Love and Marriage in Globalizing China

261 Pages·2014·1.682 MB·English

by  Wang Pan

Love and Marriage in Globalizing
China
AsChinaglobalizes,thenumberofmarriagesbetweenChinesepeopleandforeign-
ersisincreasing.TheseChinese–foreignmarriageshaveprofoundimplicationsfor
China’sculturalidentity.Thisbook,basedonextensiveoriginalresearch,outlines
the different types of Chinese–foreign marriage and divorce, and the changing
scale and changing patterns of such marriages and divorces, and examines how
such marriages and divorces are portrayed in different kinds of media. It shows
how those types of Chinese–foreign marriage where Chinese patriotism and
Chinese values are preserved are depicted favourably, whereas other kinds of
Chinese–foreignmarriage,especiallythosewhereChinesewomenmarryforeign
nationals, are disapproved of, male foreign nationals being seen as having a
propensity to infidelity, deception, violence and taking advantage of Chinese
women. The book contrasts the portrayal of Chinese–foreign marriage with the
reality and with the depiction of Chinese–Chinese marriage where many of the
same problems apply. Overall, the book sheds much light on changing social
processesandoncurrentimaginingsofChina’splaceintheworld.
Wang Pan is a Postgraduate Researcher at University of Technology Sydney,
Australia.
Asian StudiesAssociation ofAustraliaWomen inAsia Series
Editor:LenoreLyons(TheUniversityofSydney)
EditorialBoard:
SusanBlackburn(MonashUniversity)
HyaeweolChoi(TheAustralianNationalUniversity)
MicheleFord(TheUniversityofSydney)
LouiseEdwards(UniversityofHongKong)
TrudeJacobsen(NorthernIllinoisUniversity)
VeraMackie(UniversityofWollongong)
AnneMcLaren(TheUniversityofMelbourne)
MinaRoces(UniversityofNewSouthWales)
DinaSiddiqi(TheCityUniversityofNewYork)
AndreaWhittaker(TheUniversityofQueensland)
MukkuvarWomen IntimateKnowledge
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transformationinaSouthIndian Thailand
FishingCommunity byAndreaWhittaker2000
byKalpanaRam1991
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AWorldofDifference Tradition,modernityandglobalisation
IslamandgenderhierarchyinTurkey byLouiseEdwardsandMinaRoces
byJulieMarcus1992 (eds)2000
PurityandCommunalBoundaries ViolenceagainstWomeninAsian
Womenandsocialchangeina Societies
Bangladeshivillage GenderInequalityandTechnologies
bySantiRozario1992 ofViolence
byLenoreMandersonand
MadonnasandMartyrs LindaRaeBennett(eds)2003
Militarismandviolenceinthe
Philippines Women’sEmploymentinJapan
byAnne-MarieHilsdon1995 Theexperienceofpart-timeworkers
byKayeBroadbent2003
MastersandManagers
Astudyofgenderrelationsinurban ChineseWomenLivingand
Java Working
byNormaSullivan1995 byAnneMcLaren(ed.)2004
MatrilinyandModernity Abortion,SinandtheState
Sexualpoliticsandsocialchange inThailand
inruralMalaysia byAndreaWhittaker2004
byMailaStivens1995
SexualViolenceandtheLaw Women,IslamandEverydayLife
inJapan RenegotiatingpolygamyinIndonesia
byCatherineBurns2004 byNinaNurmila2009
Women,IslamandModernity FeministMovementsin
Singlewomen,sexualityand ContemporaryJapan
reproductivehealthincontemporary byLauraDales2009
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byLindaRaeBennett2005 GenderandLabourinKorea
andJapan
TheWomen’sMovementin Sexingclass
Post-ColonialIndonesia byRuthBarracloughand
byElizabethMartyn2005 ElyssaFaison(eds)2009
WomenandWorkinIndonesia GenderDiversityinIndonesia
byMicheleFordandLynParker Sexuality,Islamandqueerselves
(eds)2008 bySharynGrahamDavies2010
WomenandUnionActivisminAsia NewWomeninColonialKorea
byKayeBroadbentandMicheleFord Asourcebook
(eds)2008 byHyaeweolChoi2012
Gender,IslamandDemocracy WomenWritersinPostsocialist
inIndonesia China
byKathrynRobinson2008 byKaySchafferandXianlinSong
2013
Sex,LoveandFeminisminthe
AsiaPacific DomesticViolenceinAsia
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byChillaBulbeck2008 byEmmaFulu2014
Gender,StateandSocialPower GenderandPowerinIndonesian
DivorceincontemporaryIndonesia Islam
byKateO’Shaughnessy2008 Leaders,feminists,Sufisand
pesantrenselves
Gender,HouseholdandStatein byBiancaJ.Smithand
Post-RevolutionaryVietnam MarkWoodward(eds)2014
byJayneWerner2008
PracticingFeminismin
YoungWomeninJapan SouthKorea
Transitionstoadulthood Thewomen’smovementagainst
byKaoriOkano2009 sexualviolence
byKyungjaJung2014
TheKoreanWomen’sMovement GrowingupFemaleinMulti-Ethnic
andtheState Malaysia
Bargainingforchange byCynthiaJoseph2015
bySeung-kyungKim2014
Women,SexualViolenceandthe
Gender,NationandStatein IndonesianKillingsof1965–66
ModernJapan byAnniePohlman
editedbyAndreaGermer,Vera
MackieandUlrikeWöhr2014 LoveandMarriageinGlobalizing
China
WomenandSexWorkinCambodia byWangPan2015
Blood,sweatandtears
byLarissaSandy2015
Love and Marriage in
Globalizing China
Wang Pan
Firstpublished2015
byRoutledge
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711ThirdAvenue,NewYork,NY10017
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©2015WangPan
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Pan,Wang(Researcher)
LoveandmarriageinglobalizingChina/WangPan.
pagescm.–(AsianStudiesAssociationofAustraliawomeninAsia
series;7)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
1.Interracialmarriage–China.2.Marriage–China.3.Divorce–China.I.Title.
HQ1031.P362015
306.810951–dc23
2014015077
ISBN:978-1-138-02425-0(hbk)
ISBN:978-1-315-77589-0(ebk)
TypesetinTimesNewRoman
byFishBooksLtd.
Contents
Listofillustrations ix
Acknowledgements x
Serieseditor’sforeword xi
1 Introduction:Chinese–foreignmarriage 1
Whatare‘Chinese–foreignmarriages’? 2
Researchinginterculturalmarriage 6
ResearchingChinese–foreignmarriageinthePRCmedia 13
Chapteroutline 17
2 Obstacles,statisticsandregulations 21
InitialobstaclestoChinese–foreignmarriageinthePRC 21
StatisticsofChinese–foreignmarriage 24
Governingmarriageinthereformera 35
Conclusion 41
3 NewspapercoverageofChinese–foreignmarriage 43
Changingnumericaltrends 43
Differentcountriesoforigin 49
Hypergamy 54
‘Love’inthe2000s 58
Hypergamyrevisited 61
Conclusion 64
4 NewspapercoverageofChinese–foreigndivorce 67
Chinese–foreigndivorce:arisingtrend 68
Deception,adultery,bigamyanddivorce 71
Domesticviolenceanddivorce 76
Marriageintroductionservicesanddivorce 83
Conclusion 88
5 CelebrityChinese–foreignmarriage 90
China’sfirstcelebrityChinese–foreignmarriage 91
viii Contents
CelebrityChinese–foreignmarriageinthe1990s 96
CelebrityChinese–foreignmarriageinthe2000s 102
Conclusion 108
6 CelebrityChinese–foreigndivorce 110
Highratesofdivorce 111
Speculationandhearsay 116
Amicabledivorcesandexemplaryfatherhood 120
Femaleautonomyandexemplarymotherhood 125
Conclusion 129
7 DocumentingChinese–foreignmarriage 131
NewdocumentaryandChinese–foreignmarriage 132
Cross-Straitmarriage 138
Cross-Straitmarriageinthemedia 143
RuralChineseandforeignnationals 149
Conclusion 155
8 TelevisiontalkshowsandChinese–foreignmarriage 156
TelevisiontalkshowsinthePRC 156
ForeignChinese 161
Foreignspousesascountrybumpkins 165
Makingmaritalconflict‘fun’ 169
Conclusion 174
9 Concludingcomments 176
DefiningandcountingChinese–foreignmarriages 176
MediadiscussionsofChinese–foreignmarriage 179
Potentialavenuesforfurtherresearch 184
Appendix1:Sourcesofstatisticalinformationonmarriages
anddivorcesregisteredinthePRC 186
Appendix2:DocumentaryfilmsonChinese–foreign
marriage(57episodes) 191
Appendix3:TelevisiontalkshowsonChinese–foreign
marriage(20episodes) 194
Appendix4:ChildrenincelebrityChinese–foreign
marriages(examples) 196
References 197
Index 233
List of illustrations
Figures
2.1 Chinese–foreignmarriages 25
2.2 Chinese–foreignmarriages:breakdownbycategory 27
2.3 MapofChinese–foreignmarriages 31
2.4 MarriagesregisteredinJapanwithspousesfromChina(1965–2011) 32
2.5 MarriagesregisteredinAustraliawithspousesfromMainland
China(1994–2011) 33
2.6 Chinese–foreigndivorces 34
7.1 Taiwanspousesincross-straitmarriagesregisteredinthePRC
(1990–2011) 141
Tables
2.1 GendercompositionofChinese–foreignmarriagesregistered
inMainlandChina(1979–2011) 28
2.2 MaritalstatusofcouplesinChinese–foreignmarriagesregistered
inthePRC(1987–1998) 29
3.1 Chinese–foreignmarriagesregisteredinthePRC:popularregions
andforeigncountriesoforigin 50
7.1 NumberofmarriagesregisteredinTaiwan(1998–2011) 142