Private Life under Socialism: Love, Intimacy, and Family Change in a Chinese Village, 1949-1999

319 Pages·2003·24.07 MB·English

by  Yunxiang Yan

PRIVATE LIFE UNDER SOCIALISM

YUNXIANG YAN
Private Life under Socialism
Love, Intimacy, and Family Change in a Chinese Village
I -I
949 999
STANFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
STANFORD, CALIFORNIA
20O3
Stanford University Press
Library
Stanford University Press
Stanford, California
© 2003 by the Board of Trustees of the
Leland Stanford Junior University.
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free, archival-quality paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Yan, Yunxiang, 1954-
Private life under socialism : love, intimacy, and family change in a
Chinese village, 1949-1999 / Yunxiang Yan.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8047-3309-0 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 0-8047-4456-4 (pbk.
alk. paper)
i. Family—China—Xiajia (Heilongjiang Sheng) 2.
Marriage—China—Xiajia (Heilongjiang Sheng) 3. Intergenerational
relations—China—Xiajia (Heilongjiang Sheng) 4.
Courtship—China—Xiajia (Heilongjiang Sheng) 5. Communism and
family—China—Xiajia (Heilongjiang Sheng) 6. Xiajia (Heilongjiang
Sheng, China)—Social conditions—2oth century. 7. Xiajia (Heilongjiang
Sheng, China)—Social life and customs—2oth century. I. Tide.
HQ684.Z9-X539 2003
306.8*0951 '84—dc21
2002013327
Original Printing 2003
Last figure below indicates year of this printing:
12 ii 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03
Typeset by Classic Typography in 10/14 Janson
To James L Watson, guru and friend

Contents
List of Figures ix
List of Tables x
Preface xi
Introduction: The Chinese Family and the Study of
Private Life i
1. The Changing Local World: Political Economy,
Public Life, and Social Networks 17
2. Youth Autonomy and Romance in Courtship 42
3. Sex, Intimacy, and the Language of Love 64
4. Gender Dynamics and the Triumph of Conjugal Power 86
5. Domestic Space and the Quest for Privacy 112
6. The Politics of Family Property 140
7. Elderly Support and the Crisis of Filial Piety 162
8. Birth Control and the Making of a New Fertility Culture 190
Conclusion: The Socialist State, the Private Family,
and the Uncivil Individual 217
Character List 237
Notes 243
Bibliography 267
Index 283

Figures
5.1 Floor Plan of a Pre-1980 House 114
5.2 Floor Plan of a 1985 House 118
5.3 Floor Plan of a 1986 House 119
5.4 Floor Plan of a 1997 House 121
Eleven pages of photographs follow page in
Tables
2.1 Spouse Selection among Xiajia Men, 1949-1999 47
2.2 Dominance in Spouse Selection in Xiajia Village, 1949-1999 62
4.1 Family Composition in Xiajia Village, 1980, 1991, and 1998 89
4.2 Family Structure and Economic Stratification in Xiajia
Village, 1980, 1991, and 1998 90
4.3 Decision-Making and Household Chores in Nuclear
Families, 1998-1999 98
6.1 Marriage Financing Provided by the Groom's Family,
1950-1999 151
6.2 Bridewealth Provided by the Groom's Family, 1950-1999 154
7.1 Living Arrangements of Elderly Parents in 1998 164
7.2 Living Arrangements of Middle-Aged Parents in 1998 166
8.1 Fines for Unplanned Births, 1980-1999 195
8.2 Distribution of Births by Parity, 1979-1998 197
8.3 Villagers' Childbearing Status Defined by Last Birth,
April i98o-July 1999 201