'I'd rather go to hospital after the wedding,' said Zhi. Finally, the mother
and the daughter made a compromise: the bride wore her dream veil, but only in
pink as white was traditionally used for funerals.
Zhi paid her six months' earning to rent the veil.
'Western style wedding dresses were the trend in the 1990s. Most young people
chose to wear western suits and gowns at weddings, at any cost,' she said.
Also, at that time, a groom had to give his bride a ring, a necklace and a pair
of earrings, all gold, as wedding gifts, according to Zhi's husband Wang.
Washing machines, stereos and honeymoon trips became hot choices for
newly-weds.
Wang added, 'Another interesting thing is that professional wedding service
companies came into being in the 1990s and became popular very quickly. At
first, they only provided on rent dresses and helped brides put on make-ups.
Later, they took on everything from car arrangement to ceremony anchoring.'
The new century brought about a revolution of another kind.
There are those who do not think a formal marriage is necessary for living
together.
'I can understand if two people in love live together before getting married,'
said Wu Dan, a customer service worker in a US company's Shanghai office, 'But
as girls, we also have to be beware of unsafe sex.'
A recent survey showed almost all boys or girls in their 20s said they have no
problem with live-in relationships with their partners before getting formally
married.
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