Abstract
This book is a delight to read. It is a revealing account of and probe into the transformation of the status of women, especially daughters, in society and within the family. Every chapter establishes a clear link with the literature, grounding the book in a critical historical context. It may be the richest study to date on the transformation of women’s status in the Chinese countryside.
The rise of empowerment of young women in marriage has resulted in a re-evaluation of the value placed on having a son. This cultural shift arises from an imbalance in sex ratio whereby males outnumber females. It is estimated that by 2020 men in China between the ages of 20 and 45 will outnumber women in the same age group by 30 million. Given this skewed gender demographic, women are now able and willing to renegotiate and claim a greater share of their husband’s family’s resources. Perhaps the most prominent aspect is their insistence on an increase in the bride price the groom’s family gives to the bride’s natal family. In the past, the girl’s family kept most of the money. Today, more often than not, all the money is given to the bride. The ease with which women can divorce and remarry, while men have a much more difficult time to remarry (due to a lack of necessary funds to pay the bride price for another wife), has created a new domestic reality which has impacted the way husbands interact with their wives: they are kinder, more respectful, and husbands strive to please their wife. The era of patriarchal male command and assertion is quietly coming to an end in the Chinese countryside.
The decision of rural Chinese families to have only one child, even if the first child is a daughter, is a rational calculation that has taken into consideration the increase in power females have in marriage negotiations, along with an equally telling social fact: the desire to be seen as economically successful through the possession of luxury goods (e.g. car and larger house). Given the fact that parents want to enjoy their own life, combined with the decreased importance of farming which requires their son’s labour, there has been a re-evaluation of traditional gender preference. Sons are increasingly regarded as a drain on family resources without substantial future benefits.
The book draws upon an ethnohistorical account based on interviews and excellent use of archival and census data. This is not an easy undertaking and it demonstrates the skills of an ethnographer whose insight lends depth to her evaluation of the local cultural setting. The monograph is full of nuanced micro events that enrich the discussion and, thus, our understanding of how family organization in northern China has shifted away from its long-standing patrilineal bias toward a more bilateral, if not tacit, natal or mother-centred preference.
Shi provides a thorough review of the changes in China’s birth control population polices, highlighting the factors that contribute to China’s overall fertility decline. The one-child policy has changed the way children are raised, and it has contributed to undermining long-standing Chinese norms. This is especially evident in the reworking of the meaning of filial piety that is increasingly seen as something parents must earn by giving their time and resources and being emotionally involved rather than simply assuming their right to obedience and care. These sociological and demographic changes are manifested in today’s ‘modern Chinese family’.
In sum, this is a persuasive and eloquent study of the changing gender roles in Chinese society. It is a ground-breaking account of the cultural transformation of northern Chinese society whose people have come to re-evaluate kinship bonds and to value a daughter over a son. This is the kind of book that opens up new vistas. Full of surprises, it is ethnography as it should be.